Landlords – how rising energy bills with affect your tenants.
Landlords, you should be aware of how increasing energy costs can affect your renters.
According to a recent Lifestyle Survey, 66 percent of respondents stated that their cost of living had increased in the previous month, with 79 percent blaming rising gas and electricity bills for the rise in their costs. Greater London Properties offers some simple suggestions on what you can do right now to make your prospective renters’ lives easier.
One of the most frequently asked questions by renters at the time of the survey, is how rising energy prices can affect their monthly rent. As rents in Central London are so exorbitant, it’s understandable that our renters are concerned.
It was discovered in a recent Lifestyle Survey that 66 percent of respondents reported an increase in their overall cost of living in the previous month, with 79 percent attributing this to higher gas and electricity bills – which could potentially mean the difference between your tenants paying their rent on time or falling behind on their payments.
The energy price limit hike, which will take effect on April 1st, will result in an average increase of £693 in home bills in 2022, representing a 54 percent increase in household bills that will impact over 75% of families in the United Kingdom. Tenants have legitimate worries about the sort of energy supply provided in their rental apartments, as well as how efficient this is in practice.
Pre-payment meters will see a larger increase of £708 (bringing the annual cost up to £2017), and with energy efficiency already high on the government’s priority list, it is advisable to shift away from carbon-based forms of production and towards heat pumps and alternative options such as solar energy.
What is our advice to our landlords?
Landlords will be required to begin investing in order to raise the energy performance certificates of all new and existing leases to a minimum grade of C by 2028; consequently, taking actions now will help to spread your expenditures and save money during any vacant periods.
What is our guidance to our tenants?
To guarantee that our tenants can pay their rents and living expenses on time – our staff are already educating prospective applications during viewings and at the offer stage – to ensure that they are completely aware of how the energy price hike would directly impact them and their families. There are a variety of actions that can be taken to assist mitigating the effect of the price increases, ranging from installing smart meters to studying the absolute best bargains available — for more information, see this really practical website.
We would be pleased to provide advice on other various ways you can improve the energy performance of your home in order to guarantee that it remains compliant in the future. Please get in contact with a member of our Greater London Properties team by calling 0207 113 1066 now.
Warmest regards,
Kate Hill
