Who pays for the electricity: between tenancies, prepayment meters and charging an EV

In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, electricity liability usually follows occupation, supply contracts and any resale clause in the tenancy. The rules are not uniform for EV charging and bills-included recovery, so the nation matters.

Who pays for the electricity between one tenant and the next?

Between one tenant and the next, the landlord or property owner pays for electricity used while the rental is empty across the UK, because the deemed electricity contract moves to the “owner if the premises are unoccupied”. In England, Wales and Scotland, the Electricity Act 1989 says: “Where an electricity supplier supplies electricity to any premises otherwise than in pursuance of a contract, the supplier shall be deemed to have contracted with the occupier (or the owner if the premises are unoccupied) for the supply of electricity as from the time (‘the relevant time’) when he began so to supply electricity.” Northern Ireland has the same wording in the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992. In practice, the safest handover is to take dated meter readings at check-out and check-in, tell the supplier the tenant has left, and keep the void-period bill in the landlord’s name. That handover record — dated meter readings plus the void-period bill — is worth keeping with the tenancy rather than in an inbox, since it is exactly what settles a dispute over who used what and when later. Abodient can hold documents like that against the property, alongside the tenancy dates either side of the void.

Can a landlord ask a tenant for their utility bills?

A landlord can ask a tenant for their utility bills, but where the tenant holds the electricity, gas or water contract, the landlord has no general statutory right to force the tenant to show unrelated private bills. The clearest practical distinction is between asking and entitlement: tenant-rights guidance puts it this way, “Generally a landlord cannot demand unrelated private bills; if the tenancy agreement includes recharging provisions they should provide the bills or evidence used to calculate recharges.” That means a landlord may reasonably ask for bills if they are needed to calculate a contractual recharge, resolve a council-tax or utilities handover, or evidence a bills-included allowance, but a tenant who pays their own supplier directly can usually refuse a curiosity request. If the landlord is recharging utilities, the better evidence is the landlord’s own supplier bill, meter reading, sub-meter reading or written calculation, not a demand for the tenant’s personal account.

Can a landlord put in a pay-as-you-go electricity meter?

A landlord can fit a pay-as-you-go electricity sub-meter and recharge tenants at cost; the 2023 Ofgem forced-prepayment rules bind licensed energy suppliers’ own meter practices, not a landlord’s resale sub-metering. In England, Wales and Scotland, Ofgem’s resale-price direction says, “the maximum price at which each unit of gas or electricity may be resold shall be the same as that paid to the authorised supplier by the person reselling it.” Northern Ireland has the same pass-through principle: “the re-sale unit price shall be the same unit price as that paid by the original consumer”. The sharp line is between a supplier switching its own meter to prepayment, where Ofgem says suppliers “should only be used as a last resort”, and a landlord’s own sub-meter inside the property. A pay-as-you-go sub-meter is therefore mainly a billing mechanism, not a licence to profit from electricity resale.

Who pays when a tenant charges an electric car at your rental?

The tenant pays for charging an electric car at the rental if the tenancy or utility arrangement makes the tenant responsible for electricity; if the landlord resells that electricity, the resale cap differs between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In England, Wales and Scotland, Ofgem’s maximum resale price direction does not apply where electricity is resold “from a charge point for use by an electric motor vehicle”, and Ofgem’s EV guidance narrows that to a dedicated charger: “If the host uses a dedicated EV chargepoint then the Maximum Resale Price (MRP) doesn’t apply.” A tenant charging from an ordinary 3-pin socket is still using domestic electricity, so the landlord remains within the ordinary resale-at-cost cap. Northern Ireland is different: the exemption applies only to resale “from a public Electric Vehicle charging point”, so a private home charger supplied to a tenant remains capped there too.

What can you do when a bills-included tenant's usage goes far over the allowance?

In England, a landlord can recover a bills-included tenant’s excess electricity, gas or water use only if the tenancy agreement requires that utility payment, the allowance is clear, and the recharge does not exceed the landlord’s actual cost. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 permits a utility payment where “the tenancy agreement requires the payment to be made”, which is why a written fair-usage clause matters. For electricity and gas resale in England, Wales and Scotland, Ofgem’s maximum resale price applies where energy is resold “for domestic use, or for use in any form of accommodation”, and the Electricity Act lets tenants recover amounts charged above the cap. The common failure is proof: in one TDS example, the agreement had a £30 monthly combined gas-and-electricity policy, but the claim failed because it relied on “an unenforceable assumption of joint liability” between separately contracted tenants. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are not covered here by the England-only Tenant Fees Act point.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Electricity Act 1989, Schedule 6 paragraph 3(1) — “Where an electricity supplier supplies electricity to any premises otherwise than in pursuance of a contract, the supplier shall be deemed to have contracted with the occupier (or the owner if the premises are unoccupied) for the supply of electricity as from the time (“the relevant time”) when he began so to supply electricity.” Source
• Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992, Schedule 6 paragraph 3(1) — “Where an electricity supplier supplies electricity to any premises otherwise than in pursuance of a contract, the supplier shall be deemed to have contracted with the occupier (or the owner if the premises are unoccupied) for the supply of electricity as from the time (“the relevant time”) when he began so to supply electricity.” Source
• Tenant Rights UK guidance on utility bills and receipts — “Generally a landlord cannot demand unrelated private bills; if the tenancy agreement includes recharging provisions they should provide the bills or evidence used to calculate recharges.” Source
• Ofgem/GEMA maximum resale price direction — “Subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 below, the maximum price at which each unit of gas or electricity may be resold shall be the same as that paid to the authorised supplier by the person reselling it.” Source
• Utility Regulator Northern Ireland maximum resale price direction — “In effect, the pass-through rule provides that the re-sale unit price shall be the same unit price as that paid by the original consumer for the relevant qualifying electricity or qualifying gas as the case may be.” Source
• Ofgem prepayment meters consumer guidance — “The rules in gas and electricity licences say that suppliers must install prepayment meters without a household's permission in a fair and responsible way, and that they should only be used as a last resort.” Source
• Ofgem/GEMA maximum resale price direction, EV chargepoint exclusion — “This direction does not apply where electricity supplied by an authorised supplier is resold by any person from a charge point for use by an electric motor vehicle.” Source
• Ofgem EV charging resale guidance — “If the host uses a dedicated EV chargepoint then the Maximum Resale Price (MRP) doesn't apply.” Source
• Power NI maximum resale price of electricity — “The pass-through rule shall not apply to the resale of qualifying electricity to any person from a public Electric Vehicle charging point for use by an electric motor vehicle.” Source
• Ofgem/GEMA maximum resale price direction, domestic accommodation scope — “Subject to paragraph 2, a maximum resale price shall apply where gas or electricity supplied by any authorised supplier is resold by any person for domestic use, or for use in any form of accommodation (including that used for holidays).” Source
• Electricity Act 1989 section 44 — “If any person resells electricity supplied by an authorised supplier at a price exceeding the maximum price determined by or under a direction under this section and applicable to the resale—” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 paragraph 9 — “9(1)A payment for or in connection with the provision of a utility is a permitted payment if the tenancy agreement requires the payment to be made.” Source
• Property Industry Eye / TDS Adjudication Services, fair-usage example — “However, the tenancy agreement also contained a reasonable use policy, stipulating that the tenant would be responsible for any combined utility costs exceeding £30.00 per month.” Source
• Property Industry Eye / TDS Adjudication Services, joint-liability example — “Since the claim relied on an unenforceable assumption of joint liability, the adjudicator was unable to make an award, and the deposit was returned to the tenant.” Source