Is it standard in tenancy agreements to say the tenant can't change utility supplier?

Tylium

As title. It then says in the next clause that the tenant is liable for costs incurred in reinstating the original supplier at the end of the tenancy. Is this standard practise?

BitterAndTwisted

No, it isn't. These clauses are usually slipped into tenancy agreements by the agents, who get a kick-back from the supplier. And the tenants are often slapped onto a very high tariff.

There are no costs for reinstating to the original supplier, unless the supplier is in league with the agent to enforce a charge.

As the bill-payer I would not welcome being tied to a supplier not of my choosing and I doubt very much that the deposit-protection scheme's arbitrators would ccept a deduction from a tenant's deposit for changing supplier as long as the final readings were supplied to the utility company at the end of the tenancy and all information passed back to the landlord/agent.

But this is not a fight I'd be trying to have before I signed a tenancy agreement for obvious reasons.

Fire_Fox

This has come up before, did you run a search? IIRC they cannot choose who you use for utilities, I would class this as a method of doing so, could well be deemed an unfair/ unenforceable clause.

sailerboy

You will be cooking meals in the property's kitchen, using the landlord's cooker. Do you expect (or accept) him to insist you use food bought at Waitrose?

So why should he have any more right to insist you use electrcity supplied by, say, EDF?

This is a purchasing decision betwen you and the utility supplier and is none of the LL's business.

Ignore.

princeofpounds

Yes this is an unenforceable clause. You can do whatever you like with utilities, subject to your contract(s) with the utility companies themselves and physical modifications (eg key meters in place of normal ones)

Sometimes this clause is an agent trying to get a kickback for marketing a particular utility supplier, sometimes it's a landlord who wants to know the supplier so any admin on changeover is easier.