Money Moral Dilemma: Should we pass on any of the £400 energy bill grant to our tenant?

diystarter7

steampowered said:

diystarter7 said:

Let them leave as rents are going up where we live. It's not as though they are renting the whole house is it.
LL's that in that scenario keep the money, good for them. If I was a T and in the MSE scenario, I would not expect the LL to give me the money.

If I was a T and in the MSE scenario, and the LL kept the money, I would simply stop paying the energy bill until my share had been recouped.

After all the energy bill is in the LL's name.

then get evicted as I'm more than certain that the payments are part of the contract and at the very best the T could expect a proportion.

if I was the T, I'd stick to the contract as it's my duty to pay as per contract ask the LL and if the answer was no I'd accept as moving is a big hassle and that is a fact of life.

We will agree to disagree.

diystarter7

glitzy72 said:

Absolutely you should give it to them. If you charge them 25% then they should receive 25% of the grant. I’m surprised that this question even had to be asked! 

That is something I could agree to.

RobM99

As said before, 25% of £400 = £100. I think that's fair. 

The rent is a separate issue. If I were a tenant I'd think - if Landlord keeps the £400, OK, I've not had a rent increase for 7 years so that's more than fair. The extra rent would have been far in excess of £100 over 7 years I'm sure. 

stojom

Are you both getting the £400 grant? If so give him the full amount as you will be equal. If not give him a percentage.

primrose_penguin

You sound like a decent landlord and are obviously happy with your tenant, which is so important as some tenants can be a nightmare, as can some landlords. If you are okay with the rent at the level it is, please don't put it up at the moment, as others are suggesting, because your tenant is facing the same cost of living problems that we all are. Yes I would still give him or her a percentage share of the refund.

sjaeagle5

Absolutely pass it on.

The apportionment would be up to you, depending on whether you want to use area occupied or base it on meter readings from the sub-meter.
I would start to consider passing on the VAT you get charged as you're paying a portion of the bill that you shouldn't have to.

Sue_2

My understanding is that the £400 is credited directly to the energy account and knocked off your electricity bill at source. 
So, if you have just the one account, you don't have to do anything different as you will all benefit when the £400 is added.

I assume you have a contract with your tenant, so you might want to just double check that too.

All the press I've seen says there is no legal obligation for the landlord to pass it on, though I agree it is a moral one.
But if it is literally one account that you divvy up, it's already done for you.

Shell1989

MSE_Kelvin said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

We let a flat that's part of our property, and bill our tenant for utilities based on readings of the flat's sub-meters. He also pays one quarter of the standing charges as he occupies one quarter of the property. We don't pass on VAT to him and the rent we charge is below the market rate as we haven't increased it in seven years. Given that, should we pass on any of the Chancellor's  forthcoming £400 energy bill grant to our tenant and, if so, how much of it?

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Give the tenant a percentage of the £400, perhaps 25% since you mentioned they occupy 1/4 of the property space. Then review their rent amount with intent to raise it in 3 months - the cost of living is going up for everyone - why should the tenant be exempt? They can either agree to a higher rent or find somewhere else with 3 months notice. If your prices are as generous as you think they are, they won’t find anywhere cheaper and they’ll be happy to pay a little more.

GrannyBowf

May sound harsh but put your rent up, this is an income for you not a charity. And also share your £400.   

witchone

If he pays a quarter of the bill he gets a quarter of the grant, although we were all supposed to get 200 each before and got nothing so wait till you get it before asking.