Over 500,000 people renting property could miss out on the £400 energy discount from the UK Government, charities have warned.
According to Shelter, the rebate will be issued to landlords instead of tenants in cases where bills are included in their rent. Approximately 585,000 households, making up around 12 per cent of private renters, will be affected, as reported by the BBC.
The UK Government has revealed that in some situations, landlords will have to pass on the discount to their tenants. According to its guidance, landlords who are in a domestic electricity contract with a licensed supplier and then sell on the electricity to people renting their property, based on usage, need to comply with maximum resale price regulations — meaning landlords cannot profit off of the energy they are reselling.
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The National Residential Landlords Association has stated that landlords, 'should be passing on the savings to their tenant in line with [the regulator] Ofgem's requirements'.
Shelter's chief executive Polly Neate told the BBC: "There's no specific legal obligation for landlords to pass on this support, but they aren't allowed to overcharge tenants for the energy they've used or make a profit on it. This could be the case if they pocket the Government support and continue to charge the same rate for utilities.
"Landlords can only charge for energy used, the standing charge and VAT. So, it's worth making a note of how much energy you're using to make sure you're not paying more than you should."
The UK Government has stated that households throughout the UK will receive over £60 off of their energy bills each month this winter. The £400 rebate will be issued in six monthly instalments to approximately 29 million households.
Households will have £66 shaved off of their energy bills in October and November, and £67 taken off from December to March. The initiative is part of the UK Government's plans to help the public through the cost of living crisis.
It follows the news that the energy price cap is set to soar in October, with bills set to rise as high as £3,420 a year in the coming months.
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