More than half a million renters could miss out on the £400 energy rebate the UK Government is handing out to help households cope with the cost of living crisis, charities are warning.
Housing charity Shelter says that the money will be to paid landlords instead, when bills are included in the rent they receive. It's estimated that as many as 585,000 households, approximately 12% of private renters, have energy bills included in their rent, reports the BBC.
However, the Government has said in some circumstances landlords will be required to pass on the discount. Its guidance says that landlords who have a domestic electricity contract with a licensed supplier and then resell the electricity to their tenant, based on usage, must comply with maximum resale price rules. This means landlords must not make a profit on energy they are reselling.
And the National Residential Landlords Association says landlords "should be passing on the savings to their tenant in line with [the regulator] Ofgem's requirements".
However, Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, 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," she added.
The Government had said that households across the UK will get more than £60 off their energy bills each month throughout winter. The £400, part of a package announced in May this year, will come in six instalments over six months to around 29 million households.
Bill-payers will see £66 taken off their energy bills in October and November, and £67 between December and March, as the UK Government revealed the details of its cost of living support.
The help, which also came alongside more targeted efforts for less-financially secure households, came in response to predictions that energy bills would rise to £2,800 for the average household in October. But since then the forecasts have predicted bills could hit £3,420 per year from October, before rising further in January.
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