Reuters photo
By
Hazel Speed
We are being advised that huge savings will soon be within reach, as technological advances provide opportunity for the average householder to save money on future energy costs.
Some years ago when it was mooted, and a few happy people who enabled themselves via solar and other forms of natural energy saving devices to be harvested and saved, with energy usage to facilitate their own needs, the excess being sold back to the grid; this was only possible between Councils and/or Energy companies, and householders who had all signed up to the scheme.
It did not include people who rented, whether their landlord and Council/Energy supplier had agreed such a contact between them all or not collectively. It should collectively include all parties, e.g. The tenant also, otherwise we all know what will happen, the tenant’s share will be less than the rest, assuming they receive any benefit at all, whether in money or free energy usage.
Regarding the scenario of former years within such a scheme, at that time there was no obligation on behalf of a Landlord to allow the tenant to have access to reduced or free energy nor a reduction in rent. Neither did the Council have any obligation to the tenant yet, if the tenant received Housing Benefit they ‘may’ have fallen between stools and ‘may’ have had to lose benefits as energy (or less rent in lieu thereof), as it was in theory accessible to a tenant and therefore became a civil/legal matter between tenant and landlord.
There are people who rent and have a variety of legal agreements with the Landlords which may, or may not include water rates or some reference to utility bills. Landlords (those who are not morally or legally virtuous) already reap reductions from water meters in streets reducing water charges but refuse to disclose, never mind pass on reductions to the tenant within their rents.
Some Landlords arbitrarily move inclusive water rates externally to rents (“Add ons”), when they inherit a sitting tenant, the law being blind to that. Then they save on reduced water rates from the supplier.
So when one hears announcements referring to homeowners saving money with one scheme or another, they rarely reference tenants.
When they do so, only the surface categories are mentioned, i.e. long or short term tenants, length of tenancy, whether a protected tenancy or peppercorn rent.
Therefore the announcement within the earlier link may be good news for some, but not all.
Hazel Speed
Photo (c) Hazel Speed – used by kind permision to Tuck Magazine
Hazel Speed is a Philosopher, Writer, and Artist with various creative projects at differing stages of development. Her flaship project is an animation which has produced a film short: www.thepinkprofessor.com. She has also written an E-novel, ‘Just Suppose…!‘ which is available via the attached link.
Art sites: www.candystoreart.com, www.terrificart.com, www.artbadges.co.uk
Other landlords are not fair when it comes to utility expenses specially electricity.. But an individual should be wise enough to know the background of the owner first, to avoid this type of injustice.