Did you know... this week is Big Energy Saving Week.
It's a national campaign led by Citizens Advice which aims to help people cut their energy bills and get all the financial support they are entitled to.
The Citizens Advice website contains a variety of resources related to saving money on energy costs (including an energy price comparison tool), improving energy efficiency and more. Some of the top (and simple) tips for minimising energy waste and lowering costs include:
- Always turn off the light when you leave a room.
- Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave laptops and mobile phones on charge unnecessarily.
- When you are doing the washing try to fill up the machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher. One full load uses less energy than two half loads.
- Try and ensure that you only boil as much water as you need.
With Big Energy Saving Week underway, we thought it was a good time to revisit a subject we spoke about back in November - tenant's rights as a bill payer.
The main points to note are that: as long as you are paying the bill for a particular utility, you can choose the supplier and the tariff; in a few notable circumstances where the physical appearance of the property may be affected you would need to ask your landlord for permission, but in most cases landlord permission is not required for a straightforward change of supplier and/or tariff.
When we say the physical appearance of the property we are talking about, for example, the installation of a new meter.
One other exception when it comes to changing energy suppliers without your landlord's permission is of course in instances where the landlord organises energy provisions for their properties. If the landlord is the person who pays the bills to the energy provider (with you paying the bill amount to the landlord) then you will not be able to bypass the landlord and switch supplier or tariff. If you do become aware of a deal, offer or service with a different provider that could benefit you and your landlord, then there is certainly no harm in making them aware of this for their consideration.
