Landlords managing rental property in England track EICR renewals, gas safety certificates, and fire risk assessments carefully, largely because missing them carries real financial penalties and genuine safety risks for tenants. What rarely makes it onto that same checklist is a periodic review of the property’s actual gas and electricity contracts, even though both are just as much a recurring cost obligation as any compliance certificate a landlord already tracks diligently every year.
Compliance Gets Tracked, Cost Often Doesn’t
Landlords have become disciplined about tracking safety deadlines because the consequences of missing them are clear, well publicized, and financially significant, with penalties that can reach tens of thousands of pounds per breach under current regulations. The energy contracts behind the same property carry no equivalent penalty for neglect, which is exactly why they tend to run unreviewed for years at a stretch without anyone ever noticing the gap between what’s being paid and what’s actually available.
Why Multi-Unit Properties Face Bigger Stakes
HMOs and converted properties with shared heating systems or multiple gas appliances carry higher, more variable gas and electricity usage than a single-unit rental. That makes both utility contracts more consequential to get right, since the same percentage rate gap has a proportionally larger absolute cost impact on a property with significantly higher combined usage spread across multiple tenants or units under one roof.
Reviewing the Gas Contract Specifically
It’s easy to focus on whichever utility feels more prominent, often gas, given its direct tie to the annual safety certificate renewal that already forces a landlord’s attention once a year. That existing renewal point is the ideal moment to also compare current business gas rates against the market, rather than assuming the supply contract behind the property is still competitive simply because the safety inspection passed without issue.
Checking Electricity Alongside It, Not Instead of It
The electricity side of the account deserves the same scrutiny, and it’s just as easy to overlook precisely because it doesn’t come with its own annual compliance deadline the way gas safety does. Comparing current business electricity rates at the same time as the gas review ensures a landlord doesn’t fix one cost while quietly leaving the other to run on an outdated, uncompetitive contract indefinitely.
Tying Both Reviews to an Existing Renewal Cycle
Since gas safety certificates already require annual attention by law, that renewal point is a natural, low-effort moment to check both the gas and electricity contracts together, rather than treating them as two separate tasks requiring two separate reminder systems that a busy landlord juggling multiple properties is unlikely to maintain consistently over time.
Applying This Across a Landlord’s Full Portfolio
Landlords managing multiple properties benefit from applying this combined review consistently across their entire portfolio, prioritizing properties with the highest combined gas and electricity usage first, since that’s where the financial impact of an uncompetitive rate on either utility is largest in absolute terms relative to the property’s overall running costs.
FAQ
Do landlords need to review gas and electricity contracts separately?
Yes, since the two utilities are priced independently, a competitive rate on one doesn’t guarantee a competitive rate on the other.
Is this worth doing for a single rental property?
Yes, though landlords with HMOs or multiple properties tend to see a larger cumulative benefit given the higher collective usage involved.
When is the best time to review both contracts?
Alongside the annual gas safety certificate renewal, so both reviews become part of a cycle the landlord is already actively tracking.
Does a competitive utility rate affect compliance obligations?
No, compliance and cost are separate matters entirely. EICR and gas safety certificates remain legally necessary regardless of the supplier or rate in place.
