We offer tips and resources for residential property owners or managers with tenants that pay their own energy bills:
- Meter readings
Our billing is based on energy consumed as determined by meter readings. Move-in and move-out readings are very important because they are the starting point and ending point for your tenants’ accounts. - Vacant periods
When the property or unit is vacant, the property owner is billed. This is another important reason for in and out meter readings. We do not disconnect the power when a tenant vacates. If you don’t want any energy used while you are billed between tenants, you may shut off the main breaker after you have made sure it is safe to do so. - User pay practice
We have a user pay practice. Once a tenant has advised us that they have vacated the premises, the date the key was returned or left behind is used as the final date for the tenant account. We do not take lease agreements. These agreements are between you and your tenant. - Landlord and tenant disputes
If you have a dispute about the date once we have set up or finalized a tenant’s account, the date can be changed once we receive the condition report that was signed by the tenant confirming the date in question. If there is no condition report available (for example when the tenant skips out), this becomes a matter between landlord and tenant, and may be resolved with the help of the Residential Tenancy Branch. - Tenants that have come and gone
If we are advised of a tenant move-in only after they have already moved out, we are able to bill the tenant if they contact us to take responsibility for the bill and provide us with their current address. - Multi-unit properties
We provide the gas and/or electricity and it is typically the property owner’s responsibility to make sure that the piping and wiring for each meter is only for the unit indicated. If the wiring includes some common appliances/areas, in most cases the property owner takes responsibility for the energy bills. Any agreement on responsibility for the energy bills is between the tenant and the property owner and any related disputes would be under the jurisdiction of the Residential Tenancy Branch.
Let your tenants know they can provide their required information online with our moving form.
Landlord Express
Landlord Express makes it easier for landlords and property managers to let us know when a tenant moves and to manage electric and natural gas accounts for rental properties online.
With Landlord Express, you can:
- register your rental property online;
- report changes in responsibility for natural gas and electric services;
- access information such as estimated Equal Payment Plan (EPP) amounts and disconnections;
- initiate move-in and move-out information;
- enter final and initial meter readings.