What to do if you are a tenant struggling to pay your bills

- Tue 22 Mar 2022

As you may be aware, the energy market is in crisis with prices at an all-time high and continuing to rise with caution that the energy price cap will reach 54% by April. Sadly, this will mean that many will face choosing between basic items and their energy bills.

With this being said, we would like to reassure tenants that there are options to help you get through this tough time, below are steps you can take if you are struggling.

1- Firstly, get in touch with your agent. If you are going to struggle with your rent repayment, you must contact your agent as soon as possible, there is no need to bury your head in the sand as we are here to provide advice on what the next steps are should you need to take them.
2- Households in England, Scotland and Wales are to get up to £350 of Government support to soften the blow of rocketing energy prices, after Ofgem announcing a huge 54% increase to the energy price cap. This will include: A £200 rebate loan in October to all households, a £150 council tax rebate in April to all households in bands A to D and for those that are exempt from council tax there is a £140 million discretionary fund for councils. For more information on this, please click here.
3- Talk to your energy supplier as early as possible. If you are falling behind with your energy bills and finding yourself struggling to pay, the best thing to do is to contact your supplier as soon as possible. Under the rules from regulator Ofgem, your supplier has to help you – usually by negotiating a payment plan that you can afford.
4- Check if you can get £140 towards energy bills each winter with the warm home discount. If you have a standard credit meter, the money isn’t paid to you – it’s a £140 rebate applied to your electricity bill between October and March. If you are on a prepay meter, you’ll usually be sent a top-up voucher. There are two ways to qualify, either: If you get pension credit, it may come automatically or if you are on certain benefits, you may qualify but applications are now closed for all firms this year.

In the shorter term, there is warmer weather on the way which will help keep energy bills down during the summer months and may allow you to prepare ahead of the winter period.

Bradleys Estate Agents have 30 offices covering Devon, Cornwall and Somerset where we offer invaluable advice and expertise to all of our tenants, landlords, seller and buyers. If you are looking to rent a property, become a landlord, sell your property or buy your new dream home get in touch with your local Bradleys office today.

What to do if you are a tenant struggling to pay your bills

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