Landlord database audit trail and privacy concerns raised by MPs
1 week ago | 8 comments
Landlords face paying tenants’ unpaid energy bills
9:56 AM, 30th October 2026, 1 week ago
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Landlords could become liable for their tenants’ gas and electricity bills if energy suppliers are left without accurate details when occupants move.
The revelation comes in a consultation paper published by Ofgem alongside the Budget which would place a legal obligation on landlords to provide that information.
The government’s wording makes the condition clear: liability could arise where neither the tenant nor the landlord has supplied the necessary details.
Separately, it has been revealed that letting agents face requirements to report landlords’ rent income and personal information to HMRC.
Energy debt liability
The consultation paper says: “Government will introduce legislation to Parliament to reform the home moves process, placing a new obligation on landlords to provide timely and accurate information to their supplier when tenants move into or out of a property.
“Where neither the tenant nor landlord has provided the necessary information, landlords may become liable for energy charges associated with the property.
“The reform would place similar obligations on landlords as exist with respect of water bills in England and Wales.”
Unpaid bills mount
The Telegraph reports that research found that up to 40% of around £6bn in domestic energy debt is down to tenants moving between properties without settling their bills.
Ofgem has warned that the total could reach £11bn in the coming years.
The proposals, also backed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, would help suppliers identify the people responsible for unpaid charges.
The watchdog found that, alongside households unable to pay, some consumers could afford their bills but were unwilling to settle them.
Prepayment meter controversy
Domestic energy debts stood at about £1bn in 2020, before rising prices put household budgets under pressure.
Suppliers subsequently accelerated prepayment meter installations, with nearly 100,000 homes forcibly switched under court warrants and other households’ smart meters changed remotely.
In 2023, Citizens Advice reported record numbers of people going without heat or electricity because they could not afford to top up.
The government intervened after revelations that British Gas debt collectors had forcibly entered homes to fit prepayment meters, including properties occupied by vulnerable customers.
Letting agents face landlord income reporting
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that landlords’ rent income and personal details would be passed to HMRC under new reporting requirements for letting agents.
The Telegraph reports that government documents set out plans for property managers and tenancy protection schemes to share information with HMRC.
Alongside the amount of rent received, the information would include landlords’ dates of birth, National Insurance numbers and tenancy details.
HMRC already issues more than 10,000 notices a year demanding information from letting agents, but the government describes this as ‘a manual and resource-intensive process’.
Expert questions separate reporting
Greg Tsuman, the managing director for lettings at Martyn Gerrard, told the newspaper that the combination of the landlord register and reporting requirements would create an ‘unmanageable’ situation for agents and landlords.
He said: “The rental database should provide that central source of truth that would allow HMRC to deliver on the objective of collecting the right amount of tax from landlords.
“Rather than creating another disconnected process, why not invest that same resource in ensuring that the rental database works for all, in the most cost-effective way for the taxpayer?”
Tags:
energy suppliers, landlord energy bills, landlord obligations, Ofgem consultation, Private Rented Sector, tenant energy debt, unpaid utility bills
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Member Since October 2013 - Comments: 1796 - Articles: 3
4:59 PM, 2nd November 2026, About 7 days ago
Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 02/11/2026 – 12:58
When a tenant rips you off and you know you stand no chance of recovering anything, you just need a small win.
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 2666
5:16 PM, 2nd November 2026, About 7 days ago
Reply to the comment left by NewYorkie at 02/11/2026 – 16:59
If going to Money Claims Online and getting a CCJ against the tenant is the small win that you are referring to (and one perhaps that might help reduce the risk for other landlords who could be affected by a serial fraudster) then it’s only a small win if you are using the correct tenant identification details; if you don’t, the tenant will probably just use a different name next time. Whichever way you look at it, it’s better not to take high-risk tenants in the first place, and if you do take higher risk tenants you are reducing your risk if you have accurate identification details.
Years ago I had a (working age) benefits tenant who disappeared at high speed; she didn’t owe me anything but she had been claiming a variety of benefits whilst working and after she left a lot of letters from different creditors addressed to different names dropped onto the doormat. It was that experience and finding out that the housing benefits people would try and come and get the money off me as the landlord that meant I stopped taking (working age) benefits tenants. If the proposal in this Ofgem consultation paper go through then utility providers might be coming after the landlord for unpaid bills UNLESS the landlord has collected robust tenant identification details and passes them on, i.e. the landlord has done his or her job. The truth is that these days we have to carry out right-to-rent checks anyway so you need something like a passport in any case.
Recent utility bills are something that is often used for identification purposes; for tenants that move on trying to defraud energy companies as they go, recent utility bills are clearly of little use and you need something else. National Insurance number, documents from HMRC, passport, driving licence, bank statements (as banks have higher ID requirements), possibly a mobile phone contract linked to an address (not a PAYG phone). But photo ID is going to be critical and because AI can generate a fake copy of a driving licence or passport for someone on their phone or tablet the copies of photo ID probably need to be certified copies from a solicitor.
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 3422 - Articles: 83
5:21 PM, 2nd November 2026, About 7 days ago
Reply to the comment left by NewYorkie at 02/11/2026 – 16:49
Yes the agent does. I only have about 15 with an agent though & they normally follow the rules.
Often & a few times this year with me trying to accelerate my selling, I’ll get several do a bunk, I don’t know what date they went.
These are the kind of tenants I’ve had since 1997 & some of em still there:
https://youtu.be/i_HKaqYlHi4 Tenants from Hell Bulwell.
https://youtu.be/OzqVVRlZzE8 Tenants from Hell Bestwood Park
https://youtu.be/QcENHbgfMR4 Tenants from Hell Top Valley Nov 2010
https://youtu.be/_UvO8dmxGQQ Tenants from Hell May 12th 2010.
https://youtu.be/DzRIyfLHRn0 Tenants from Hell May 10th 2010.
https://youtube.com/shorts/BYEbPkEaz84?si=gO92VmEtBeqw67PE Tenants from Hell Bulwell Feb 2026
The rest are on http://www.youtube.com/mickroberts2006
I han’t done any for years.
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 829 - Articles: 1
7:18 PM, 2nd November 2026, About 7 days ago
Reply to the comment left by David at 02/11/2026 – 11:39
THE ARTICLE IS ABOUT:
Landlords could become liable for their tenants’ gas and electricity bills if energy suppliers are left without accurate details when occupants move.
IF THE BILLS ARE NOT TRANSFERRED TO TENANT ON DAY 1 THEN LL WILL HAVE NO DEFENCE.
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 829 - Articles: 1
7:21 PM, 2nd November 2026, About 7 days ago
Reply to the comment left by NewYorkie at 02/11/2026 – 16:49
AND DAY 1
Member Since November 2026 - Comments: 2
12:44 PM, 4th November 2026, About 5 days ago
Worth remembering this is still an Ofgem consultation, not law, so nothing changes for existing tenancies yet. But the practical point several of you are making is right: a dated paper trail at each changeover is the best protection.
– Photograph each meter at check-in and check-out, showing serial number and reading.
– Tell the supplier the tenancy start or end date and the reading by email or web form, even if they won’t discuss the tenant’s account. You then have proof of when you told them.
– If a tenant leaves early, record the date they handed back the keys separately from the date the tenancy legally ended. That gap is a common source of disputed bills.
– Keep it per property. Contract claims in England and Wales can be brought for six years.
Disclosure: I’m with IziRento, an early-stage web app for private landlords to keep records per rental. It only keeps records. Please do not use it as the only place you keep important tenant documents.
General information, not legal advice.