How to Manage Solar Power Charges In Your Property Rental

Queensland property owners are starting to find the value in offering solar energy to tenants. If you’re also considering the switch to solar, here are some things to remember.

According to Origin Energy in a report by Real Estate Institute Queensland, some tenants are reportedly willing to pay extra rent per week for a property with solar power.

Not only does solar power benefit the tenants and your environment, it could also have a few pros for property owners and landlords as they could claim a bonus.

The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 does provide specific guidelines for solar bonus, but it does for service charging. A property owner or landlord of a rental property can charge the tenant for the quantity of the service supplied to or used at the property.

The RTRA Act does not specify who is eligible for the rebate, but the Electricity Act 1994 does note that the person who has the electricity account in their name is entitled to the bonus.

Before the start of the tenancy, the property owner or manager or landlord and the tenant should negotiate how the electricity will be charged. There are several ways to do this.

One way is for the tenant to have the electricity account in their name and they pay the account directly to the supply authority and receive any rebate.

Another is that the property owner/landlord has the electricity account in their name. They pay the account, receive the rebate, and ask the tenant to reimburse them the full amount. Alternatively, the tenant is asked to reimburse the property owner or landlord the full amount minus the rebate amount.

One other way is the property owner/landlord has the electricity account in their name. They pay the account and receive the rebate. The cost of the electricity service is absorbed in the rent.