Connection and supply of electricity and gas in rental properties

Key information

• Usually the tenant pays for electricity, non-bottled gas, oil and water usage charges if the rental property is ‘separately metered’.
• There are also 'embedded networks', which are common in high density apartment buildings, strata schemes, residential land lease communities and retirement villages.
• Usually there is a fee for reconnecting or switching on utilities and the supplier may ask you to sign a contract.
• Tenants should not sign a new contract with another utility supplier before their current contract has ended. This is because the supplier may charge for ending a contract early.
• Tenants must keep up with their utility payments or organise a repayment plan if they have difficulty paying.

Who pays for utilities?

NSW rental laws, together with the tenancy agreement, determine whether a landlord or tenant is responsible for specific utility charges.

Tenants will generally have to pay for electricity, non-bottled gas, oil and water usage charges if the rental property is ‘separately metered’.'

What does 'separately metered' mean?

A rental property is separately metered if the meter:

• measures the amount of electricity, gas, oil or water supplied or used only at the property
• has been installed as specified by the manufacturer or industry practice
• allows a separate bill to be issued by the supplier for all charges for the supply and use of the utility at that property
• has a National Meter Identifier (NMI) for an electricity meter
• has a Meter Installation Reference Number (MIRN) or Delivery Point Identifier (DPI) for a gas meter.

NMI, MIRN and DPI are unique numbers energy suppliers use to identify the meter installed at the property and can be found on the energy bill.

They help match a property with the energy account, so a property does not get billed for someone else’s power use.

Meters in an ‘embedded network’ relating to the rental property

Not all electricity or gas meters located in an ‘embedded network’ have an NMI, MIRN or DPI assigned. These meters are still ‘separately metered’ if:

• they meet the other requirements for a separate meter listed above, and
• the meter is located in an embedded network, and
• the meter is not required to have these numbers.

Embedded networks are common in high density apartment buildings, strata schemes, residential land lease communities and retirement villages.

An embedded network is a private energy network within a building or self-contained site which can be owned and/or operated by the building or site owner, an owners corporation (in a strata scheme) or a third party. The owner/operator of the embedded network buys energy from a retailer and then ‘on-sells’ the energy to residents within the building or site.

If electricity or gas is supplied to the rented property from an embedded network, landlords or agents need to include this in the residential tenancy agreement. This only applies to tenancy agreements signed from 23 March 2020.

More information about embedded networks

• Visit the Australian Energy Regulator for information on electricity customers in embedded networks.
• The NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman has more information about the rights of embedded network customers and receives and investigates complaints about issues with embedded networks.

Connection and supply of electricity and non-bottled gas

The landlord must pay for the installation costs and charges for the initial connection so that electricity or gas can be supplied to the property.

Tenants will pay for electricity and non-bottled gas if the property is 'separately metered'. 
 

If the property has an existing non-bottled gas supply and is separately metered, but the landlord does not provide any gas appliances in the property and the tenant does not use any gas, the landlord must pay any service availability charge for the supply of non-bottled gas.
 

If the property is not separately metered, the landlord must pay for electricity and non-bottled gas charges for the property. There is an exception for social housing tenancies – see below.

Supply of non-bottled gas for social housing tenants

Social housing tenants will need to pay for the supply of non-bottled gas to properties that are not separately metered if:

• the the gas supply is used for a centralised hot water system that supplies hot water to the property,
   
• the property has an individual hot water meter that records the amount of hot water provided to the property, and
• the charge payable is calculated using the individual hot water meter readings and ‘the common factor’ calculated in accordance with the Retail Market Procedures referred to in the National Gas (NSW) Law.

What about electricity meters (including advanced meters)?

Landlords must pay for repair, maintenance or other work needed to install or replace an electricity meter in working order (including an advanced meter), if the meter is either:

• faulty, or
• needs to be replaced as testing indicates it may become faulty, or
• has reached the end of its life.

This applies to new tenancy agreements signed from 23 March 2020.

Connection and supply of bottled gas

If bottled gas is provided, the landlord must pay for installation costs and charges for the initial connection to the property.

The landlord also pays for the supply or hire of gas bottles at the start of the tenancy.

During the tenancy, the tenant pays for the supply of bottled gas for the property.

Interference with supply

A landlord or agent who interferes with the supply of electricity, gas, water, telecommunications services or other services to the rented property will be in breach of the tenancy agreement.

This doesn’t include if the interference is necessary to avoid danger to any person or for maintenance or repairs.

Access for repairs

The landlord/agent, or another person authorised by the landlord, can enter the premises without the tenant's consent for certain purposes. In the case of maintenance and repairs, a tradesperson is permitted to enter a rental property to carry out the repairs.

A person authorised by the landlord or agent must have written consent from the landlord or agent to enter the premises.

A tenant can request a copy of this consent before anyone enters their home.