Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will issue guidance to the private rented sector on the issuing of rental contracts that prohibit tenants from switching electricity suppliers.

The Government has issued guidance to the sector on the rights of tenants in choosing their own energy supplier in the form of a factsheet published by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) in September 2013 which is available online at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/83161/tenancyrightsfactsheetenglishweb.pdf

The factsheet makes it clear that under Ofgem rules, if a tenant is directly responsible for paying the electricity bill, they have the right to choose their own energy supplier and the landlord or letting agent should not unreasonably prevent this. A tenant is still entitled to switch supplier even if there is a default supplier clause in their tenancy agreement.

The only circumstance where a landlord has the right to choose the energy supplier is when they are directly responsible for paying for the gas or electricity. This arrangement would be made clear in the tenancy agreement signed by the tenant.