What are the benefits of having prepaid electricity meters for landlords? Is it in any way preferable to having a standard municipal meter?
As a landlord you will enjoy several benefits of having prepaid meters installed:
- Prepaid meters can be installed and set up quickly for your property(ies).
- There are no hidden, unexpected costs.
- The tenants are fully responsible for their usage and spending.
- No disputes on electricity readings and bills.
- You will never be left with a large municipal debt after tenants have left.
- You can set up arrears to be collected via the meters for tenants in arrears.
These benefits of having prepaid meters will save you money, but more importantly, time and hassle.
Will prepaid electricity meters save me money?
You will need to cover the initial cost of the meter as well as the installation, but from that point on it will cost you nothing extra. Everything will now be in your tenant’s hands. No time is taken up with disputes with tenants or delays on payments, etc.
The real saving here is on time – and time is money. With a prepaid meter, you are ensuring no back and forth each month, no more having to read meters and work out the rate charged by the council, and no extra admin.
Will my tenants save money?
After looking into this, we have noticed that consumption comes down after prepaid meters are installed, with an increased awareness of how much electricity is being consumed on a daily basis.
The meter does benefit your tenants in other ways by putting them fully in control of their electricity spend each month. The meter will allow them to better plan their usage ensuring they don’t run up a high bill without realising it. This is often one of the causes of disputes with landlords, which can result in delays on payment and a lot of unnecessary back and forth between tenant, landlord, and the municipality.
How can I help my tenants save money?
One of the hungriest energy users in a household is the geyser. As a landlord, you can help your tenants by ensuring the geyser is efficient and well insulated to minimize its energy consumption. The second area to look into is the oven. Seeing that the oven elements are working correctly and the seals are all in good condition to minimize heat loss, will ensure lower electricity usage here as well. Lastly, fitting energy efficient light bulbs can assist to lower electricity consumption.
Other than that, it will be up to your tenants to monitor their usage and keep their electricity costs down.
How long does it take to set up the meters?
Once you have accepted our quotation and we have all relevant paperwork for the prepaid meters, we can generally install your meter(s) within two working days. Once the meter is installed, it is ready to go, and your tenants can immediately buy a token and enjoy the peace of mind of always knowing what they are spending.
Are there any on-going costs to the landlord?
There are no hidden or on-going costs to the landlord when it comes to your prepaid electricity meters. This is part of the benefit of using prepaid meters on your rental units. Once the meter is purchased and installed there is a 15% admin fee charged to the tenant when they purchase electricity. It is simply up to the tenant to keep up his or her electricity payments and monitor their usage. The landlord will have to continue to pay the council bill with the refund that is received from the vending platform.
So just to recap, the benefits you get from having prepaid meters installed are:
- No hidden, unexpected costs.
- Your tenants are fully responsible for their usage and spending.
- No disputes on electricity readings and bills causing payment delays.
- You will not be left with a large municipal debt after tenants have left.
Having prepaid electricity meters installed means a lot less stress and time wastage for you and a lot more control for your tenants.
Get in touch with us and find out how we can best assist you with the right meter for your unit(s).
