Pressure continues to build on letting agents to play a greater role in the adoption of smart meters across the private rental sector.
Currently it’s thought the adoption of the meters has been held back by confusion amongst letting agents as to who is responsible for installing a smart meter.
Research has found that 38 per cent of letting agents believe that it is the landlord’s responsibility to install a smart meter, while 51 per cent believe it is the tenant’s.
Now a statement from Propertymark policy chief Timothy Douglas says: “Propertymark and our members recognise that smart meters can send up-to-date information in order to provide more accurate data on energy usage with the aim of reducing spending.
“Tenants, landlords, letting agents and energy companies all have a role to play in improving smart meter take up but this can often be down to different types of properties and tenancy management arrangements in the private rented sector.
“Through Smart Meter Awareness Week [running until Friday of this week] we hope that the sector will be better informed about the benefits of smart meters and understand the installation process.”
Douglas will be one of the speakers at today’s webinar, organised by Smart Energy GB – the organiser of the Smart Meter Awareness Week – with other speakers including rental expert Kate Faulkner and a spokesperson from the Property Redress Scheme.
The webinar is aimed specifically at agents and will advise on the benefits of smart meters, the installation process and combat commonly held misconceptions.
You can register for the event here – it begins at 11am today.
