Being a landlord today is no easy task. There are regulations you need to live up to and standards that need to be met to meet the needs of the modern tenant. Besides that, the paperwork involved, the money and time spent, and the effort needed to maintain a good relationship with your renter can all add up to a workload that at times feels very overwhelming and difficult to deal with. In more recent times, a hot topic on the minds of everyone is the rising cost of living particularly within the realms of energy expenses and rising utility bills.
What is Submetering?
So, what is submetering? Let’s relate it back to a term with which we are all familiar: subletting. When it comes to subletting this is a situation where a renter can go on to rent out part of their accommodation to another individual or party. Now oftentimes letting is not something you want in your rental policy but for the sake of explaining this broad term of submetering, it is a good example of the principle behind the term. Sublettinginvolves one agreement of rental within one property and in a similar way, submetering is a way of monitoring the meter readings of individual residences within one property. Usually, utility usage is monitored by one overall metre that provides the figures of consumption of an entire building. This is where electric submeters for landlords could be a solution that will lessen your workload as submetering allows you to monitor the energy usage of individual tenants. This means you can more accurately bill your tenants according to their individual utility usage. Now setting up a submeter system may take a little bit more time and effort in the beginning. So, is it really worth the hassle? Let’s find out by considering the advantages that come with submetering.
How Submetering Helps…
Your tenants
By having an accurate eye on the individual utility usage of your tenants, they will have a much more positive experience when it comes to paying their bills Rather than being lumped with one big bill, they will see how their actions in regard to utility usage have an impact on that bill at the end of the utility period, whether that’s positive or negative. It will help to make sure the bills of the building remain within a reasonable price range that your tenants can afford. Tenants will no longer have to wait in expectation of that utility bill not knowing how high the cost will be.
Your compliance
As previously mentioned,the role of a landlord is slowly involving more and more work in regard to adherence toregulations and compliance standards. Many knew regulations and standards regarding sustainability. You need to prove that you can meet the criteria for energy efficiency. With the implementation of submetering, you will be able to better monitor energy usage and therefore take action to improve it and remain compliant. In some states, the installation of submeters has become a mandatory procedure in order to improve sustainability. Endeavour to make sure you’re constantly checking updated regulations and adapting accordingly. any time or effort you put into doing so is nothing in comparison to the time and money you’ll have to spend if you have to face the consequences of becoming non-compliant with recent regulations and standards.
Your billing
Submeters provide a significantly greater higher level of accuracy when it comes to tenant billing.As discussed not only is this good for your tenant but it’s good for you too. When the tenants see how much they spend, they’re going to have more motivation to make changes to reduce their bills which will make your job even easier in the future.
Your planet
Needless to say, the energy crisis is more than just financial. Around the world, we see more and more evidence of the deadly effects of human existence on this planet. Things need to change and they need to change sooner rather than later by implementing a submetering system in your property you’re making a contribution to the work that needs to be done to restore the health of the planet. As you track the usage of energy throughout the individual units of your property you will be able to pinpoint specific areas that would benefit from some improvement.
Your building
When energy usage readings are unclear and non-specific it’s hard to identify any problems with the energy systems in your building. Any dangerous issues like gas leaks or annoying inconveniences like leaky taps and toilets can end up going undetected due to vague data. With in-depth monitoring of the building’s energy usage through the tools available within the field of submetering, you can identify any issues where resources are being wasted. Not only could these issues prove to be a physical hazard to the health and life of your tenants, but unresolved leaks and system failures will result in more material damage and therefore big claimswith your insurance provider. Bigger claims mean bigger premiums and bigger bills. This is just one of many examples that prove how submetering is going to make your life as a landlord change in a big way and for the better.
The Bottom Line
If you want to prepare your rented property for the future, submetering is something you seriously need to consider, and consider it now. It’s going to save you time, money, and a whole lot of work. Your tenants will thank you for it and the planet will too. If the subject has piqued your interest, do some more research on the various things you can do to make a more positive impact on your tenants and a less negative impact on the planet. There are plenty of resources and information out there that will help you to make your role as a landlord even more successful and your rented properties as future-proof as can be.
