Landlord energy resale mark-up

Short answer

No. A landlord or accommodation provider who buys gas or electricity from a supplier and then resells it to you generally cannot add a mark-up or make a profit on the energy itself. This is governed by the Maximum Resale Price (MRP) rules, made under section 37 of the Gas Act 1986 and section 44 of the Electricity Act 1989, and enforced through directions issued by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (Ofgem).

What the Maximum Resale Price rules say

The core rule is that the maximum price at which each unit of gas or electricity may be resold is the same price the reseller paid to their authorised supplier. In other words, they can pass on their cost but cannot charge you more per unit than they were charged.

The MRP applies where energy from an authorised supplier is resold for domestic use or for use in any form of accommodation. That expressly includes rented homes and, in practice, student accommodation, houses in multiple occupation, park homes, marinas and similar arrangements where the occupier is not the person with the direct supply contract.

The price you can be charged fairly includes:

1. The unit price the landlord actually paid for the energy you used.

2. A fair share of any standing charge (the fixed daily fee on the energy account), apportioned between the people supplied.

What it does not permit is a margin, administration profit, or a premium added on top of the genuine cost of the energy. Reasonable, genuine metering or administration costs are treated separately and cautiously, but the energy itself must be passed through at cost.

How it applies to metered and unmetered arrangements

Where there is a working submeter, the calculation is straightforward: your usage multiplied by the unit rate the landlord paid, plus your fair share of the standing charge.

Where there is no meter that allows this, for example where energy is included in an inclusive rent or a fixed weekly charge set in advance, the MRP direction requires the charge to be estimated with the objective of not exceeding what a properly metered charge would have been. So even an all-inclusive fixed charge cannot lawfully be used as a way of building in a profit on the energy.

Important distinction: resale versus inclusive rent

The rules bite on resale of energy. They do not stop a landlord from letting a property at a market rent that happens to include utilities, provided the arrangement is genuinely an inclusive rent rather than a mechanism for reselling metered energy at a profit. The practical question is whether you are effectively being charged for the energy you consume (resale, where MRP applies) or paying a single inclusive figure for accommodation. If the provider itemises energy or charges by consumption, the MRP cap is very likely to apply.

There is also a separate situation to keep in mind. If you have your own direct contract with an energy supplier, the MRP does not apply at all, because there is no resale, and you simply pay your supplier’s tariff.

What to check before assuming you have been overcharged

Before treating this as unlawful overcharging, it is worth pinning down the facts, because there are legitimate explanations for a higher-looking figure:

The standing charge. Your bill legitimately includes a share of the daily standing charge, so a per-unit comparison alone can look inflated when it is not.

The tariff the landlord actually pays. Landlords and communal or commercial supplies are sometimes on higher tariffs than a typical domestic deal, and business energy contracts can be more expensive. Passing on a genuinely higher cost is permitted; adding a margin on top is not.

Estimated versus actual usage. Disputes often arise from estimated readings rather than deliberate profiteering.

Non-energy service charges. Charges labelled for maintenance, hot water plant, or building services are a different category and are not necessarily caught by the MRP.

Practical steps if you think there is a mark-up

1. Gather your evidence: your tenancy or accommodation agreement, any energy schedule, your bills or statements, and meter readings if you have them.

2. Ask the provider in writing for a breakdown showing the unit rate and standing charge they were charged by their own supplier, and how your charge was calculated. They are expected to be able to justify the figures against the MRP.

3. Compare their charge to you against the cost they paid. If your unit rate exceeds what they paid, that points to an unlawful mark-up.

4. Raise a clear written complaint to the landlord or accommodation provider, referring to the Maximum Resale Price rules and asking for a refund of the excess. Keep it factual and dated.

5. If it is not resolved, you can complain to Ofgem, which sets and can enforce the MRP direction, and take free advice from Citizens Advice consumer service on energy. For student accommodation, also check whether the provider is a member of a code such as the ANUK/Unipol National Code, which has its own complaints route, and whether your university accommodation office can intervene.

6. As a last resort, an overcharge above the MRP is recoverable as a civil debt, so a small claim in the County Court is possible, but the earlier routes are usually quicker, cheaper and less stressful, and are worth exhausting first.

What would change the answer

The outcome turns on a few facts you have not yet given: whether you have your own supply contract or the landlord resells to you; whether energy is charged by consumption or as a genuine all-inclusive rent; the tariff the landlord actually pays; and whether the extra amount is really energy or a separate service charge. If you tell me which of these applies, and give the figures on your agreement and bills, I can be more specific about whether the charge looks lawful and what to ask for.