At Chapmans, we pride ourselves on spotting problems early and putting solutions in place for our landlords. One of the biggest issues we’ve been facing over the past year is what happens when tenants move out, specifically around utilities and council tax.
The process should be straightforward: we notify the council and utility companies, give final meter readings, and confirm the void period. Bills should arrive with us, we pay what landlords are due to pay for the empty period on their behalf, and everyone moves on.
But in reality, that’s not what happens. It’s becoming increasingly common that the final bill statements don’t arrive. In fact, often the first sign that there’s an outstanding balance can be a final demand letter or even one from a debt collection agency, sometimes months later, and often with penalty fees added on top.
This situation is stressful, unnecessary, and time-consuming for everyone involved. And while we always reassure our landlords that debts from tenants or void periods won’t sit under their personal name, it’s still an unpleasant experience to receive a penalty demand you were never told about.
Where the system breaks down
Council Tax: When a property becomes vacant, landlords are liable for council tax during the empty period. If the property is unfurnished, councils should apply a 100% exemption. But bills don’t always reach the right place, or worse, they’re sent directly to landlords instead of us, even though we’ve requested otherwise, or just never sent at all.
Utilities: We provide final meter readings and move-out dates, but companies aren’t always issuing bills. Instead, debt collection letters claiming money has gone unpaid, arrive out of the blue. There has been a lot of mergers and changes with suppliers and we can end up caught up in the administration transfer.
Red Tape: To make matters more complicated, councils and utilities frequently refuse to speak to us, because technically we’re not the account holder. That means going back to landlords to request a “Letter of Authority” before we can do anything at all.
Understandably, this results in landlords questioning what’s gone wrong, while we spend hours chasing paperwork that should never have gone missing in the first place.
A smarter way forward
We’ve trialled a new approach to take the sting out of this issue. By partnering with OVO Energy and Help the Move, we can take control of the gap between tenants moving out and new ones moving in. Here’s how it works:
- Proactively switch supply to OVO at the point tenants move out.
- OVO applies up to £55 credit to the account, which covers 30 days standing charges during void periods and £15 credit for each fuel type.
- We now have a direct business-to-business line with OVO and Help the Move, meaning issues can be resolved quickly and cleanly.
- Improve efficiency and control with clear summary bills sent directly to us, reducing the risk of nasty surprises.
Most importantly, this reduces the risk of debt collection agencies ever getting involved. And while tenants are free to switch to another provider once they move in, this system ensures landlords are protected during the gap with less admin all round. We have chosen to work with Ovo as they have good customer service and competitive pricing structures.
What this means for you
For our landlords, this also means less stress around unpaid utility bills, reduced admin as we can deal directly with providers on your behalf, and savings, thanks to OVO’s credit covering most, if not all, standing charges during void periods.
Everything we do at Chapmans comes down to one simple question: how can we make things better for our landlords? By putting partnerships like this in place, it’s another example of how Chapmans do more.
If you’d like to know if your property is priced correctly or areas where you could save, come and talk to us to find out more about how working with Chapmans can help you as a landlord. Book a discovery call or try our free valuation tool.
Take a closer look at what the Edinburgh rental market was doing in 2025 Q2 with the latest Citylets report.
