The general rule: usage is the tenant's, the asset is the landlord's
The broad principle across Australian tenancies is that the tenant pays for the energy they use, and the landlord pays for the infrastructure that delivers it. So a tenant covers their electricity and gas usage charges and the daily supply charge on their own account, while the landlord is responsible for the fixed appliances, the hot water system, the wiring and, in most states, the cost of the initial connection of services to the property.
There are important conditions on this. In most jurisdictions a tenant can only be billed for usage if the premises is separately metered, so their consumption can actually be measured. If a property is not separately metered — common in some older blocks or share arrangements — the rules on what a tenant can be charged tighten considerably, because you cannot fairly bill someone for power you cannot measure.
Who pays for what — the common split
- Electricity and gas usage
- Tenant — the usage and supply charges on their own account, provided the premises is separately metered.
- Initial connection of services
- Usually the landlord in most states, though rules vary — check your state's tenancy legislation.
- Fixed appliances and hot water
- Landlord — the oven, ducted heating, hot water system and any solar are the owner's assets to supply and maintain.
- Repairs to supplied appliances
- Landlord — if an owner-supplied heater or hot water unit fails, repairing it is the owner's responsibility.
- Embedded network or bottled gas
- Varies — where the tenant cannot choose a retailer, or uses bottled LPG, check the lease and state rules on what can be on-charged.
Minimum energy efficiency standards
Rental minimum standards have been tightening across Australia, and several states now set baseline requirements a rental must meet — for example, Victoria requires a fixed heater in the main living area and has been phasing in further efficiency measures, and other states have introduced or flagged their own minimum standards covering things like draught sealing, ceiling insulation and hot water. The details differ by state and change over time, so both landlords and tenants should check their current state tenancy authority rather than assume.
These standards matter because a poorly insulated, inefficiently heated home costs the tenant far more to run even on the cheapest plan. Efficiency upgrades are generally the landlord's domain — insulation, an efficient heat pump hot water system, draught sealing, a reverse-cycle split system — and where a state mandates them, they become an obligation rather than a favour. Tenants can and should ask, and point to the relevant minimum standard where one exists.
For a landlord, efficiency is also a selling point: a rental that is cheap to run is easier to let and keep let, and upgrades like heat-pump hot water or solar can be offset by rebates in many states. Both sides win when the property is efficient — the tenant pays less to live there, and the owner has a more attractive, compliant asset.
The tenant's biggest lever, and the landlord's
For a tenant, the fastest saving is on the part they control: the retailer and plan on their own account. If the account is in your name and you are separately metered and not in an embedded network, you can compare and switch without the landlord's involvement. Because rentals are often left on whatever default plan the connection started on, this is frequently the single biggest quick win available.
For a landlord, the lever is the asset: efficient appliances, insulation and, where it stacks up, solar and heat-pump hot water — often with rebate support — cut what the property costs to run and keep it compliant with rising standards. Either way, comparing the relevant account on the whole market and real usage keeps the bill honest. EnergySorted does this for a flat annual fee with no retailer commissions, so whether you are the tenant paying the usage bill or the owner running a common or shared account, you can confirm you are on the genuinely cheapest plan.