How to charge ‘tenant’ for electricity usage over set amount?

[ElectricQuery]

My elderly mum has a person moving in as part of a Homeshare agreement. The sharer gets free accommodation in exchange for 10 hours of help in the house per week.

It’s an old house with no central heating so heating is via plug-in electric heaters.

What would be the best way of setting a ceiling for electricity use, above which the sharer has to contribute to the electricity bill? I just don’t want mum to potentially be left with a huge bill.

Could use a plug-in electricity usage monitor on the heaters in the sharer’s bedroom. She’d need one for each heater in her room. I’m not sure this is viable solution.

Any ideas of a better way to do it?

(The company who set up the Homeshare are no help on this.)

Any excess would have to be based on usage and not cost alone, otherwise the carer would be penalised if tariffs increased, or if bills were based on estimated readings instead of actual.

Already sounds like lack of control/awareness of utility costs due to not keeping past bills to check previous usage and mention of previous estimates.

At the very least, if thinking about excess charges, the homeowner would need to get on top if it themselves, ie take meter readings and be aware of tariffs etc, so that extra costs could be accurately determined which needs accurate comparisons from at least a year beforehand, preferably longer.

No I meant the water usage will rise enormously - not that the companion will be doing the personal care. This is care though and the OP seems to be very touchy about using the word but the companion is providing the same service as MIL's carer.

I think I'd take a quick step back and look at why the previous tenant racked up such a high bill. If it was because they were genuinely careless about energy usage (eg heating rooms to a very warm temperature when they were not in use) that's one thing. If they just liked to be warm (and who doesn't) and it's th einefficient heating system that caused the high bills, that's another. I'd also look at my mum's current usage in terms of how she heats the house. If she is using electric heaters to just ehat the room she is in then having another person is going to, inevitably, push the costs ups as they will be in differen trooms at different times etc. That's the foundation I would use to help me to my answer.

Assuming it's genuinely the former and they were careless, and assuming my mum heated more or less the whole house for herself anyway, I'd perhaps take last year's usage and a cold winter can add about 25% to that. I would then perhaps set the guideline limit at anything higher than last year + 30%.

But, ultimately, I think if you are going to share your home like this there has to be a large element of trust or it won't work. Which means regular reviews in the early days and a willingness to call an end to it if the two people just are not compatible. (And I would not be compatible with someone who increased my bills by £700 a month!).

At the very least, if thinking about excess charges, the homeowner would need to get on top if it themselves, ie take meter readings and be aware of tariffs etc, so that extra costs could be accurately determined which needs accurate comparisons from at least a year beforehand, preferably longer.

I agree with this also. It's requires much closer insight into current and ongoing usage.

This is simply not going to work. There is obviously a problem with heating the house. A proper heating system needs to be installed before you even consider asking somebody to come and live in this house.

Yes, my parents and aunts/uncles washed at the sink with a flannel and the occasional bath rather than a daily shower that most people consider normal now.

An old house with limited heating….. How does your mum keep the mould out?
I’m genuinely asking. Used to live in a similar house for 1 years as a student and the mould was at unsafe levels.

I think if the house doesn't have adequate heating other than expensive plugin heaters then yabu to put any restrictions on their use. If the electricity bill shoots up then the solution is to get proper heating installed and improve insulation, not make some poor sod live in a cold house. It's not unreasonable to say that if you are cold put on a jersey. But if you are already wearing a jersey and are still cold then yes the heating can go on. It is not reasonable to expect this live-in carer to take the financial hit for an elderly woman's unreasonable attitude to heating.

That’s a reasonable take. Living like it’s still the 1800’s is not acceptable nowadays.
If it’s a big old house with no double glazing and single skin solid walls, will cost a fortune to heat, if it would even be able to get to a reasonable temperature.

As others have said it just doesn’t sound like your mum and her house are suited to a lodger. It’s easy to say you just want to protect her from people leaving the heating on when they go out but are you going to put limits on how long they must be out for per day? My experience of electrical heating is it’s not like central heating which heats the whole house up properly, it gets cold again within minutes of turning it off. So if someone doesn’t go out that day they might need it on for 10 hours that day.

I think oil filled radiators are more efficient than electric fan heaters - worth checking? I have an Eco+ setting on mine which cuts the power once the temp is a certain level. Also, it doesn't make any noise!

Thermostatically controlled convector heaters are good, it doesn't have to be fan heaters.

Just what I was thinking.

But your mum's idea of reasonable doesn't sound that reasonable. You've said yourself she doesn't like to put heating on.

No, it genuinely can work really well. Some older people (especially if recently widowed) just don't feel safe or comfortable in a house on their own at night. Having a friendly housemate coming or going who can also hoover the stairs, change lightbulbs, de-ice the path and change a double duvet cover and have a chat over breakfast or dinner can be really helpful. And if the tenants are vetted and matched well, it can be much more congenial than a poorly paid home help coming in for an hour a day, always in a rush and just wanting to get away asap.

I'm sure there are genuine costs in vetting both parties, and I'm sure a lot of it has to be repeated where arrangements fall through, or the house or client is not suitable, or the tenant moves on. The price the OP has quoted seems excessive though.

I agree. It sounds miserable as they'd always be coming home to a freezing room which may take a while to heat up while their teeth are chattering.
Are they going to be allowed to shower daily? Will your mum expect them to cook to her specifications and eat the same themselves?

Agree with this. OP you clearly stated your mum is 'anti heating' she sounds like one of those people who's adamant that 15-16 degrees is perfectly fine, for lots of people that's much too cold to be comfortable. She also doesn't have a heating system in place (and doesn't want one!) which heats the whole home.
It sounds to me she is insisting on continuing to live in a house that is now too large for her and that she cannot afford to properly maintain.

On a different tack - would your mother be eligible for a government grant for a new boiler? Which should be cheaper to run than several individual electric heaters. Thermostats on radiators, so heating only where needed aren't too expensive, but could keep the heating cost down considerably.

The big advantage would then be heating done when time comes to sell & care home = easier to sell OR easier to attract live in carers etc

Yes I agree with this.

Not fair to expect someone to live in cold conditions without providing a cheap way of heating.

I would expect bills to be included and to pretty much double with another person in the house.

Does your Mum know roughly how much her electricity bills are per month/quarter? Alternatively, are you able to look at her bank statements to see what she's been paying. Prices are about to go up again, I think around 10%, so I think it'd be good for her or you to have a word with the person moving in to say your concerned about the electricity bill, your Mum is paying say £100pm right now, to which she'll pay 25% extra, but anything over that would they be in a position to contribute. That allows for inflation, colder winter and to some extent it'd be reasonable to provide heat and hot water for the person.

I think this is a bit of a major issue. You can't really expect someone to live in UK without central heating and then be too prescriptive about heating. It's just inherently going to be very expensive to get to a reasonable heating level.

You don’t have proof of previous bills which makes it very tricky and she has a condemned boiler. You want this person to live with a condemned boiler?

9-10 Years ago I lived in a 11x18ft studio flat that was so balls off cold that it cost me £60 a week to stop from being freezing cold in SUMMER. Winter was double.

If a previous tenant used £700 pm I would suggest that your mum cannot afford to have this setup if she doesn’t want to pay it. Because from bitter experience I can easily see how heating one large room with a crappy electric heater could now cost that.

She decided to be tight and not install central heating and now she has to pay for that decision. What was she even thinking would happen to her as she ages? She wouldn’t be affected by cold?

Nothing about your replies seems reasonable.

Make other arrangements.

Thinking about this more I think she absolutely shouldn't add a clause to claim unreasonable electricity use. Your mum's idea of unreasonable will be most people's idea of necessary.

Her lodger will expect to be warm and to be able to wash daily. In a cold house with inefficient heating this will probably mean leaving the heating on when she's at home.

It's hard to think of use that could be considered unreasonable. It's unlikely the lodger will set up a cannabis farm in her room. Yes I suppose going out and leaving the heating on (although if it's really cold I can even sympathise with that - as it will keep the heat ticking over). But your mum will have access to the room. It's something she could check on and speak about if necessary - and even terminate the agreement if things are serious. But 'unreasonable' use (in most people's opinion) is unlikely, and the lodger shouldn't be penalised for just wanting to be comfortable.

@anyoneforcustard

her Mum doesn't need a carer. She just wants someone around for a bit of company & possibly reassurance over night.

@ElectricQuery

these situations can work very nicely, but I'd look privately or at different agencies, both of them paying that much to an agency every month is utterly ridiculous.

i would suggest just talking to the companion & explaining that you want them to be comfortable, but your mum prefers a cooler house & doesn't want to be paying huge bills so can they be mindful please. Then I would suggest just doing monthly readings and payments to the energy supplier & seeing how it goes.

Perhaps this is just personal paranoia but, quite apart from the cost, plug-in electric heating isn't terribly safe. You're not supposed to leave this things unattended; I use them a bit, but never overnight or when I'm out as I will with central heating when it's properly cold. You really don't want unnecessary fire risks in a big house occupied by an elderly woman who struggles to do her own shopping and cooking.