Cost of Living: 'Missing £400 energy help unfair on tenants'

Residents and business owners in Blackpool talk about the impact of spiralling energy costs

A man who pays his electricity bills through his landlord has said he has had no energy discount and his payments had risen by £100 a month.

Most households receive the final instalment of the government's £400 help with energy bills this month but some say they have not benefited.

The man from Blackpool, who wants to remain anonymous, told the BBC the system was "unfair" on tenants.

The government said it was providing an "unprecedented package of support".

People without a domestic electricity meter and contract with an electricity supplier, such as tenants living in private accommodation who pay for electricity through their landlord, have different energy support to the £400 rebate available.

But the man in Blackpool, who has lived in a large house split into several flats for four years, told BBC North West Tonight his electricity costs had gone up from £40 a month to £140.

"If I put the electric on, I can't afford food - that's the sort of choices you face," he said.

He said the £400 "should have just come through automatically" to tenants and the system was "unfair".

"They know this is a separate flat. I pay separate council tax and I pay separate water rates but yet I don't get that money."

'Black mould'

He said keeping the heat in the flat was "very hard" as he had no hallway door and "over Christmas we actually had ice on the inside of the front door".

"I struggled to turn the handle because it was frozen... the condensation had actually frozen on there overnight."

He added: "Because we couldn't afford to have the heating on - [an] entire wall turned black with mould.

"We've never had that situation before... it was disgusting and it stunk."

The estate agent managing the property told the BBC it was "owned by a company" and the contract in place for the supply of electricity to their flat was a "commercial business contract" and "therefore the landlord is not eligible for the rebates".

They added "should the government change their policy and issue energy grants or rebates to businesses" the firm said it would be "more than happy to split…between tenants."

Hoteliers say running the business is becoming unviable due to soaring costs

Rosi Avis from Citizens Advice said "energy efficiency, particularly in private rented properties, really needs to be a priority" and she urged people to seek help and support.

Government support for businesses will be scaled back from April and companies will get a discount on wholesale prices rather than costs being capped.

Tony Ball, who owns a hotel on Hornby Road in Blackpool, said: "It's just becoming unviable, for what you charge to what you're going to pay in bills and cost of living."

Another hotel owner, Heng Chua, said he had also closed over winter and now the only heating in rooms was small panel heaters which he asked residents to turn off when they are out.

The government says it will continue to support households from April

A government spokesperson said: "We know this has been a difficult time for families and the organisations which support them.

"That's why we've been providing non-domestic energy users with an unprecedented package of support, enabling some to pay around half of predicted wholesale energy costs this winter."

They added: "The law requires that support through our Energy Bill Relief Scheme is passed on to tenants in a just and reasonable way.

"We're providing businesses and other non-domestic energy users with billions of pounds of support which means some have been paying around half of predicted wholesale energy costs over the winter.

"We've pledged further energy support from April onwards."

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