Utilities and reconciliations FAQs

Your utility charges include electricity, heat, and water, including the costs of cold water, hot water, heat, and wastewater. You’ll be charged in pence per unit (kWh) of fuel for electricity/heat, with a daily standing charge in pence per day. For water, you'll be charged in pounds per unit of water (m3) with a daily standing charge in pence per day. The prices are agreed with our energy partner as part of our annual energy tariffs.  

On 1 April of every year, we secure a new 12-month fixed-term agreement. The annual rates (for unit and standing charges) are based on several factors, including the cost of energy purchased during the fixed period and these are agreed with our energy partner. 

The lead resident can view your building's tariffs in the Quintain Living utilities portal and on the monthly statements. 

We’ll do the legwork for you and take payment via Direct Debit with your rent. Your monthly payments are based on a forecast of how much energy we think you'll use based on the average consumption across all our buildings for the number of bedrooms. This is reviewed annually and if any changes are needed outside of this, we will always give you 30 days' notice. Then every quarter we review your usage and reconcile your account to make sure you’re only paying for what you use. You can find out more about reconciliations below. 

Your unit rate is made up of the cost of the actual wholesale energy at the time it was purchased and the fixed costs from the supplier which covers a range of costs associated with renewable power and transmission of energy, known as a non-commodity charge. The non-commodity costs are fixed each year just before the tariff is agreed upon and are set by our energy partner. You can find out more information on what makes up a unit cost here. 

Living in a large apartment block means that our utilities setup is classed as commercial, and we're therefore not governed by the same regulations as domestic households. Under normal conditions this allows us to get the most competitive tariffs for our residents. However, in recent years it has been increasingly challenging due to record high wholesale energy costs. So, even though wholesale prices are currently falling, energy is still very expensive in comparison to before the energy crisis.*

Unfortunately, the Energy Price Cap that protects domestic households from high energy (electricity and gas) costs doesn't apply to us. As residents, you benefit from a 12-month fixed-term tariff for utilities. This protects you from fluctuations in the market for an entire year, even during various price cap periods when the domestic market might experience significant increases due to changes in underlying energy markets.

*Updated in March 2024.

A standing charge (or shown as a metering charge on your monthly statements) is a fixed daily amount every UK resident must pay for energy and water, no matter how much you use. Every apartment pays the charge, and it covers the costs our energy supplier takes on to get you your energy. Think of it like a line rental but for your energy rather than your phone. Nationwide, standing charges are on the rise due to various factors affecting energy firms.* These include the need to cover costs associated with failed companies and the maintenance of electricity infrastructure. 

*Updated in March 2024. 

To ensure you only pay for what you use, we review your usage quarterly and the difference between what you have paid for the quarter and your actual usage is credited/debited to your account. The lead resident will be able to view these reconciliations in the 'Payment Summary' section of the resident app, providing you with advance notice of any changes. Additionally, we'll send an email to the lead resident once the reconciliation is complete.  

Any adjustments made during the reconciliation will be reflected in your payments, either as credits or debits, on the dates outlined below:  

• Quarter 1 (January to March): Reconciliation expected by 1st May, adjustment reflected in June's direct debit
• Quarter 2 (April to June): Reconciliation expected by 1st August, adjustment reflected in September's direct debit
• Quarter 3 (July to September): Reconciliation expected by 1st November, adjustment reflected in December's direct debit
• Quarter 4 (October to December): Reconciliation expected by 1st February, adjustment reflected in March's direct debit 

An example of how this looks: If your fixed monthly utilities payment for a 1 bedroom is £100 per month and between 01 January and 31 March your total usage (including VAT & standing charges) comes to £80 per month, you will be informed of the adjustment (+£60) by 1st May and it is deducted from your rent payment in June’s direct debit payment.  

The breakdown of your charges will be visible under the ‘Payment Summary’ within the ‘My Account’ section of your resident app. Both your monthly utilities charge and reconciliations will show in your payment summary as ‘Charge – Utilities’ as shown below. Please note this will only be visible to the lead resident. 

Tip: Your monthly utilities charge will show in your payment summary as a whole number ‘£95’ – remember this number is agreed upon when you move in, and you will be familiar with the payment coming out every month. Whereas your reconciliation will usually show as uneven as we are either adding credit +/-£ to your account based on your usage and will only appear quarterly unless there was an issue adjusting your account.  

As mentioned above, your monthly utilities charge shows each month in your resident app and quarterly you will see an additional debit/credit for your reconciliation. 

If you’re the lead resident, you can access your statements in the Quintain Living utilities portal here. Your latest statement is typically available for you to view in the portal around the middle of the month for the previous month's usage. For example, February’s statement will be available in mid-March. In addition to this, the lead resident will also receive a copy of the statement when it’s ready via email.  

If you’re a new resident, the lead resident will receive an email with a link to register for an account within 2 weeks of moving in. If you’re having trouble accessing your account or have not received a link to register, please get in touch with your Resident team. 

We only use estimate readings when, unfortunately, there is an issue with any of your meter data at the beginning or end of each month. The estimates used are based on your previous average usage and apartment size. Our aim is that your statement reflects your actual usage, so please rest assured that we are taking the necessary actions to fix any issues that are preventing us from billing on actual readings. Once we have actual readings, any difference between your estimate and actual readings will be reflected in your statements. Below is an example of how you can tell from your statement if we have used estimated readings. 

To be clear on what makes up your costs, your VAT is split out on your statement so you can see what is being charged. VAT at 5% applies to electricity, heating and hot water. VAT is not charged on fresh and waste water.

Your meter only provides one daily read to the supplier and therefore it is not possible to provide a day/night rate as they are not able to apportion the usage to the correct time period. Instead, your rate is blended so the cheaper night element of the rate is blended into the day rate, reducing it and creating a lower flat overall rate. This means that you get some of the benefit of the cheaper night rate for any usage in the day. As an example, although you may not get a cheaper rate for doing your washing at night, all of your daytime usage is cheaper because of this.

You can't change supplier as the energy set up at Quintain Living is with a commercial supplier and the metering infrastructure on site doesn’t give residents the option to choose their supplier. This set-up was chosen at the development stage to provide competitive tariffs for residents as well as manage all utilities under one bill. This means you do not need to search for the best energy deals, pay multiple suppliers and manage multiple utilities. In addition, your utilities are already set up when you move in and will end when you move out to make things easier for you. 

The energy and water usage for your apartment will be taken as part of your single rent and utilities Direct Debit payment. You’ll need to settle any costs among your flatmates separately.

It’s important to us that we, and our suppliers, deliver the service you expect. If you’re having any problems with water, heat, or electricity supply, please let your Resident team know by reporting an issue in your resident app or for urgent issues call us on 0203 219 2165 as soon as you can so we can investigate. 

Making just a few small changes in your home can have a big impact on your energy bills and can help you save money. Don’t forget to check out the MoneySavingExpert saving tips here.

Final meter readings and any pending quarterly reconciliations will be taken into account as part of your move-out process and your final end-of-tenancy balance will be calculated using these. If you’re in credit after your final bill, we will arrange for this to be refunded to you. Alternatively, if you owe us money, a charge will be raised on your account and the payment will be deducted from your deposit (if applicable) or settled by a payment link or bank transfer.