Renters ''are paying more for gas and electricity''

By MoneyhighStreet Staff. Published on July 14, 2008 This post currently has no comments.

gas meter
People who have mortgages and own their own homes typically have to spend less of their disposable income on their utilities, a new report has indicated.

Research from MoneyExpert.com showed that consumers living in rented accommodation spend as much as 13 per cent of their weekly disposable income on gas and electricity costs.

In contrast, homeowners only end up spending around five per cent of their disposable income on their utility bills.

"Tenants typically pay out more for their energy and power than homeowners," the website''s director, Sean Gardner, commented.

"Theoretically suppliers do not differentiate between renters and homeowners so it must come down to the fact that tenants just don''t think about changing supplier because that responsibility lies with their landlord.

"But if you''re paying more than you should you have every right to ask your landlord to look at switching - it needn''t take long and if you can save money it''s well worth it."

Recently, moneysupermarket.com warned that 40 per cent of consumers are already finding it hard to meet their utility bills.