The person who pays for air conditioning electricity is the person who pays the meter the system is wired to, unless the tenancy or lease says a different recovery. On the tenant's consumer unit, those kilowatt-hours sit on the tenant's bill. On a landlord's supply or a communal board, the lease, tenancy or service charge says how that cost is passed on. Who paid to install the split is a separate question. This is general information, not legal advice. Read the agreement.
The account named on that supply
Electricity is billed to the account on that supply. A split wired to the flat's consumer unit, with the tenant named on the energy account, puts the running cost on the tenant. A split wired to a landlord's cupboard meter puts the units on that account first.
The tenancy, the lease and the hours the room runs
How a landlord then recovers a landlord-meter cost depends on the tenancy or the lease. Some agreements leave it with the landlord. Some recover it as a charge. Silence in a casual email does not rewrite the agreement. If the wording is unclear, ask before the first hot week, and take advice if money is already in dispute. A tenancy can ban alterations and still say the tenant pays all electricity used in the dwelling. A lease can put plant in the service charge even when the tenant wanted the comfort. The Leasehold Advisory Service and GOV.UK leasehold guidance help you see how leasehold costs are structured. A private rented house is the same principle with a different document: the tenancy and the meter.
Business occupiers should read the demise and the service charge schedule. A shared system for the building is a different bill from a split that serves one unit only. Whoever pays, the size of the bill is input kilowatts times hours times the unit rate. Cooling in the daytime, empty-room running, and a blocked filter all change the units. Energy Saving Trust's air-to-air heat pump explanation is the efficiency context. It does not decide the covenant.
Install cost and running cost are different questions. Install cost follows what you agreed at the time. Running cost follows the meter and the tenancy or lease. A service charge can include the electricity when the lease or tenancy allows that recovery. Read the schedule. This page cannot interpret your document for you, and it is not legal advice.
The meter does not assign the service
F-gas maintenance is another split of duties, often written beside repair obligations. Paying the electric does not, by itself, make you the person who must service the plant. Check that clause too.
Frequently asked questions
Does the landlord have to pay to run the air conditioning?
Only if the system is on the landlord's supply and the agreement does not recover that cost, or if the agreement puts the cost on the landlord. A unit on the tenant's meter is on the tenant's bill.
If I paid for the install, do I pay the electric?
Not automatically. Install cost follows what you agreed at the time. Running cost follows the meter and the tenancy or lease.
Can a service charge include the electricity?
Yes, when the lease or tenancy allows that recovery. Read the schedule. This page cannot interpret your document for you.
Does paying the bill make me responsible for the service?
No. Paying the electric does not, by itself, make you the person who must service the plant. F-gas maintenance is often written beside the repair obligations. Check that clause too.
Core buying guides
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Related guides
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How this guide was prepared
This guide was written by the Local AC Installers Editorial Team. We compare official guidance, legislation and established consumer information, separate general information from project-specific advice, and show publication dates and sources. We do not accept installer accreditation claims at face value.