Are you being charged a lump sum amount for your monthly electricity and water usage? And do you have limited or no visibility of the breakdown of your use? If there is only one electricity meter on the property, it can make it very difficult to monitor and manage your actual utility usage. This is especially true if you rent a property with multiple other tenants, such as granny flats, small dwellings, or other backyard rentals.
It can be pretty frustrating for tenants who are careful and sparing when it comes to using electricity and water to pay the same amount as their neighbours (or more) every month despite their environmentally conscious efforts. Another frustration comes when the landlord refutes your claims that your usage is less than what you are paying for because you have no proof of how much you are using every month.
But there is a way to make this more transparent and fair while still benefiting both tenant and landlord. Prepaid electricity sub-meters have made it possible for both parties to see what’s going on and to make the billing completely accurate – no more guesswork!
The benefits of using a prepaid electricity meter for a tenant
Citiq Prepaid’s sub-meters give you, the tenant, an accurate way to track your monthly utility payments as well as monitor your usage. You have immediate control and complete visibility over your utilities. You can say goodbye to confusing bill sharing, those unpleasant disputes with your landlord, and unexpected lump sum costs.
With Citiq Prepaid sub-meters you can:
- Track your usage through one of our prepaid sub-meters
- Manage your utility payments on a pay-as-you-go basis
- Have visibility over water and electricity usage to more effectively budget and save
- Access the online meter portal to manage bills, use a tariff calculator and buy tokens
- Tokens are easy to buy both offline and online
- Our sub-metering solutions are reliable, and of high quality, so you can depend on it
- Call centre support is available seven days a week
More about the online meter management portal
Our online meter management portal offers you complete transparency and insight into your prepaid utility usage. It is accessible online, from anywhere. Track your spending with detailed reports and information. Landlords and estate managers are also provided with their own portal that offers detailed insights into prepaid sub-metering status and usage.
How to convince your landlord to use sub-meters:
It’s straightforward to convince your landlord to use a sub-meter for their properties because it effectively minimises disputes, cuts out admin and stress, and saves money. Here are some points to mention when you next speak to your landlord:
- Tenants pay for electricity and or water usage upfront
- No more arguing with tenants over electricity usage – tenants pay-as-they-go
- Reduced administration – no need to distribute account bills
- Reduced risk on utility collections – money is collected upfront from tenants
- Pre-payments are fidelity fund insured
- More than one meter can be installed per property
- More control/transparency for developers, landlords, managing agents and tenants
- Reduced risk to uncollected utilities
- Call centre assistance for consumers’ queries
Next steps?
Encourage your landlord to contact Citiq Prepaid directly for more information via our website, by phone at 087 55 111 55, or simply email help@citiqprepaid.co.za.