Charging More Rent for ‘Bills Included’ with Solar: What’s Allowed?

You can usually charge higher rent for a ‘bills included’ setup after installing solar, but you can’t just mark up power and on‑sell it to tenants like a retailer.

The clean way is to charge higher rent with clear inclusions (electricity, sometimes gas/internet), not a per‑kWh tariff, and to keep the total “effective bill” reasonable against local market rates and energy laws in your state.

Getting ‘bills included’ rent right starts with clear, simple lease terms.

What’s legally okay when you add solar and include bills?

There are three moving parts:

1. Residential tenancy law – what you can write into leases.
2. Energy and metering rules – whether you’re treated as an energy retailer.
3. Consumer law – you can’t mislead or gouge.

In most Australian states and territories, you can:

• Offer higher rent with “electricity included”, where the account stays in your name.
• Recover fixed supply charges in the rent (e.g. daily service charge), if disclosed.
• Set reasonable usage limits (e.g. up to $X per quarter or Y kWh/day) with a fair sharing rule if tenants go over.

You risk problems if you:

• Charge tenants a marked‑up per‑kWh rate as if you’re an energy retailer.
• Hide big usage caps or penalties in confusing lease wording.
• Quote “free power from solar” when the system clearly won’t cover typical use.

If you’re unsure, get your managing agent to check your template lease against your state’s tenancy and energy rules before advertising.