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What is a Change of Tenancy or CoT?
Moving into or out of a business premises where responsibility of the energy supply changes is known as a cot or change of tenancy.
It is the responsibility of both the incoming and outgoing tenant to inform the incumbent energy supplier that there has been a change of tenancy.
As the incoming tenant it is vital you do this as quickly as possible as you will be placed on an arbitrary deemed tariff by your new supplier, this tariff can be up to 40% more than an agreed price and can result in unwary business owners receiving large bills.
How do I register a change of Tenancy?
As an Incoming Tenant
As the new occupier of a business premise it is essential you register your occupancy and arrange to switch to a cheaper tariff as quickly as possible.
In most cases an email or phone call is all it takes to register your COT. Make sure you have the reading you took when you moved in close to hand as your incumbent supplier will need this and it ensures you will not be held liable for the previous occupiers consumption.
Your incumbent supplier may also ask for proofs before they process your COT. These will most likely be one of the following:
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Confirmation from your Landlord
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A copy of your business rates statement
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Confirmation from your solicitor or accountant
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A copy of the Title Deeds in cases where you have purchased the property
As an Outgoing Tenant
As the outgoing tenant it is essential you inform your supplier as soon as possible to avoid being charged for any consumption by the new tenant. It is vital you take your final reading and submit it with your COT information, you can most likely do this online through your suppliers customer portal.
Your current supplier will also always ask you for a forwarding address for any final correspondence. If you are moving to new premise now is also the time to look at the best tariff options as your new supplier will charge you a higher deeemd tariff until you do. Get in touch to see how we can help source the best energy deal for your new place!
As a Landlord
As the landlord of what is now an empty property it is essential you make sure your outgoiong tenant has informed their supplier of them leaving. Make sure you provide the incumbent supplier with a meter reading to ensure you are not charged for any of your tenant's consumption.
If you are unable to provide a reading the incumbent supplier will 'deem' what the reading will most likely have been on the day you took responsibility based on historic consumption data. This reading is checked independently but you can challenge it if you think it may be wrong or provide a meter reading after the date and ask that this be taken into account.
The incumbent supplier may wish to perform a land registry seacrch to confirm you are the landlord of the property, this is especially likely if they are unable to verify the COT with your outgoing tenant.
As a landlord you might not think energy tariffs are of concern for empty properties but all suppliers will charge a higher deemed tariff and with some larger meters commanding deemed standing charges in excess of £10 per day its worth asking us to take a look at a specialist landlord tariff for you here.