Alto has partnered with Just Move In, who, in addition to their Home-setup services, also offer a Void Utilities Automation service. This is a free energy switching service that's available to all agents when a lettings property is vacant, and it automates and consolidates the admin associated with managing energy accounts during void periods between tenancies.
Note
A void period is the time between one tenancy ending and another starting, where either the landlord or agent is responsible for the property’s energy bill
The service switches the utility bill payer to either the landlord or agent automatically when a void period starts, and closes the account when the new tenant moves in, saving you time and reducing the risk of overpaying.
How the Void Utilities Automation service works
Void Utilities Automation needs to be enabled for each property that you want Just Move In to automatically manage.
Then, once you start the Vacate Property process, Alto sends the necessary information to Just Move In to automatically switch the energy contract.
Just Move In will begin the process of switching billing 7 days before vacate (or immediately if Void Utilities Automation is turned on within 7 days of the vacate).
For the void period, the property energy supplier will be changed to OVO Energy on a standard variable tariff and any credits/benefits will be included in the utility bill.
(New tenants aren't under any obligation to remain with OVO Energy when they move in.)
Utilities will be provided by OVO Energy, who will grant agents/landlords with no standing charge for 20 days and £10 credit per fuel off their void utility bill. Just Move In will plant a tree for every void switch.
How to enable the Void Utilities Automation service
The Void Utilities Automation service can be enabled in three ways:
- from a contact record - this method lets you enable it for multiple properties related to the (landlord) contact, all at once
- from a property record - this method lets you enable it for that particular property
- during the tenancy Vacate Property process - this method lets you enable it for that particular vacated property
- Click Contacts on the main navigation bar
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Select the relevant (landlord) contact from Recent & Favourite Contacts
- Alternatively, find the (landlord) contact using the Search Contacts bar in the top right
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Click Void Management setup
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Tick to select all the properties you want to enable Void Utilities Automation for, then click Continue
- You'll now need to specify who is Responsible for void payments using the dropdown (i.e. whether you as the Agent or the Landlord are responsible for the energy bills whilst the property is vacant)
- Complete all of your Billing details
- Tick to confirm which Utilities to switch, Gas and/or Electricity
- Click Save Changes to submit the details and confirm you agree with the terms and conditions
- Click Properties on the main navigation bar
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Select the relevant vacated property from Recent & Favourite Properties
- Alternatively, find the vacated property using the Search Properties bar in the top right
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Click Void Management on the side menu
- Slide the toggle On to enable Void Utilities Automation
- You'll now need to specify who is Responsible for void payments using the dropdown (i.e. whether you as the Agent or the Landlord are responsible for the energy bills whilst the property is vacant)
- Complete all of your Billing details
- Tick to confirm which Utilities to switch, Gas and/or Electricity
- Click Save Changes to submit the details and confirm you agree with the terms and conditions
- Click Tenancies on the main navigation bar
- Select the relevant tenancy from Recent & Favourite Tenancies
- Alternatively, find the tenancy using the Search Tenancies bar in the top right
- Click Tenancy on the side menu
- Click Vacate Property
- The Vacate Property window appears. At the top, it will state if Void Management is disabled or enabled. Click Void Management Setup
- Slide the toggle On to enable Void Utilities Automation
- You'll now need to specify who is Responsible for void payments using the dropdown (i.e. whether you as the Agent or the Landlord are responsible for the energy bills whilst the property is vacant)
- Complete all of your Billing details
- Tick to confirm which Utilities to switch, Gas and/or Electricity
- Click Save Changes to submit the details and confirm you agree with the terms and conditions
Once enabled, a request won't be sent to Just Move In until you start the vacate.
(It's normal to not hear anything from Just Move In unless you've provided your email address for updates or energy supplier updates)
Any Void Utilities Automation requests that are in progress can be viewed in the Requests tab.
From here you can review the details/dates and cancel a request if you wish.
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