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 manages the utility accounts for an empty lettings property during a void period. It automatically switches the utility bill payer to the landlord or agent when a void period starts, and closes the account when a new tenant moves in - reducing admin and the risk of overpaying on an empty property's energy bills.
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
How the Void Utilities Automation service works
Void Utilities Automation needs to be enabled for each property you want Just Move In to manage. Once enabled, when you start the Vacate Property process Alto sends the necessary information to Just Move In to switch the energy contract automatically.
Just Move In begins switching billing 7 days before the vacate date - or immediately, if Void Utilities Automation is turned on within 7 days of the vacate.
For the void period, the property's energy supplier is changed to British Gas on a standard variable tariff, and any credits or benefits are included in the utility bill. New tenants are under no obligation to remain with British Gas when they move in.
Note
During the void period, British Gas provides no standing charge for 30 days and £15 credit per fuel off the void utility bill (up to £30 across both fuels). Just Move In plants a tree for every void switch
How to enable the Void Utilities Automation service
Void Utilities Automation can be enabled in three ways:
- from a contact record - enables it for multiple properties linked to a landlord contact at once
- from a property record - enables it for that individual property
- during the tenancy Vacate Property process - enables it for that 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.
Viewing and managing requests
Any Void Utilities Automation requests in progress can be viewed in the Requests tab. From here you can review the details and dates, and cancel a request if needed.
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