Octopus Energy for landlords: how the referral works (2026 guide)

Affiliate disclosure: this post contains an Octopus Energy referral link. If you use it, both of us get £50 bill credit — the same £50 any Octopus referral earns, just attributed to me. It doesn't change the price you pay. Editorial note: I'm a six-year Octopus customer but I'm not a landlord — this guide draws on Octopus's published referral terms, Ofgem's rental-property rules, and the general landlord-energy regulatory framework. If you're a landlord with first-hand experience of Octopus across multiple properties, your real-world view will be more useful than mine.

If you let out one property or a portfolio, Octopus Energy's referral scheme is a small but real ongoing revenue stream — £50 of bill credit per property, paid every time you set up a new account at a property where Octopus is the supplier. This post walks through how the scheme works for landlords specifically, the void-period billing dynamics, what tenants can and can't do under your tenancy, and which Octopus tariff is most likely to fit a rental.

How Octopus's referral scheme applies to landlords

Octopus runs two separate referral schemes:

1. Domestic referral — £50 each. Applies to standard residential energy accounts. Every new account opened via a referral link earns £50 of bill credit for the new account holder and £50 for the referrer.
2. Business referral — £75 each. Applies to commercial energy accounts. Sole traders, freelancers, registered businesses and SMEs switching their business energy via referral link earn £75 of bill credit each.

For most landlords, the relevant scheme is the domestic referral. Rental properties on a standard meter and tariff are treated as domestic supplies, regardless of the fact that a business owns them — what matters is the meter type and the tariff classification, not the account holder's employment status.

The exception: if you hold a commercial energy supply (large multi-let, HMO above a certain size, mixed-use property with commercial space), the business referral applies and the £75 credit is available instead.

Per-property earnings

Each rental property is a separate Octopus account with its own £50 referral. A landlord with five rental properties switching all five to Octopus over time earns 5 × £50 = £250 in bill credit, allocated across each property's account.

This isn't a get-rich scheme — £250 spread across five properties is modest — but it's free money for switching to a supplier you'd otherwise have considered anyway. And the credit is paid to whoever holds the account, which during void periods is the landlord.

The void-period billing dynamic

The critical concept for landlords: the supplier's customer at any moment is whoever is in occupation.

• During a tenancy where the tenant pays bills directly (the most common arrangement), the tenant is Octopus's customer. They open the account on their move-in date, they pay the bills, they take the £50 referral credit if they signed up via referral link, and Octopus's relationship is with them.
• During a void period (the days/weeks between one tenant moving out and the next moving in), the landlord becomes the supplier's customer. The landlord's account at the property reactivates from the move-out date and runs until the new tenant moves in.

This means the landlord pays for any energy used during voids — typically frost protection, emergency lighting, security alarms, occasional contractor visits — plus the standing charge across every void day at the standard daily rate.

The standing charge is what catches most landlords out. At the April–June 2026 Ofgem cap rate of 57.2p/day for electricity, a property sitting empty for 30 days between tenants costs the landlord around £17 in standing charge alone before any actual energy is used. Across a portfolio with multiple turnovers per year, this adds up.

Reducing void-period costs

Three credible options for landlords trying to reduce void-period bills:

1. The no-standing-charge tariff

Octopus offers a no-standing-charge tariff variant in 2026, in line with the Ofgem mandate that all UK suppliers make a zero-standing-charge option available. The trade-off is a higher unit rate. For an empty property using only frost protection (50–100 kWh per month at most), the higher unit rate barely affects the bill while removing the £17/month standing charge entirely.

The break-even maths for a void property is favourable for the no-standing-charge route. Switching to it during voids and switching back to a standard tariff for new tenants is admin-heavy, though — most landlords just leave the no-standing-charge tariff in place and let new tenants choose to switch when they move in.

We've covered the standing-charge maths in detail in Octopus Energy no standing charge: is it possible?.

2. Smart meters with auto-readings

Smart meters mean Octopus has accurate, automatic readings throughout void periods. This eliminates estimated bills (which often overestimate void usage and tie up landlord cash for months until corrected). Smart meters are free to install through Octopus and require no permission from the tenant if the meter swap happens during a void period.

3. Direct debit set to actual usage

For voids, set the direct debit to a low monthly figure (£10–£20) reflecting actual void-period usage rather than the typical occupied-property estimate. Octopus's algorithm sometimes defaults to higher figures based on the property's historical usage when occupied — override it manually for void periods.

What tenants can and can't do

The most-asked landlord question is some version of: can I require my tenant to stay with my preferred supplier?

Short answer: no, not legally, and even if your tenancy agreement says they have to, that clause is generally unenforceable.

What tenants can do

A tenant who pays the energy bill directly can:

• Switch to any supplier they choose, including switching away from Octopus to a competitor. This is an Ofgem right that overrides any tenancy clause.
• Switch tariffs within their chosen supplier without landlord permission.
• Get a smart meter installed without landlord permission, provided it's a like-for-like swap (e.g. credit meter to credit smart meter).

What tenants can't do without landlord permission

• Change the meter type — e.g. switch from a credit meter to a prepayment meter, or vice versa, requires landlord consent.
• Permanently disconnect the supply — this is rarely an issue but technically requires landlord approval.

What landlords can ask for

• End-of-tenancy supplier switch-back as a condition of returning the deposit. The switch itself is fine; the fee is generally unenforceable.
• Notification of supplier changes for landlord records — reasonable to include in the tenancy agreement.
• Smart-meter usage data if the landlord pays for some utilities (e.g. water alongside energy) — only with tenant consent.

If a tenant unexpectedly switches the property's supplier away from Octopus mid-tenancy, the landlord doesn't lose the referral credit already earned — bill credit accumulates against the account from the date of supply, and the £50 referral lands after the first direct debit clears. A subsequent switch by the tenant doesn't claw it back.

Which Octopus tariff fits a rental portfolio?

For most rental properties, the answer is the standard Flexible Octopus or Octopus Fixed. Smart tariffs require smart meters and engaged users — both of which are tenant-dependent.

A few specific cases worth considering:

Properties with EV chargers installed

If the property has a home EV charger installed (perhaps as a development feature on a new build), Intelligent Octopus Go is a strong default for any tenant who drives an EV. The April 2026 off-peak rate cuts made it the strongest UK EV tariff. Setting the property up on this tariff before the next tenancy can be a marketing point ("EV-ready property on a competitive overnight tariff").

Properties with heat pumps

Heat-pump properties — increasingly common in new-build lets — should be on Cosy Octopus if the tenant is engaged with the off-peak windows. If they're not, Cosy can actually cost more than a standard tariff because of the 4–7pm peak rate. Worth a conversation with the tenant during onboarding.

HMOs and shared properties

Houses in multiple occupation with shared meters typically need a business-classified supply, not a domestic one. The £75 business referral applies. Octopus Business handles HMO supplies and has dedicated tariffs for them.

The full Octopus tariff comparison is in our tariff guide.

Setting up multiple properties on Octopus

For landlords managing multiple Octopus accounts, a few practical things:

• Separate accounts per property. Octopus doesn't currently offer a single landlord portal across multiple addresses — each property is its own account, accessed by logging in with a different email or by using a single email with multiple properties linked to it (Octopus support can configure this).
• Address-based referral attribution. Each new property's referral is treated independently. If you're switching multiple properties to Octopus, use a referral link for each one.
• Business referrals for commercial-classified supplies. If you've registered a property holding company and the supply is commercial, the £75 business referral applies. Run the supply registration through Octopus's business team rather than the standard domestic flow.
• Bulk meter-reading during voids. If you're managing multiple void properties, batch the meter-reading visits and submit them to Octopus through the app on the same day. Saves admin time and avoids estimated-bill drift.

Switching a portfolio to Octopus

The realistic pace for a multi-property switch:

1. Switch one property first — typically a void property or one where you're between tenants. Use this as the test of the Octopus moving-home flow before committing the whole portfolio.
2. Switch the rest as voids occur. Don't try to switch occupied properties unilaterally — the tenant is the supplier's customer, not you. Instead, recommend Octopus to incoming tenants at lease signing and let them choose.
3. Track the credits. Each successful new-tenant referral earns the tenant £50 and the referrer £50. If you're using your personal referral link to onboard tenants to Octopus, you accumulate £50 per tenancy that successfully takes the link.

My honest landlord caveat

I'm not a landlord and don't have first-hand experience managing rental energy supplies across multiple properties. The above is summarised from Octopus's published referral terms, Ofgem's tenancy and switching guidance, and the general regulatory framework around UK rental-property energy supply. If you've actually run a portfolio on Octopus for a few years, your real-world view of the void-period economics, the no-standing-charge tariff in practice, and the multi-property admin will be more useful than mine.

What I can say with confidence from six years as an Octopus residential customer is that Octopus's moving-home flow is the most friction-free I've encountered across UK suppliers — both my house moves in 2023 and 2025 were handled in the app without a phone call. That same flow is what tenant move-ins and move-outs use.

If Octopus is the right fit for your rental

You can use my Octopus £50 referral link for any new account — both of us get £50 bill credit, paid after the first direct debit clears. The full referral scheme (including the £75 business variant for commercial supplies) is on the Octopus Energy referral page.

For business-registered properties or HMOs, see also Why your business should switch to Octopus Energy for the commercial-tariff side of the comparison.

You might also like

• Can I switch energy supplier if I'm moving house?
• Octopus Energy no standing charge: is it possible?
• Why your business should switch to Octopus Energy
• Which Octopus Energy tariff is right for you?

Sources

• Citizens Advice on tenants switching energy supplier: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/switching-energy-supplier/switch-supplier-when-you-rent/
• Ofgem energy price cap (1 April – 30 June 2026): https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/energy-price-cap-explained
• Octopus Energy moving home: https://octopus.energy/help/moving-home/
• Octopus Energy for Business: https://octopus.energy/business/
• Octopus Energy referral terms: https://octopus.energy/refer-a-friend/

Tariff and referral terms accurate as of 4 May 2026. Octopus's commercial-supply classification rules and business referral terms can change — check Octopus directly when setting up a portfolio account.