Energy Price Cap July 2026: What the 13% Rise Costs Landlords During Void Periods

Ofgem put the energy price cap up 13% on 1 July, and landlords are exposed to it in ways that have nothing to do with whether tenants pay their own bills.

The cap for a typical Direct Debit household rose from £1,641 a year to £1,862 a year, covering the period to 30 September 2026. If every one of your tenants pays their own gas and electricity and you never have a void, this is someone else's problem. Most landlords are not in that position all the time. Void periods, bills-inclusive lets, and serviced accommodation all put some or all of that rise straight onto your side of the ledger.

Here is what the rise actually means in pounds, not just percentages, and what you can do about it.

What Actually Changed

The price cap is not a bill. It is a ceiling on the unit rate and standing charge that suppliers can charge on standard variable (default) tariffs. From 1 July, a typical Direct Debit customer using both fuels pays on average 26.11p per kWh for electricity with a standing charge of 57.19p a day, and 7.33p per kWh for gas with a standing charge of 29.04p a day. Those rates, applied to Ofgem's assumed typical household consumption, produce the £1,862 headline figure.

Ofgem is calling the rise from £1,641 just over 13%. It is the third cap change this year, and it takes the cap above where 2026 started, more than reversing the fall seen between January and April. Ofgem also updated the typical consumption values it uses to calculate the headline figure, reflecting that households now use somewhat less gas and electricity than a few years ago. That is a separate technical adjustment to the methodology, not the reason for the rise. Higher wholesale and network costs feeding through into the unit rates and standing charges above are what is actually driving the 13% jump.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much has the energy price cap gone up in July 2026?

Ofgem raised the price cap by 13% from 1 July 2026, from £1,641 a year to £1,862 a year for a typical Direct Debit household using both gas and electricity. The new cap runs until 30 September 2026. It covers the maximum unit rate and standing charge suppliers can charge on default tariffs, not a fixed bill amount.

Does a landlord pay energy costs on an empty property?

Yes, if the property is still connected to gas and electricity, which almost all are. Standing charges apply every day regardless of usage. At current rates that is 57.19p a day for electricity and 29.04p a day for gas, a combined £314.74 a year, or roughly £26 a month, before any actual consumption from an alarm, boiler frost protection, or appliances left running.

Can I raise the rent on a bills-inclusive tenancy to cover the energy rise?

Only through a Section 13 notice using Form 4A, the sole legal route for a rent increase since 1 May 2026. You must give at least two months' notice and cannot use it more than once in 12 months. The tenant can challenge the proposed rent at tribunal for a £47 fee, and the tribunal cannot set the rent any higher than what you proposed.

Will the July energy cap rise affect the Bank of England's 30 July rate decision?

Not directly through the data itself. June CPI, published 22 July, actually eased to 2.6% from 2.8%, a downside surprise driven by falling motor fuel prices. The July cap rise feeds into July's CPI figure, published in August, so it plays no part in the data the Monetary Policy Committee sees on 30 July. Markets were pricing a hold at around 86% and a hike at around 7% as of 20 July.