By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: The owner pays everything: utilities, council tax or business rates, the TV licence and broadband, all year round, including months the property stands empty — and guests on an inclusive rate use materially more than tenants. Control it with a smart thermostat, heating switched off between stays and insulation, and agree a written fair-use allowance up front on long stays.
What sits with the owner
In a short let the guest pays one inclusive price and you pay everything behind it. Under our agreements this is explicit: utilities, council tax or business rates, the TV licence and broadband are the owner's, as is the supply of a fast unlimited internet connection.
That is a real difference from a tenancy, where most of these transfer to the tenant. It is also the line most often missing from an income model built by someone who has only let long-term before.
These are fixed costs. They arrive in February whether or not anybody stayed, which is why the quiet months matter more in this business than the busy ones.
Why consumption is higher than you expect
A guest paying an inclusive rate has no reason to be careful, and mostly is not being unreasonable — they simply are not thinking about it.
Heating left on with a window open. Every light on. The heating running while the property is empty between a check-out and a check-in. Hot water used at hotel levels rather than household ones. Multiple devices charging.
The pattern is worst in winter, in poorly insulated properties, and on longer stays where someone is home all day — which is precisely the contractor and relocation demand that fills the quiet months.
What actually controls it
Insulation and heating controls do more than any rule in a house manual, because they work whether or not anyone reads it.
- A smart thermostat with sensible limits — a maximum temperature and a schedule beats a note asking people to be considerate
- Heating off automatically between stays, which is the single largest avoidable cost
- Draught-proofing and loft insulation, the cheapest permanent fix available
- LED throughout, and motion sensors in hallways
- Clear, simple heating instructions — the most common guest question, and confused guests turn everything up
- Smart meters, so you can see what a stay actually cost rather than guessing
Long stays and a fair-use cap
On a stay of a month or more through winter, in a property where the guest is not paying the bill, utilities are the one place an all-inclusive rate can genuinely bleed.
The workable answer is a written fair-use allowance with excess charged at cost. It has to be agreed and stated up front — introducing it after the booking is a dispute rather than a policy.
For corporate and relocation bookings this is normal and rarely contentious, because the person booking understands the arithmetic.
Council tax or business rates
Separately from consumption, the property is in either the council tax list or the rating list, and which one materially changes the bill.
Moving to business rates as self-catering accommodation now requires evidence of actual letting: in England, available 140 days and actually let 70 days; in Wales, 252 and 182. Falling short means council tax, potentially with a second-home premium on top.
This is worth treating as a planning number during the year rather than a discovery in April. Our rates guide covers the thresholds.