Quick question – I own a rental property that currently only has electric (no gas). I’m weighing up whether to leave it as electric or invest in getting a gas connection installed. Has anyone faced this decision before? Pros and cons from a landlord or tenant perspective would be really helpful. Thanks
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Many estates buit in the last 30 years or so have no gas connections and so all the properties are electric. You should check your options first.
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Thanks for the reply @David122, that’s helpful to know. I have looked into my options, and it turns out there is a gas connection in a nearby property, but getting the suppliers out to connect it to mine would cost around £2,000 plus. That’s why I’m debating whether it’s worth the investment or if I should just leave it as an electric-only property.
I’m keen to hear what others think, particularly from a tenant appeal and running cost perspective. Would an electric-only property still be attractive, or might it put tenants off?
Appreciate any insights!
Gas is cheaper to run than electric
Most tenants prefer gas because it’s cheaper
I have an all electric home but would prefer gas central heating
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I remember one landlord had an interesting perspective on the virtues of electric over gas. He posted not too long ago stating that he converted all his properties to electric. His reasoning was that he didn’t have to worry about gas safety certificates, annual servicing, smoke detectors, CO alarms and the associated legal implications especially around section 21. And that a property can be made fully electric for half the price of decent gas boiler. As for efficiency I am not sure which is better. I probably wouldn’t bother unless your property was say an EPC D and a C could be achieved with a modern efficient gas boiler. Otherwise the investment wouldn’t be worth it.
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I dont think youd see sufficient return on that £2000 outlay, so in your shoes, I wouldnt bother.
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Whats the current heating system?. If storage heaters then price can be similar to gas, octopus snug is a good tariff. Standard electrical heaters can be very expensive to run and my understanding is they wont be acceptable under decent homes standard under RRB which states there needs to be an efficient heating system.
Thank you so much for that @David122
So currently the heating system is a normal electrical boiler its not a storage one
Electric boilers are likely to be very expensive to run. Gas costs 7p kwh, electric is 27p kwh. Off peak tariff for storage heaters can be 9p kwh. Depends on size of property but average gas use for heating and hot water is 11500 kwh per year so electric would cost over £3k per year for heating average property and hot water compared with under 1k per year for gas or storage heaters. If property is small and well insulated it may be viable to retain it, otherwise you are likely to get complaints from tenants or they wont heat it properly which can lead to damp issues.
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Thank you so much @Richard19 for this detailed explanation, I will certainly leave it the way it is, but I will try to renovate the property more efficiently to make sure that the electric boiler is efficient too.
That simply doesn’t add up. You’re not going to get a house full of electric wall rads plus water heating for £1500.
Was he thinking of just throwing a fan heater in every room 
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Bear in mind that it doesn’t really matter whether it’s more efficient to run or not, what really counts is the perspective of renters. A lot of applicants will have never lived in a property that is entirely electric so you will need to sell it to them to convince them that it is better. Do your homework so you know your figures and can allay their fears.
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In my experience tenants have left electric heated homes for gas central heated houses because electric is so expensive
I don’t know about the new EPC , but my assessor told me the reason the electric heated homes fared so badly under the last calculations ,was because, electric in this country comes from gas ( contrary to what we are told ) and that’s why it’s more expensive .
10 years ago my two bed flat , all electric, cost £3k per annum to heat on storage heaters. By the afternoon it was freezing until the economy seven kicked in again. I hated it .
I’m converting an all electric at the moment a
Nd have just installed gas do we can get a gas boiler in.
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The landlord also stated he provided an electric shower and a small water heater for the kitchen sink which you could acquire for a few hundred pounds and easy to replace when they go wrong. He made a compelling argument although I assume his business model catered for the lower end of the market.
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Thats a great point @tatemono Electric is more expensive to run than Gas
Strange isnt it, EPC with a gas boiler is better than electric but Govt is phasing out gas and plugging heat pumps which cost more to run.
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correction: Govt is talking occasionally about phasing out gas but doing nothing practical to actually ensure it happens
(which it won’t IMO)
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It’s crazy. Air source heat pumps are classed as electric heating and score lower than gas boilers on EPCs. Meanwhile the government want us to fit them because of carbon emissions. 
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I’m a retired Gas Safe engineer. I remember being told in 2011 that from 2016 onwards new builds would have to have renewable energy and gas boilers wouldn’t be allowed . The last time I had to requalify (2019) the assessor was telling us all about how the gas network will be converted to hydrogen and gas appliances will have to be hydrogen ready by 2025 and be phased out by 2030.
I wish I could go back and ask him about the withering look he gave me when I said “what a load of BS, it’ll never happen”.
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