The short answer? No.
The long answer?
Around half our listings offer a power and/or water connection, so yes we do accept listings that require a tenant to be totally off grid.
In many regional and rural locations, it would be unrealistic to expect a landlord to run a power lead hundreds of metres down the back part of the property where your tenant is likely to want to park (the prettiest views are almost always miles away from the main house!).
We encourage tenants looking for these types of locations to organise their own solar power.
Having said that- with the massive increase in building prices of the average Tiny House, many tenants are now in a situation where they can no longer afford to spend $20-30,000 on a solar trailer IN ADDITION to the $100,000+ price tag of their new home.
So if you CAN arrange a power hookup from your main home or a shed, you’ll definitely increase your chances of attracting a suitable tenant.
Where there may be an infrastructure investment required- we suggest our hosts secure a tenant before undertaking these works. We don’t feel it’s reasonable to ask you to make an initial outlay unless you can be sure you’ll have the income to offset this.
In terms of WATER, if your tenant can run a hose from your mains or tank water, that’s the ideal.
Some of our listing have natural springs, creeks or bores where water may be utilised by the tenant if filtered.
The majority of our tenants arrange their own water by installing a water tank on the ground on suitable footings beside their home.
This tank can then be filled from either their gutters, a water source provided by the host, or a water cartage company.
On my own property, I do the latter. A 10,000 litre tank refill every quarter costs me $200.
HOW DO I CHARGE FOR UTILITIES?
Our hosts cover the cost of these in different ways.
On some properties, our hosts install a separate meter where these can be charged by actual usage. For hosts who have access to the relevant trades and machinery to do this themselves, it’s often the simplest option.
Some of our hosts charge a fixed weekly amount (eg $50 extra per week), for up to an agreed level of power usage.
Yet others charge a percentage of the overall bill (say 10%), and sometimes a portion of the “service to property” charge too.
From my own experience living off grid in a Tiny House for 5 years, I have calculated my own power and water usage at only around 10% of what I was using in my previous rental house. On such a small scale, power usage is very minimal.
Most hosts find this is the case, except when the tenant works from home in their own baking business and runs an electric oven and AC 24/7 (true story!).
This is often negotiated by the host with the tenant once we match you with a suitable tenant and you have an understanding of their lifestyle. You wouldn’t charge the same for a single woman as you would a family of four, for example (ohhhh the endless washing pile!)
READY TO GO?
If this covered off your questions and you’re ready to start hosting, Lucy would love to see your Host Application here: https://forms.gle/fvEHSd914rZcjuKM9
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