A rent roll turns over roughly once a year, and every new tenant needs power, gas and internet on the day they move in. Your property managers usually take the calls.
Here is how utility connections for property managers work, what they earn, the admin they remove and where referral disclosure fits.
20+ retailers and providers compared for every client you refer
Utility connections for property managers start when a lease is signed: you pass on the tenant and the lease start date, and we book every service.
Tenant connection timing is tied to the lease start, not a settlement date, which gives a clear and predictable trigger. As soon as the lease is signed, we contact the tenant, compare the panel and connect a tenant's electricity for the first day of the tenancy, with gas and internet booked alongside it where the incoming tenant wants them connected.
Good tenant utility connection timing means sending details at signing, ideally three business days before the lease starts. Tenants stay free to choose their own retailer, and Consumer Affairs Victoria sets out renters' rights in Victoria, with each state publishing its own equivalent (checked September 2026).
Rather than referring tenancy by tenancy, larger agencies hand over the rent roll. New tenancies are picked up from a weekly upload or a CRM handoff, and every one is reported back to the property manager who owns it.
Your agency earns an agreed commission on each service that connects for a tenant you refer, paid monthly per completed connection.
A tenant utility connection service is paid on connections that complete, not on names passed across. The estimator works per property under management, assuming around a third of properties change tenants each year.
Nothing is charged to the tenant or the agency. The tenant signs up with the retailer they choose, at that retailer's advertised rates, and the retailer remains bound by the consumer protections overseen by the Australian Energy Regulator (checked September 2026). The retailer funds the commission.
Each payment is itemised by property, so the trust accounting team can match it against the tenancy it came from. The same commission basis applies across every partner type in the full partner program, whether you refer one tenancy at a time or hand over a whole rent roll for us to manage on your behalf.
The estimator at the top of this page converts properties under management into tenancy changes a year, assumes a conservative share connect, and applies two services at an indicative rate. Your real schedule comes in writing.
| What triggers payment | What does not | When it is paid |
|---|---|---|
| A connection that completes and stays active through the qualifying period | A referral that does not convert | Monthly with a statement per client |
| Each service connected (electricity, gas, internet) | A client who declines | Monthly |
| Both residential and commercial where applicable | A duplicate or test referral | Monthly |
Services we offer your clients
Time back for your property managers matters more than the commission for most rent roll teams, and it starts from the first referral.
Property managers are time-poor before they are revenue-hungry. The value starts with the calls your team no longer has to take in the week a tenancy begins.
It continues with the follow-up that disappears: no chasing tenants before handover, no retailer paperwork, and no billing disputes when an old address was never disconnected.
No more chasing tenants about whether they have arranged power before handover. With a property management referral program, that follow-up belongs to us.
One booking replaces the several calls a tenant would otherwise make. Where the property has electricity and gas, the tenant gets both services on one connection date, arranged in a single conversation, so nobody in your team is left coordinating two retailers for the same tenancy start date.
Tenants get a genuine comparison rather than one retailer's product pushed at them, which is the version of the recommendation your agency can stand behind.
Timing still matters on the comparison, because different services move at different speeds. Electricity is often live within days, while gas connections, which take longer, are lodged earlier so the tenant is not left without hot water in the first week of the new tenancy.
Commission is paid on every service connected and itemised per property. Bulk utility connections for rental properties turn a rent roll into a steady monthly line, not a one-off.
Tenants and landlords sometimes ask whether any charges apply before they agree to anything. The answer is a clear guide on what connection fees apply, set by the retailer or distributor rather than the agency, which keeps that conversation short and keeps your team out of fee disputes.
Each referral shows as contacted, connected or uncontactable, so you can see the handoff worked. A rental property electricity connection that stalls is flagged to you, not discovered by the tenant on move-in day.
An independent connection service compares more than 20 retailers for each address instead of being owned by, or steering tenants to, one retailer.
Several connection services used by property managers are owned by an energy retailer, and say so in their own disclaimers. Ask who owns the service attached to your rent roll today, then see how the connection services compare on ownership, panel size, commission terms and whether the old address is disconnected in the same call to the tenant.
For rent roll utility connections the difference compounds, because every new tenancy goes through the same service. Tenants can test any recommendation against Energy Made Easy, the government comparison site run by the Australian Energy Regulator (checked September 2026).
| Feature | Independent | Retailer-owned |
|---|---|---|
| Compares across retailers | 20+ on the panel | Check their disclaimer |
| Owned by an energy retailer | No | Sometimes |
| Commission schedule in writing | Before you sign | Usually on request |
| Exclusivity required | None | Varies by agreement |
| Old address disconnected | Yes | Often not included |
Describes retailer-owned service models generally, not any single provider.
Is your current service owned by an energy retailer?
How many retailers does it compare per address?
Is the commission schedule in writing before you sign?
The same model across partner types
Sales and leasing often sit under the same roof, and a buyer or tenant should not hear from the agency twice. See how this works for real estate agencies, where referrals at lease signing and at settlement are reported together for the whole office rather than split between two teams.
Tenants often book a removalist before anyone else knows the moving date, which can mean two referrals for one move. It helps to understand how this works for removalists, because the earliest referral takes the lead and the tenant only ever receives one call about their connections from start to finish.
When a landlord sells a tenanted property, the conveyancer and the property manager both see the change of ownership coming. Read how this works for conveyancers, so the handover between the outgoing owner, the new owner and the sitting tenant is connected once and reported to the right office.
A benefit for referring a tenant generally has to be disclosed to that tenant, and the exact requirement varies by state and licence type.
The arrangement in writing with the commission schedule, plus a disclosure line for your tenant welcome pack.
Advise you on your obligations. This is general information, not legal advice.
Agent conduct rules generally require a property manager to disclose a benefit received for referring a tenant to a service provider. In NSW, intermediaries who receive a commission or referral fee must take reasonable steps to make the consumer aware of the arrangement before acting on it, as NSW Fair Trading explains (checked September 2026).
Other states apply their own rules, so confirm your position with your licensee. The simplest approach is to add the disclosure line to your tenant move in process, alongside the welcome pack, so it is given before the referral is made.
The tenant should always be told the service is optional. This is general information, not legal advice.
We may receive a commission if you choose to connect your utilities through our referral partner. You are free to use any provider.Example disclosure line for the welcome pack, to adapt with your licensee
Most tenants just want to know what to do and when. For anyone who prefers to arrange it themselves, there is a plain guide to how a tenant connects power in a rental, which your team can send in the same email as the welcome pack and lease documents on the day of signing.
We call back within one business day. Nothing to sign to have that conversation.
Your rent roll will turn over this year whether or not anyone is paid for it. Hand over the tenancies and the calls, the comparison and the booking are handled, with commission on each connection. Start with a single referral to Move-In Connect and see how it runs.
