Better Renting welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Solar Sharer Offer consultation. Renters are one of the groups most disadvantaged in the transition to renewable energy, with limited ability to install solar and access cost savings directly. The Solar Sharer Offer presents an important opportunity to redress this inequity by providing renters with regulated access to the benefits of solar generation, helping reduce energy bills and energy hardship. 

Renters in Australia are disproportionately exposed to energy-inefficient housing, with many living in homes that are cold in winter, hot in summer, and expensive to run. This exposes renters to avoidable health risks, including respiratory illness¹, heat stress, and worsened chronic conditions². Energy-inefficient rental homes also drive higher energy bills, exacerbating existing cost of living pressures - renters are consistently more likely to experience energy hardship, accounting for around 7 in 10  households meeting multiple hardship indicators³.

Read the full submission below, or get a PDF here.

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Better Renting’s research over recent years further demonstrates these impacts, with renters across Australia reporting unhealthy and uncomfortable temperatures inside their homes and the resulting physical, mental and financial impacts. Renters reported significant energy bill anxiety, particularly during extreme weather. For example, in 2024, 3 in 4 renters reported having to cut back on heating and cooling to reduce energy bills⁴. This unavoidable decision puts renters at more risk of ill-health by keeping them in homes that are too hot or too cold.

In 2023, Better Renting surveyed 196 renters across Australia to understand renters’ views on rooftop solar⁵. Our research revealed clear themes around energy affordability, climate action, and barriers to participation in the renewable energy transition. Renters identified solar as a way to reduce household energy costs, helping to alleviate the pressures of high energy bills in inefficient rental properties. They also expressed a strong desire to take practical action on climate change, seeing solar as a way to contribute directly to the clean energy transition even without owning a property.

However, renters reported a range of barriers and concerns that limit their ability to access solar. One of the most common concerns raised by respondents without solar was the risk of becoming entangled in confusing or complex billing arrangements. In some cases, when landlords install solar, they attempt to impose unusual arrangements to capture more of the benefits for themselves. As one renter noted:

“We were looking at applying for a rental property with solar once but it was written into the contract that the property owner would receive any credits from the solar.”

Such arrangements are disempowering for renters and can leave households worse off. This highlights the importance of policy initiatives like the Solar Sharer Offer, which has the potential to  provide regulated, transparent access to solar benefits for renters who cannot install their own systems.

However, while the Solar Sharer Offer will improve access to renewable energy for some renters, its impact will be limited unless rental homes are able to retain and make use of that energy effectively. Many rental properties remain poorly insulated, draughty, and fitted with inefficient heating and cooling systems - if they have any at all. This is likely to limit the benefits of the  discounted electricity periods and result in modest savings on energy bills. 

Policies to improve energy efficiency in rental homes are, therefore, essential to maximise the benefits of the Solar Sharer Offer for renters. Minimum energy efficiency standards for rental homes would require landlords to ensure the homes they provide are energy efficient and provide adequate insulation, draught proofing, and efficient heating and cooling appliances. Introducing and incentivising these standards would create the conditions needed for renters to genuinely use solar energy to reduce energy costs and improve household comfort.

However, several structural barriers will shape whether renters can meaningfully benefit from the Solar Sharer Offer. Access to the scheme depends on having a smart meter, yet many renters cannot have one installed due to landlord refusal, embedded network arrangements, or building restrictions. Renters in embedded networks may also have limited choice over the energy plans available to them, which can restrict the value they can receive from the Solar Sharer Offer. In addition, some renters may be unable to take advantage of the zero-cost electricity window if they are not home at the relevant time or do not have appliances that allow them to shift their energy use. These barriers underline the need for a renter-centred approach to program design to ensure the Solar Sharer Offer delivers equitable and practical benefits.

Without complementary energy efficiency measures, and without addressing structural barriers renters face - such as limited access to smart meters - the Solar Sharer Offer initiative risks entrenching existing inequities. Renters stuck in low-quality homes will remain disproportionately exposed to high energy costs, energy hardship, and associated health risks. This integrated approach, introducing the Solar Sharer Offer and minimum energy efficiency standards along with measures to remove structural barriers for renters,  is necessary to achieve the equity goals at the heart of the Solar Sharer Offer.

Feedback on key areas

Tariff design

Any tariff arrangements must:

• Be transparent and easily understood by renters, avoiding confusing or complex billing.
• Ensure that renters can access the intended benefits of the Solar Sharer Offer without unexpected costs, for example
  • High peak rates outside of the zero-cost window.
  • Hidden or additional supply charges associated with the initiative.
• Be communicated clearly by energy retailers, including timing of discounted or zero-cost periods and eligibility requirements.
• Be monitored to ensure equitable outcomes for renters, who are disproportionately affected by energy hardship.

Consumer impacts

The Solar Sharer Offer has the potential to deliver meaningful bill savings and reduce energy hardship for renters who can access it. However, structural and technical barriers are likely to prevent many renters from accessing the initiative or fully realising the benefits. For example:

• Access to the Solar Sharer Offer requires a smart meter, many renters cannot have smart meters installed due to landlord refusal, embedded networks, or building restrictions.
  • Landlord refusal: some landlords may not agree to the installation of a smart meter, either due to cost concerns, lack of understanding or knowledge, or reluctance to allow changes to their property.
  • Embedded networks: renters living in buildings with embedded networks may be stuck with the building’s energy provider’s energy plan and cannot choose their own, this may limit the benefits they can access. This is more of an issue if the energy provider does not use smart meters.
  • Building restrictions: older or heritage listed buildings may have structural limitations that make installing a smart meter difficult or impossible without significant upgrades or permissions. 
    
• Renters may not have the opportunity to make the most of this if they are not home and do not have the technology to use energy at the time of day it is provided for free.
• Renters in uninsulated or inefficient homes may see only limited reductions in energy bills, even with discounted or free electricity periods.
• Without targeted consideration of the complex needs and experiences of renters, the scheme risks excluding renters in high-rise apartments, older housing stock, or properties with complex landlord arrangements.
• Clear, accessible communication from retailers is essential, including timing of discounted periods, eligibility criteria, and guidance on participation.

Interactions with other reforms

The Solar Sharer Offer should be designed and implemented alongside complementary reforms, particularly minimum energy efficiency standards for rental homes. Without improvements to the thermal performance and energy efficiency of rental properties, renters may not gain meaningful benefits from the Solar Sharer Offer. Interactions between the Solar Sharer Offer initiative and the following reforms must be addressed: 

• Commonwealth leadership on minimum energy efficiency standards for rental homes is required to ensure all states and territories are implementing standards that are well designed, consistent, and are conditionally incentivised. 
  • These standards include ceiling insulation, draught sealing, appliance efficiency, and other property upgrades are necessary for renters to fully benefit from the scheme.
• The scheme should be coordinated with smart meter rollout strategies, including landlord education and technical support, to remove structural barriers.
• Aligning with other reforms, such as retailer hardship programs, ensures that renters already experiencing energy stress can participate and benefit fully.

Consumer protections

Strong consumer protections are essential to ensure renters can equitably and safely access the benefits of the Solar Sharer Offer. Without clear rules, renters risk being disadvantaged by landlords, excluded due to technical requirements, or confused by complex billing and participation arrangements.

• Ensuring that any required meter or wiring upgrades needed to access the initiative are not passed through to the tenants.
• Retailers should provide clear, plain-language information, including timing of zero-cost windows, eligibility, and potential risks. 
• Renters should be explicitly included as a priority group in monitoring and evaluation of the Solar Sharers Offer initiative.

Opportunities and risks associated with implementation

• Risks

• • Renters may be excluded due to structural barriers such as smart meters, embedded networks, landlord refusal or renters who are not at home or have the technology to make the most of the free-energy window. 
  • Without renter-focused monitoring and evaluation, the scheme may fail to deliver on its equity and affordability objectives.
  • Renters in poorly performing or inefficient homes may not see meaningful benefits unless complementary measures (e.g., minimum energy efficiency standards) are in place.

• Opportunities

• • The Solar Sharer Offer may provide renters who are able to access the scheme with access to renewable energy and bill savings.
  • The initiative may reduce energy hardship for renters who can access the Solar Sharer Offer, who are disproportionately represented in households experiencing energy stress.
  • Implementing this initiative will help to support broader reforms around energy performance by demonstrating the benefits of combining renewable energy access with efficiency improvements.
  • This initiative increases awareness and engagement among renters with the clean energy transition, helping build public support for complementary initiatives.
    
    

Recommendations

Recommendation 1: The Commonwealth government should lead the nationally consistent introduction of minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties, supported by initiatives, to ensure renters can fully benefit from reduced energy bills, improved thermal comfort, and healthier homes alongside the Solar Sharer Offer

Recommendation 2:  To ensure renters can participate fully, the Solar Sharer Offer must address key structural barriers such as landlord refusal, embedded network constraints, and upgrade requirements through clear regulatory obligations and cost-free upgrade mechanisms that remove these barriers in practice.

Recommendation 3: Renters should be recognised as a priority group within the policy design, monitoring, and evaluation framework for the Solar Sharer Offer to ensure the scheme meets its equity and affordability objectives.

Recommendation 4:  Retailers should be required to provide clear, plain-language communication targeting renters, including information on discounted electricity windows, eligibility, potential risks, and available support. 

 

References

1. Better Renting, Joule Thieves: Renters’ energy challenges in a cost of living crisis (29 Aug 2024), https://www.betterrenting.org.au/joule_thieves_renter_energy_survey_report  
2. Better Renting, Solar Flair: Renters’ Views on Rooftop Solar (2023), https://assets.nationbuilder.com/betterrenting/pages/393/attachments/original/1697688496/Solar_Flair_report.pdf 
3.  Ebi, K. L. et al. Hot weather and heat extremes: health risks. The Lancet 398, 698–708 (2021).
4. Energy Consumers Australia, Understanding and Measuring Energy Hardship in Australia (2025), energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/sites/default/files/2025-07/website-doc-consumer-energy-report-card-jun25-report-understanding-measuring-energy-hardship-australia.pdf 
5. Gasparrini, A. et al. Mortality risk attributable to high and low ambient temperature: a multicountry observational study. The Lancet 386, 369–375 (2015).