UK Landlord Forum / Life

We have been letting two houses to university students for many years. We have 4 students in each house who share the common areas and have their own rooms. We let contracts for just under one year. We manage everything ourselves and always develop a good personal relationship with each student. However last year we had four very nice Indian boys but they used excessive heating the bill being more than double than previously. They expected to live as in southern India and be in the house in shorts and shirtsleeves sometimes with heating on and windows open. We could not address that as we included heating within the rent. This year, we had as usual to advertise early and we had made made an allowance for the earlier utilities increase. However, now the increases as you all know, increased excessively and we are losing out over this.  We have offered for them to to take over the utilities contracts so we would reduce the rent but they do not want to do that and it would be very difficult.
To try to control mis-use we control the heating to 21C early am to late pm and 18C overnight control being by a sensor in the living room. Is that legally acceptable? If we gave them full control they would simply turn the heating up and not take any care over unnecessary usage.
To rub salt into the wound do we really have to give them £400 or whatever the heating allowance might be?
By the way we are good landlords; meeting them at airports etc, providing bedding free of charge, taking them on the occasional outing etc. Looking for guidance on the internet the government sites are not clear and specific and we noticed it is appalling that the legislation seems to be against landlords with no 'rules' for the tenants except trivial ones.

Can't imagine you'd have to give them the heating allowance, I thought it came in the for of a credit for the bill/bill payer.

You do sound like good landlords - more like student family! 
Personally I would write to each of them and explain the mad situation with the energy crisis and how much of a financial impact this has had on you, meaning the rent they have listed in the contract is no longer sufficient to cover the essentials of running the property, and as a result you are requesting an additional surcharge to each of their rental bills of £xx. If they dispute this, you may not have a leg to stand on, but hopefully they will accept this official communication and pay up....  Can only try!  Good luck.