Does charging guests for electricity differ by country?
Yes, and you'll notice this especially if you rent multiple vacation properties in different countries, or if you run a Dutch business with a chalet in France or an apartment in Spain. The way you can charge energy costs to a guest depends not only on European rules that apply to everyone, but also on national legislation on consumer protection, on invoicing and sometimes on the energy market itself. That national layer is precisely the part that differs by country.
So the short answer is: there is no single European answer that works the same way everywhere. There is a European regulation that says something about how energy consumption must be measured and passed on to the end user, but that regulation leaves room for member states on certain points. What is additionally regulated in local consumer law or rental law differs by country and sometimes even by type of rental.
Why this is not a simple checklist
Suppose you rent a tiny house in the Netherlands and a gîte in France. For both properties you want the guest to pay for their own electricity, for example via a system that measures consumption and charges per kWh. The technology behind it can be identical in both countries: a module in the meter cabinet that measures consumption, a QR code that the guest scans, a balance that accumulates. But whether you can add a fixed amount on top of that, whether the guest has the right to see the meter reading, and what an invoice should look like, is not determined by the technology. That is determined by legislation that is made and enforced by a different authority in each country.
In addition, the difference can lie in the type of rental. Short-term tourist rentals are treated differently in some countries than long-term rentals, and a holiday park with its own reception and reservation system is subject to slightly different rules again than a separately rented apartment. For those who want to know exactly how this applies in their own situation, it's good to first determine which category their rental falls into; see in a few questions which situation you're in gives you an initial direction without having to go through a file immediately.
What stays the same, what differs
What in practice stays fairly the same everywhere is the idea behind measuring and charging: a guest gains insight into what they consume, and pays proportionally instead of guessing. That principle is the basis of the European regulation on energy measurement. What does differ is usually in details: what information must be on an invoice, whether there is a minimum invoicing frequency, and what consumer rights a guest has if they disagree with an amount. Some countries also have their own rules for tourist rentals that are separate from energy, but which do affect how you can present costs to a guest.
This does not mean you have to reinvent the wheel for each country. It does mean that an approach that is customary in the Netherlands cannot simply be transferred one-to-one to a property in another country. For anyone who wants to verify this for a specific country, the most efficient way to find the source of the rules is through the official European text itself; the knowledge base with the source per subject points you to it depending on your situation.
How to keep this manageable in practice
For most landlords, the practical question is not "what does the law say exactly", but "what do I need to do now to arrange this properly". A number of things help with this regardless of the country: ensure that the consumption of each property or charging station is measured separately and verifiably, keep the settlement transparent for the guest, and keep track of how you arrived at an amount. A system in which the guest sees his own consumption live and buys kWh himself, prevents disputes later on, regardless of which country the property is in. How such a measurement and settlement is technically arranged is described clearly on the page where it explains how the measurement and billing work.
Because legislation changes per country and not always at the same time, it is not a matter of finding out once and being done. For landlords with properties in multiple countries, it is advisable to consult a lawyer familiar with local consumer or rental law in each country in case of doubt, or to ask the national regulator how they view a specific situation. Staywatt measures and bills the consumption, but does not itself make a statement about what is permitted in your situation.
If you are unsure whether your current billing method aligns with what is customary, you will find on the page with answers to questions that other landlords have already asked a number of practical examples. And if you want to know in a few minutes where your own rental situation stands, the free quick-scan is a low-threshold first step.