Water Charges

warmhands.coldheart

"The Northern Ireland Executive has confirmed water charges will be deferred for another year. " as reported by the EBC..Sorry I mean BBC

Our local revenue is collected through the rates, which are split into two parts, the regional rate and the district rate
The regional rate is used to help pay for our regional services such as the roads, education, healthcare and "water"
The district rates pay for services provided by councils such as bin collection & services, tourism and recreational facilities etc. etc..

In the the rest of GB an average family would pay roughly £300~£400 per year on water bills to cover Water & Sewerage. (Correct me if 'm wrong please)

That would mean that out of my £650 Rates bill say about £300 would go to Water & Sewerage

That leaves only £350 for
Roads,
Education,
Healthcare,
Bin Collection,
Tourism,
Recreation.

To be honest I'd rather pay the water rates and have better services... better than the substandard services we have at the moment and clean streets and public areas...

How long will the rest of the UK have to subsidise us in Northern Ireland??
If I was English, Scotish or Welsh I'd be Fuming :mad:

It's about time the folk in Northern Ireland Paid for the services they recieve.. It's only right!!

Wookey

I wouldn't mind paying them either, it has to be fair though. Simply hitting everyone with a single fee isn't very fair, higher users should pay more, meters should be installed and our current rates bills would need to drop a bit to allow for the water element being billed seperately.

Artofdookie

Wookey wrote: »

I wouldn't mind paying them either, it has to be fair though. Simply hitting everyone with a single fee isn't very fair, higher users should pay more, meters should be installed and our current rates bills would need to drop a bit to allow for the water element being billed seperately.

Ditto, you got my vote

agal

I still pay my household rates but the DoE no longer empty my septic tank - it's getting very full :eek:
Perhaps I should be making a reclaim on the sewerage part of the rates?

Money_Grabber13579

warmhands.coldheart wrote: »

It's about time the folk in Northern Ireland Paid for the services they recieve.. It's only right!!

But we already do! It's included in the rates so it'd be a double charge!

And I assume you wouldn't have to pay otherwise you wouldn't be volunteering to throw your money away?

Golden_Anemone

Firstly I totally agree that we should pay our way, I don't however agree that we should pay twice. And I'm sorry Warmhands but I can't agree that we are subsidised by the people in GB. We may in the past have received more money than was our due from Westminster because if the huge costs associated with the troubles but no longer. The money we paid for years that was supposed to go towards our infrastructure was instead spent on policing and re-building work so we are left with a country that is falling down.

If I lived in GB I would receive an automatic 25% reduction in my council tax as the only adult in my house - do I get that here? No! If I had a house worth half a million pounds then I would get a 2/3 discount though.

NI - you just got to love it.

seatzie

I also agree we should pay our way but we should NOT pay twice - want us to pay seperate water charge? fine drop my rates by 35% and put a meter in my house because I'm damned sure I don't use anywhere near the amount of water that my neighbour 2 doors away who washes his 2 cars every other day does.......

after the recent rates revision, I am paying £1000 in rates because of some "imaginary" property value - I was at a public consultation with the Water Service and Rates people last year and I asked if the bubble burst and property prices plummeted would they drop rates? I already knew the answer, they admitted all they would do is change the multiplier on your property value so that they still got the same money.........its just a tax on where you live........

leftieM

I wonder what will happen with those of us who rent? Landlords usually add the rates to the rent so the tenant doesn't pay directly. Water charges, if attached to the property, will again be a landlord's responsibility. Of course they'll want the tenant to pay the full amount but it may be difficult in a market where rents are falling. Tenants may just move to cheaper properties which will effectively add to downward pressure on rents in areas of oversupply.

Bigcammy

As a tenant to a private landlord this question has come up a couple of times. The contracts I've had over the last two years have included rates in the rental but there's a clause in the agreement putting the responsibility for additional charges including water charges onto the tenant.

wifeforlife

seatzie wrote: »

I I was at a public consultation with the Water Service and Rates people last year and I asked if the bubble burst and property prices plummeted would they drop rates? I already knew the answer, they admitted all they would do is change the multiplier on your property value so that they still got the same money.........its just a tax on where you live........

The capital value was based on the property market strictly in January 2005 - if your valuation is too high you really should ask for a re-valuation, getting information regarding house prices in your area at that time are easy enough now with the internet to use as evidence of appeal, also when property prices hit their peak 2007-2008 your capital value did not increase!! Swings and roundabouts really

leftieM & Bigcammy - legislation changed in April 2007 where by if a property has a capital value of less than 150k then the landlord is ALWAYS legally responsible regardless of tenancy agreement, and the rates office will not allow a tenants name on an account.

Hope this helps

I personally think that the level of rates collected by the councils are high enough for the services we receive, I know that my own local council still has the top three earners in the council 'sick' on full pay or 'suspended' on full pay, and so much money is frittered away on stupid things that really aren't needed. Having a look on your local council website to their AGM minutes, and finances really opens your eyes.

If water charges where metered I'd support them, but I am not willing to subsidise others

Cate

seatzie

Cate I'm well aware of when the property values were set and how to find them, the point is my father in law has lived in the same house for 37 years, his rates have gone from 120 quid to 600 quid in 5 years because of imaginary property values - his actual ability to pay in the last 5 years hasn't gone up 5 fold, its a tax nothing more nothing less, put water meters in and reduce the rates bill............

as I said if values go down they just change the multiplier, yes when values peaked ratable value stayed the same, but do you think they expected the property crash?.......... its a crap system.............