Rented property water meter concerns and leak security

Lady_K

Daughters moving into a rented house with a water meter, is there anything she should be sure of before she signs the agreement and moves in?

I'm just a bit concerned about if there are ever any leaks plus concerned that it might turn out expensive

Shes going to be under severn trent water, the house has never had a ratable value as its a newer property but its small like a town house 2 up 2 down and band A council tax, I'm sure its going to cost her more than it ever would have if it had a ratable value as mine is band B in the same area and my bill is £322 for a year and her house is much smaller than mine

There will be 2 adults in the property, how much should it roughly cost per month? and is it cheaper to have a bath rather than shower?

Dharri5

The best thing to do is to get your daughter call STW on 08457 500 500.

As your daughter has never had a meter the person who answers the telephone will likely ask a range of questions such as how many baths/showers are taken per week, how many toilet flushes, Number of occupants etc. This is then put into a calculator which roughly estimates the amount she should pay pay per month and a payment plan can be set. Obviously your daughter may owe more or less than this estimate depending on the water she actually uses as because she is on a meter this is what the bill will be based on.

If there are only one or two people at the property than a water meter is likely to be cheaper than rateable value provided there is just normal water consumption (no fish tanks, hoses to wash cars etc)

When she moves in, take a meter reading and call Severn Trent (this will ensure she is billed the correct amount)

Regards your concerns about leaks etc, if the leak is on the property it is the responsibility of the owner/tenant to fix etc. However if you let the water company know you can get a leakage allowance forms where bills can be amended to take into account leaks. Obviously these are checked to ensure its a geniune case.

Hope this is of some help.

Lady_K

Will be doing that thankyou, will just have to see how it goes