To water meter, or not to water meter, that is the question.....

AngryDog

I've just started renting a property. It is a 3 bed house.

I was greeted to the glorious sight of a water bill the other day and upon opening it, thought that I was going to faint.

Yorkshire Water want to charge me £285 from now until the end of March for water.
Two Hundred and Eighty Five Pounds!!!!!!!! When asked how much they wanted to charge me for the year, they requested £430! This sounds quite expensive to me, especially as only myself, my gf and our dog (who last time I saw, didnt have an expensive water drinking habit, but always has water in his bowl) live in the house.

I asked Yorkshire Water about going onto a meter. They advised me that I need to contact my Land Lord and request him to send a letter into Yorkshire Water to ask for a meter to be put in, if he will allow it.

Would I be better off with a water meter, or should I just take the £285 payment on the chin?

caveat_emptor

Yorkshire Water website says that metered charges for 2 people would be between £270 for low usage to £395 for high usage so you should be quids in metered.

AngryDog

Thanks, I think I'll have to ask my land lord about it..

Gothicfairy

You should have to ask your landlord if you have been in the property for less then 6 months because of course they then get stuck with the meter..

But please please check your tenancy agreement as some clearly state no changes and that can mean you could lose deposit etc so even if landlord agrees get it in writing so you have covered your back.

AngryDog

Yorkshire water want a letter from the Land Lord anyway, so I would have to ask him regardless.

Swipe

Severn Trent Water wanted £600 pa for me (I live alone) when I moved into my bungalow in March. I switched to a meter sharpish to save hundreds.

nicola1990_2

i have recently moved into a 4 bed in Brighton and we have a bill for £236 from august till march. Being students we are not going to be in the house for almost 3 months throughout the year and we are not sure if a water metre will be cheaper. some websites say we will save money, some say we won't and we arent sure if we are getting ripped off or not or if it is worth having a water metre when we are only renting the house for a year.

Rikki

nicola1990 wrote: »

i have recently moved into a 4 bed in Brighton and we have a bill for £236 from august till march. Being students we are not going to be in the house for almost 3 months throughout the year and we are not sure if a water metre will be cheaper. some websites say we will save money, some say we won't and we arent sure if we are getting ripped off or not or if it is worth having a water metre when we are only renting the house for a year.

One years metered water bill for the student house my son share with two other students was £260 for the year. You will have four adults, so think of the showers and washing you will be doing. Certainly more than male students I bet.

I would fined out the cost of the year rateable bill before you weigh up asking for a meter. Also you will need the landlords permission.