My flat unoccupied according to Anglian Water

ukbilly

I've just received a letter from Anglian Water that says they believe that the flat I've been renting for two years is unoccupied. This is clearly wrong.
The Landlord and Letting Agency aren't exactly very sharp and I certainly don't have any readings for when I moved in.
How will the water use charges be determined? There were certainly tenants here before I moved in but they disappeared without informing anyone. What am I liable for in this situation. Advice appreciated. Many thanks.

addyboo

I am experiencing the same problem with anglian, basically they come along and read the meter once you have informed them that you have been living in the property. The problem arises when like myself you cannot tell them what the meter reading was when you moved in, and if the last tenant did not do this when moving out then it creates huge problems with lots of estimated billing. Frankly i dont even know where my water meter is!

ukbilly

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'd appreciate if you could keep us informed if there are any developments.

chris_n_tj

The onus is on you to let the utilities know your moving in date and meter reading. That is unless the water charges are included in your rent.
Chris

Cardew

As you stated you 'haven't taken any readings' I assume the flat is metered.

Anglian will probably bill you from the the last meter reading they have(for which they have raised a bill) to the current meter reading.

Assuming you are responsible for water bills, as said above, you should have notified Anglian of the meter reading when you moved into the flat.

It is not Anglian's problem to sort out what proportion of the bill the previous tennant owes.(if any)

deanos

addyboo wrote: »

basically they come along and read the meter once you have informed them that you have been living in the property.

Nope once it is fitted they will start reading it , not when you move in

kevsterman

I have a similar problem with Anglian Water. I've lived in my rented flat for 3 months and I'm now about to move out. I emailed AW when I moved in letting them know my new address but as I hadn't heard from then I emailed and ask why I'd not been sent a bill. They replied saying that my property isn't registered with them and asking for information such as dates of moving in and do I have a meter (surely they should tell me that?!) As far as I know there isn't a water meter, I certainly wasn't told about one by the agents when I moved in.

A friend has told me that as a tenant, if the property hasn't been registered with AW by the landlord then I am not liable to pay the bill. Is this true? I don't mind paying the bill if legally I have to as after all it is water I've used, but if my landlord has made a mistake and not registered the property and I don't have to pay then I'll make sure I don't. Any advice will be really appreciated.

Oh, and apologies for somewhat hijacking the thread!

Gothicfairy

Sorry Kev, your friend is wrong. You are using the supply and are responsible for keeping the company informed. Some landlords do it anyway but they don't have to as they will have a copy of any tenancy agreement and can prove that they were not using the supply.

I would check your agreement and see what you are meant to pay and go from there, if your agreement states the landlord should pay then send that it to the water company but if you are to pay the bills then it is really down to you to sort out.

kevsterman

I suspected my friend was wrong when she told me about it so thanks for clarifying that, Gothicfairy. I'll contact AW and tell them my moving in & out dates and let them work out how much I owe. Hopefully not too much!