Resolving water bill problem with landlord

Fire_Fox

You aren't being punished, you haven't contacted the landlord yet.

[Deleted User]

Fire_Fox wrote: »

You aren't being punished, you haven't contacted the landlord yet.

I did..spoke with the agency..who in turn spoke to LL and got back to me saying that the bills in my name and wasn't going to cough up !

missrlr

Geez, there are 2 of us, usual washing and cleaning and so on and we use less than £6 of water per month. We are on a meter with Southern H2O to0 so I know this to be accurate.
We had a leak (snow related) in the driveway and reported it, they (eventually) fixed it and refunded the money to us on the bill as we pointed out that the leak was consuming water we had not and it was reported. Might be worth an ask of water co - but I am afraid you are responsible for water used - however that is unless you can show the water co have a problem in the supply. If LL was slow / unhelpful in getting the leak solved then you may have a claim there, but the rest if a matter for you. Put it another way if you were owning the house paying a mortgage, would you think the mortgage company should pay for this if you hadn't figured out the leak or mended it?
Sorry, cough up and next time keep an eye on your water meter and take reading regularly.

Fire_Fox

Deleted_User wrote: »

I did..spoke with the agency..who in turn spoke to LL and got back to me saying that the bills in my name and wasn't going to cough up !

Look this thread is a waste of time if you are going to ignore the suggestions given. You would be laughed out of court if they asked you what efforts you had made to resolve this with your landlord and you claimed to have telephoned the agent! How do you know the agency is telling the truth? You need to write to your landlord as per your own thread title!

[Deleted User]

missrlr wrote: »

Geez, there are 2 of us, usual washing and cleaning and so on and we use less than £6 of water per month. We are on a meter with Southern H2O to0 so I know this to be accurate.
We had a leak (snow related) in the driveway and reported it, they (eventually) fixed it and refunded the money to us on the bill as we pointed out that the leak was consuming water we had not and it was reported. Might be worth an ask of water co - but I am afraid you are responsible for water used - however that is unless you can show the water co have a problem in the supply. If LL was slow / unhelpful in getting the leak solved then you may have a claim there, but the rest if a matter for you. Put it another way if you were owning the house paying a mortgage, would you think the mortgage company should pay for this if you hadn't figured out the leak or mended it?
Sorry, cough up and next time keep an eye on your water meter and take reading regularly.

Your bill per year....for two people...£72
My bill for 17 mnths...one person...no dishwasher...£454 !!!

paul1964_2

missrlr wrote: »

Put it another way if you were owning the house paying a mortgage, would you think the mortgage company should pay for this if you hadn't figured out the leak or mended it?
Sorry, cough up and next time keep an eye on your water meter and take reading regularly.

The difference is that when renting, the LL bears the responsibility for the maintenance of the plumbing in the property.

If the cistern inlet valve was faulty and there was not an overflow pipe, the water would gently run into the pan and be pretty difficult to spot.

missile

You did not notice the toilet overflow running. You chose to fit the water meter. You are responsible for the bill end of.

CharlieRabbit01

Deleted_User wrote: »

Your bill per year....for two people...£72
My bill for 17 mnths...one person...no dishwasher...£454 !!!

My bill is only £25 a quarter, for 2 of us with a dishwasher, we're with south east water.

OP i agree with the other posters you are responsible for the water you use, with regards to the leak I believe if if was within your property it is your responsibility and if it's outside its the water boards responsibility and therefore you could request them to pay the difference where your bill was too high due to a leak.

However as your leak was inside the property and you didn't report it/see it sooner then the hard truth is its your responsibility.

If you "did a runner" the water board will still chase you as your name is on the bill.

silvercar

Did the landlord consent to you having the meter fitted?

1. yes

2. yes but on the understanding that all water would then be billed including any caused by leaks

3. no.

If 2 or 3 then you are liable for the full cost of the water. If 1. then it is debatable, by asking for a meter you are asking to be liable for all the water to the property. Though the landlord's liability for the piumbing does make him liable for the fixing faults I don't know if it makes him liable to the tenant for wasted water, especially water leaking before tenant notified leaks.

[Deleted User]

paul1964 wrote: »

The difference is that when renting, the LL bears the responsibility for the maintenance of the plumbing in the property.

If the cistern inlet valve was faulty and there was not an overflow pipe, the water would gently run into the pan and be pretty difficult to spot.

That's exactly what it was ! Also..as I'm underneath another flat which contain the noisiest people in the universe...to hear that slight hissing and even seeing the dribble into the pan was nigh on impossible !