Large Bill due to Internal Leak - Is the Landlord liable to pay?

besha

Hi folks,
Received my 6 monthly water bill recently which was about £70 higher than usual (consumption increased from a roughly consistent 35 cubic metres on previous three bills to 53 cubic metres).
From speaking to the water company and running checks on our meter (read last thing at night then first thing in the morning, then repeat the following day with the internal stop tap turned off) we've established it's an internal leak and I have spoken to the landlord to get him to send a plumber round.
I was just wondering if I have any legal right to ask the landlord to make up the difference in the bill due to the excess water lost to the leak?
Thanks for your help.

deanos

You may be able to claim a leakage allowance from the water company, certain ones allow for internal leaks, Anglian Water do

As for landlord liable not sure about that part

Cardew

You might have had a case if you had notified the landlord of the leak and he had taken no action.

As it is he hasn't been negligent.

It would appear that 18,000 litres has leaked from within the house?? The main culprit for an internal leak is a faulty cistern with the water leaking into the bowl.

besha

Thanks for the replies folks. Will just have to ask him nicely and see what he says then!

macman

You can hardly not have noticed such a leak if it's within the house (and not between meter and the property). As Cardew says, the usual culprit is a continual flow into the toilet bowl, which can hardly be missed.

besha

macman wrote: »

You can hardly not have noticed such a leak if it's within the house (and not between meter and the property). As Cardew says, the usual culprit is a continual flow into the toilet bowl, which can hardly be missed.

Well this is where things get confusing as there is certainly no continual flow into the toilet bowl and no other obvious visible signs of a problem but I'll just have to wait and see what the plumber says.

macman

Then it's outside the property.

Cardew

macman wrote: »

Then it's outside the property.

Not according to this:

From speaking to the water company and running checks on our meter (read last
thing at night then first thing in the morning, then repeat the following day
with the internal stop tap turned off) we've established it's an internal leak

Presumably with the internal stopcock closed there was no leak - with it open - excessive consumption.

macman

I'd be asking where exactly the stopc**k is then...