Can't afford water rates any more...

Maureen43

Have just had my "rates" bill for water and sewerage from Bristol Water for a four bedroomed house.

£74 per month over 10 months!

That must be a record....Anyway, there are only three of us in the house and I am considering changing to a water meter.

However the house is on the market (but taking ages to sell) and I need to be sure that having a water meter won't affect the value of the house.

What do you think?

keystone

Maureen43 wrote: »

Have just had my "rates" bill for water and sewerage from Bristol Water for a four bedroomed house.

£74 per month over 10 months!

That must be a record....Anyway, there are only three of us in the house and I am considering changing to a water meter.

However the house is on the market (but taking ages to sell) and I need to be sure that having a water meter won't affect the value of the house.

What do you think?

Supplier will insist on one on change of ownership/occupancy anyway. Don't worry about it.

Cheers

Maureen43

Is that right??!! If you sell a house the water company insist the new owners have a meter if there wasn't one before? I didn't know that

w0lfm0ther

When did this start, first I have heard of it. A meter would put me off as there are 6 in my family.

deanos

not all water companys fit meter on change of occupier

macman

But they can do. OP, suggest you check with BW what their policy is.
PS: water rates were abolished back in 1990, what you pay now is RV (Rateable Value) billing.

WestonDave

Many people are used to water meters being more common now - with a 4 bed house, your billing will be based on an expectation of around 5 people using water. The normal rule of thumb is that if you have more bedrooms than people living there, you'll probably save on a water meter. I suspect most people looking at a house won't even consider whether its on a meter until a fair way into the transaction by which point having laid out for surveys etc, its unlikely to be a big enough issue to pull out over.

Dijor

Definitely not a record Maureen43! My water rates for the next year are £143 per month (over 10 months) for a 3-bed terraced house in Cornwall. Think yourself lucky at only £74!

Also thinking of a water meter but I do water the garden a lot in the summer. Do you still have 12 months to make up your mind once you've had a water meter installed to decide if you want to keep it or not?

macman

Yes, you have 12 months from install to revert to RV billing. The meter is 'kept' regardless, but if you revert it's not read.
The next owner or occupier will then be metered without choice.