Is a £1000 water/sewerage bill normal?

DazedConfused_2

Hi,

Just moved into an unmetered, 4 bed semi. Bristol Water has sent us a bill for £1000 for the year! Is that right? It's basically than double what we were paying in a 3 bed flat in a more expensive area (probably similar value properties).

They also sent a letter saying we should get a meter. There are 2 adults and 3 children under 5 - is this a good idea?

Thanks!

dogshome

This thread would be better if posted on the WATER section of the forum

It seems that this 4bed semi is in, or was in, a high rent district of Bristol

Your £1,000 a year water bill is based on the "Rateable Value" of the house
Rateable Value is an out-of-date historical measure on which the "Rates", which for now read "Council Tax", were collected by the Local Authority
The Rateable Value was set by the Inland Revenue, and the more desireable the house, the bigger the R/Value

The only people still useing the R/Value to set their charges, are the Water Co's when a property doesn't have a water meter - So the advice that you should apply to have a water meter fitted was was good.
BUT
A household with 2 adults & 3 young children is going to use a fair amount of water, so the metered bills won't be cheap.
There is however a get-out for householders who apply for meter - If you do get a meter, but then find the bills too high, you have the right to switch back to
R/Value billing within the first 12 months

Cardew

DazedConfused wrote: »

Hi,

Just moved into an unmetered, 4 bed semi. Bristol Water has sent us a bill for £1000 for the year! Is that right? It's basically than double what we were paying in a 3 bed flat in a more expensive area (probably similar value properties).

They also sent a letter saying we should get a meter. There are 2 adults and 3 children under 5 - is this a good idea?

Thanks!

The Rateable Value(RV) was not based on the value of the property, but the notional Rent the property could command.


That RV assessment was probably carried out in 1973 when the last general valuation in UK was completed; obviously for properties built post 1973 until April 1990 they would have been assessed when building completed.


The RV was based on many factors - state of modernisation, garage, facilities etc.


With 5 in the house, average consumption would be between 250 to 300 cubic metres per year. You can look at Bristol Water's website and estimate likely costs.