Single Person Water discount

HAMIL01

Hi all, does anybody know if you can reclaim on previous years bills where you were eligible for single occupancy but never applied, I can see that the water companies can increase your bills going back as far as they want, but nothing on ofwat or their websites about backdating claims for single occupancy. Would be grateful for any help

thanks

Hasbeen

HAMIL01 said:

Hi all, does anybody know if you can reclaim on previous years bills where you were eligible for single occupancy but never applied, I can see that the water companies can increase your bills going back as far as they want, but nothing on ofwat or their websites about backdating claims for single occupancy. Would be grateful for any help

thanks

What water company and do you have a water meter fitted?

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

If you have a meter you cannot get a single person discount.

If your charges are unmetered you also cannot get a single person discount.

The only way to get a single person discount is to get an 'assessed charge'. To get an assessed charge you have to apply for a meter and the water company cannot fit a meter - this often happens in flats.

'Properties with complicated plumbing - particularly in flats - mean it’s not always possible to install water meters.

In these cases, we’ll ensure you get a water bill that better reflects the amount of water you use. A flat rate charge is available called the ‘Assessed Household Charge’.

The Assessed Household Charge is the most accurate way to calculate a fair bill without a meter. It’s based on the average amount of water that metered customers use in properties of a similar size to yours. If we find that it’s cheaper for you to stay on your current charges then don’t worry, we won’t change it over and you’ll continue to be billed on your current rate.

There's also a discount for single occupants if you live alone.

These tariffs are only available if you've applied for a meter but we've been unable to fit one - either because it's not possible or it would be too complicated to fit.'

The important point is that you have to apply for a meter before you can be placed on an assessed charge and the will not backdate.

There was a series of posts on MSE years ago where people in flats knew a meter couldn't be fitted in their block - as other occupants has tried to get a meter - so never applied. They then found out about the assessed charge and tried to get the charge backdated, but the water companies would not budge.

MarktheHarp

This is useful – presumably this still holds good now in 2025.

My daughter is a single occupant of a one-bedroom flat in London that unfortunately has the same council tax band as the other properties which are a lot larger. She has already tried to have it revalued and they have refused to change the council tax band. There is no individual meter to the property, so she is paying based on the council tax band – which in her case is unfair because she is a single occupant and it is the same band as properties with two or three bedrooms. I will get her to apply for a meter and take it from there.

QrizB

MarktheHarp said:

... she is paying based on the council tax band

That would be unusual.

Typically her water bill would be based on the rateable value, which was set back in the 1970s long before Council Tax came along.

Cardew

QrizB said:

MarktheHarp said:

... she is paying based on the council tax band

That would be unusual.

Typically her water bill would be based on the rateable value, which was set back in the 1970s long before Council Tax came along.

Agreed. There is no provision for water bills to be based on Council Tax.

If you(MarktheHarp) look at your daughter's water bill it will give the Rateable Value(RV) if the bill is based on on rateable value.  The bill will give separate charges for Water and used water(sewerage) based on that RV eg if RV was, say £200 it would state 200 x £x for water etc.

If an RV is used it indicates the flats were built prior to April 1990. 

RV was assessed on the estimate of the rent a property could command at the date of assessment. Therefore it would highly unlikely that your daughters 1 bedroom flat would have the same RV as 2 or 3 bedroom flats in the same complex.

Give you say all the different size flats pay the same water charges, I suspect there might be a central water meter for the whole block(very common in London) and the leaseholder/management company have decided to split the water charges equally between properties regardless if number of bedrooms.

Although this is unfair of your single occupant daughter it simply is virtually impossible to fairly distribute charges based on occupancy at any given time. A 1 bed flat could have multiple occupants and a 3 bed flat a single occupant(or even be unoccupied) and the situation change daily.