Farm water bill

CM1980

Our property is on a farm owned by my husbands grandparents. The house was built for my parents in law 30 years ago. 

When everything was built there was a single water feed to the whole farm and every property had free water courtesy of Grandfather. 

Now he has passed away another relative is running the farm and, mainly due to a huge leak in the farm buildings going undetected, has installed private sub meters to every property (there are several).

The relative is going to bill us for water usage which we are happy to pay.

They quoted a price of £3.10 per m3 including standing charge. This is thr price from Google including water and wastewater. 

We have no mains drainage in the vicinity - all septic tank / treatment plant.

We are expecting to cover the cost of the water and a fair portion of the standing charge. 

Knowing this relative i expect they will try and charge more.

Are there any protections against this? They are not our landlord, the house is owned by in laws, they purely share the water supply. 

Trying to be forearmed in advance of imminent first bill. 

tacpot12

Your biggest protection is not paying, although I can see how this will cause other problems, including the possibility of disconnection.

I think the best course of action is to keep things friendly, but ask if the arrangements for dividing the bill and standing charge (and dealing with and meter faults and meter reading errors) can be documented Once something is written down, it becomes harder for anyone to claim that something else was agreed.

CM1980

tacpot12 said:

Your biggest protection is not paying, although I can see how this will cause other problems, including the possibility of disconnection.

I think the best course of action is to keep things friendly, but ask if the arrangements for dividing the bill and standing charge (and dealing with and meter faults and meter reading errors) can be documented Once something is written down, it becomes harder for anyone to claim that something else was agreed.

The last communication we had was me confirming the price per m3 they should be paying. The response was that they are working out a fair price... Bill due tomorrow so watch this space. 

Cardew

Generally they cannot sell water at a profit.

https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/your-water-bill/waterresale/

QrizB

It will be interesting to see whether the price calculation follows the method in the Ofwat guide.

Afourteen

Does this mean the farm has a water meter? Was the meter installed 30 odd years ago or just recently?
If the Farms water meter was installed all those years ago then you should ask to see the water bills before you agree to even offer to pay the person for water. 
Personally I disagree with water meters on health grounds, whilst it makes people aware of the cost of clean potable water to the tap it also encourages unhealthy practises of people not washing regularly, not flushing the toilet, keeping mucky bath water for days (using an occasional bucket full to flush the toilet). 

Swipe

Afourteen said:

Personally I disagree with water meters on health grounds, whilst it makes people aware of the cost of clean potable water to the tap it also encourages unhealthy practises of people not washing regularly, not flushing the toilet, keeping mucky bath water for days (using an occasional bucket full to flush the toilet). 

How ridiculous! I can't imagine more than a handful of eccentrics going to those extreme lengths to save water. The non metered cost for my property is £650 pa and on a meter is around £200 with no water saving measures practised.

CM1980

Afourteen said:

Does this mean the farm has a water meter? Was the meter installed 30 odd years ago or just recently?
If the Farms water meter was installed all those years ago then you should ask to see the water bills before you agree to even offer to pay the person for water. 
Personally I disagree with water meters on health grounds, whilst it makes people aware of the cost of clean potable water to the tap it also encourages unhealthy practises of people not washing regularly, not flushing the toilet, keeping mucky bath water for days (using an occasional bucket full to flush the toilet). 

Yes, the farm has always had a water meter which was installed 30 years ago.
All of the properties on the farm (4 houses, 2 annexes, mobile homes and all of the stables and water troughs) have run off the same supply with the single water meter ever since and the farm just picked up the tab.

A large leak on site (it transpires a privately installed pipe was punctured and leaking at a rate of a fully turned on tap 24/7 for possibly years) caused the bills to be queried and leak detectors to be employed.  Water meters have now been installed around site so that any future leaks can be more easily traced which seems sensible.  It also means that the properties can be billed for their element of water usage.

I got the first bill and the charge was £2.45 per m3 with no standing charge.  I queried this immediately and sent the link to the Ofwat guidance.

The relative has asked to leave this until the new year as they have employed a solicitor - I expect to try and get a reduction on the huge water bills - and we will sort it then.  They mention 'backdating' which is likely a passive agressive threat about tryign to bill for the last 30 years but I think in reality it will only be backdated to October when the meter went in.

We won't change our living habits due to the meter - it just means we can fairly pay our portion which is fine.  The relative verbally estimated a £2k per annum bill - based on our usage so far it will be nearer £600 per annum.  

Who needs enemies with families like this :-)

CM1980

QrizB said:

It will be interesting to see whether the price calculation follows the method in the Ofwat guide.

Nope, first offering £2.45 per cubic metre.  Have asked for a copy of their bill.  We are going to discuss it again in the New Year.....

theoretica

Who pays for the septic tanks?  Do you have your own and deal with that, do the properties share?  How good are they on the current legislation?  What about upkeep of the water pipes between the farm meter and your property?

To my mind, the water should be paid at whatever rate they are charged + a proportion of the standing charge.  But an additional fund towards sewage/pipes might be reasonable or an agreement to pay as needed.

Have you asked the waterboard about costs to get your own separate supply from them?  In the long term it might simplify things?

QrizB

CM1980 said:

... I got the first bill and the charge was £2.45 per m3 with no standing charge.  I queried this immediately and sent the link to the Ofwat guidance.
The relative has asked to leave this until the new year as they have employed a solicitor - I expect to try and get a reduction on the huge water bills - and we will sort it then.  They mention 'backdating' which is likely a passive agressive threat about tryign to bill for the last 30 years but I think in reality it will only be backdated to October when the meter went in.
We won't change our living habits due to the meter - it just means we can fairly pay our portion which is fine.  The relative verbally estimated a £2k per annum bill - based on our usage so far it will be nearer £600 per annum.  
Who needs enemies with families like this :-)

Good luck! FWIW there are four of us here and we get through around 300 litres a day, 120 cubic metres a year (800 cubic metres in the past 7 years).