Anybody help with rateable values on water bills?

viking_may

Hi, I am trying to find the rateable value of my rented flat.  I live in a one bedroom social housing flat.  It is Band A on council tax.  I know severn trent charge by rateable value though and I have no idea how to find it it.

My issue is, that I always thought I was being charged too much for water.  I live in a 1 bedroom flat, in not the best area.  I reckon if was sellable it would be 80000 now, probably 20000 or less when rated.

My bill this year is £570.  My friend who has a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in a far nice area, and probably over 3 times the value of my flat is under 400.  This seems ridiculous.

I know the obvious answer is to get a water meter, but I am convinced they have over charged me for 14 years.  I want to know once and for all.

I've done all the obvious searches for rateable values but I can't find out how you find out.  

Does any idea how you do this?

Thanks in advance
V

Rodders53

Just get a water meter installed asap.

Rateable values were last amended in 1990. Over 30 years ago and no alterations to RV have been made since then.  https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/your-water-bill/unmetered/

matelodave

The rateable value that's used by the water company has no relationship whasoever to your council tax banding nor the size of your property. It's quite possible that a mansion could have a lower rateable value than a flat, depending on how and when it was valued.

The RV is the one thats on your bill and there's no way of getting it changed. RV costs usually have a very high standing charge plus a poundage base on the RV. You haven't been overcharged you've just not taken the opportunity to have a water meter.

Where I live the standing charge is well over £600 plus the poundage, whereas my bill, based on metered consumption is around £350 and could be lower if we didn't water the garden and wash the cars or caravan. We've been on a meter for the past 25 years and saved £1000's, which is something you could have done.

Cardew

The only connection between Rateable Value(RV) and Council Tax is that they both were/are methods of raising local taxes for councils.

The RV was based on not the value of a property but the notional rent it could command on the market. Bear in mind that the last general revaluation of RV in England and Wales was in 1971 and that RV valuation stood until the RV system was abolished in 1990 and changed to Council Tax - after a brief flirtation with the Poll Tax.

A number of factors governed the the rent a property could command and this was crucial for the RV valuation. Position, state of modernisation in 1971(or until 1990 if built later) bus routes etc. Thus a modern centrally heated 1 bed flat in a nice area could fetch a higher rent than a old 3 bed unmodernised terrace in a poorer area.  I know of large mansions that were falling apart in 1971 that nobody would dream of renting that has a peppercorn RV, but have since been modernised and are Band H and worth well over £1million. They have retained their very low RV, despite a provision that a meter should be fitted if there were substantial alterations. Water companies don't bother to check and enforce that provisiion, and obviously owners are not going to get a meter.

When RV system for local taxes was abolished in 1990 it was intended that water meters would be mandated for all existing properties. However it was argued that  water charges could increase dramatically for those with high water consumption so the Water Act made a provision that meters would not be mandated for existing occupants but water companies would use the RV. There was a provision that water companies could impose a meter on change of occupant, but they don't bother in many cases.

The reason for not bothering is tied up in the ofwat control of water companies finances; without going into detail they have no financial incentive to fit a meter.

Anyway to answer the OP's point there have been many posts about challenging the RV and it is not possible to change the RV. If you want to find the RV it is on the water bill. If the RV is, say, £100 and water costs £2.20 and Drainage say £2.30 you will see a charge of 100 x £2.20 = £220 = 100 x £2.30 = £230 + standing charges. In Severn Trent Area there are many regions with different charges.