Cheaper Water Bills Article Discussion

jeferey

eeeeeee wrote: »

is the meter situated inside or outside your property , meters on small 15mm connections are usually inside ... most meteres nowadays are situated outside the property .

Thanks e x7 - ours is under the sink as they would have had to dig up the public highway to fit outside - no go area! :rotfl:

lethou

My son has just moved into his first property, a rented 3 bed semi, less than a mile from us, the same borough council etc. His water rates have just come in at £518.30 for the year (United Utilities) and his property is in council tax band C (he lives alone). We live in a 4 bed detached (council tax band D) and our water rates are £406 for the year. I just don't understand the reasoning behind the 'rateable value' as stated on the bills - his is £218 whilst our property is £168. Who/when was this crazy value set and is there nothing that can be done to appeal them? P.S. I understand he is able to have a water meter fitted even though he is a tenant and it would seem that he could benefit from having one fitted. Thanks in advance for any advice.

jeferey

lethou wrote: »

My son has just moved into his first property, a rented 3 bed semi, less than a mile from us, the same borough council etc. His water rates have just come in at £518.30 for the year (United Utilities) and his property is in council tax band C (he lives alone). We live in a 4 bed detached (council tax band D) and our water rates are £406 for the year. I just don't understand the reasoning behind the 'rateable value' as stated on the bills - his is £218 whilst our property is £168. Who/when was this crazy value set and is there nothing that can be done to appeal them? P.S. I understand he is able to have a water meter fitted even though he is a tenant and it would seem that he could benefit from having one fitted. Thanks in advance for any advice.

The rateable value system is just pants :mad:
Your son would definitely reduce his bill by over 1/2 unless he leaves all his taps on and has an Olympic sized swimming pool in his back garden. :rotfl:

Cardew

lethou wrote: »

My son has just moved into his first property, a rented 3 bed semi, less than a mile from us, the same borough council etc. His water rates have just come in at £518.30 for the year (United Utilities) and his property is in council tax band C (he lives alone). We live in a 4 bed detached (council tax band D) and our water rates are £406 for the year. I just don't understand the reasoning behind the 'rateable value' as stated on the bills - his is £218 whilst our property is £168. Who/when was this crazy value set and is there nothing that can be done to appeal them? P.S. I understand he is able to have a water meter fitted even though he is a tenant and it would seem that he could benefit from having one fitted. Thanks in advance for any advice.

The Rateable Value(RV) depended on the notional rental the property could command and was set as far back as 1973. It is nothing to do with resale value.

If his semi is in a nice area(by bus stop etc) and was modernised in 1973(garage? new kitchen/bathroom? DG?) it would fetch a higher notional rent than your bigger house which might have been unmodernised in 1973!

There is nothing that can be done to appeal the RV. Although if your property has been modernised since 1973 you should actually declare it and would have a meter fitted.;)

lethou

Many thanks - unfortunately (?) he doesn't have a swimming pool, so we have today requested a water meter. Doing the online calculator on the UU website looks like he may well be about £200 per year better off. Thanks for explaining the RV, probably makes sense now, but agree - its pants.

jeferey

Got my new direct debit instruction through yesterday. They still haven't given me the ability to provide a meter reading (fitted on 03/04) but my monthly payments have dropped over £20.

jeferey

jeferey wrote: »

Got my new direct debit instruction through yesterday. They still haven't given me the ability to provide a meter reading (fitted on 03/04) but my monthly payments have dropped over £20.

Done a meter reading at last and they've dropped my Direct Debit again - it's now £29/month less than before :j- go for it people - I've got 4 people in a 4 bed house.

WHIFFES

Hi everyone

Can anyone help with how the rateable value for the property is calculated? Is there something like the calculator used for working out the community charge, as I currently pay £672 for a 4 bedroomed semi!!

Thanks :eek:

Cardew

WHIFFES wrote: »

Hi everyone

Can anyone help with how the rateable value for the property is calculated? Is there something like the calculator used for working out the community charge, as I currently pay £672 for a 4 bedroomed semi!!

Thanks :eek:

The Rateable Value(RV) could have been set as long ago as 1973, and certainly before 1990. It was determined by the notional rent the house could fetch.

Lots of things determined the RV, not just size and location.

For instance if a House A was 'modernised'(by 1973 standards!) when the RV was set(e.g. Central Heating, Double Glazing new kitchen/bathroom, garage etc) then it would command a higher rent than an identical size, but unmodernised House B and thus house A would have a higher RV.

In theory if House B was modernised/extended after the RV was set it should have been declared to the council - but nobody did.

It has nothing to do with the value or the Council Tax banding of a house.

In extreme cases, it is possible to have a Band H mansion in several acres and now worth £millions with a lower RV than an estate semi.

This is because if the mansion was unmodernised in 1973, nobody would have wanted to rent such a house with huge upkeep heating/grounds etc.

Lastly, it is obviously a stupid way of assessing water charges, and nothing can be done to change the RV

shays_mum

My friend has to pay 2 sets of water bills, southern water charges for the water supply & south east charge to take the water away, she pays £280 per quater from each provider :eek: this can't be right can it??!!
Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance