Shared water meter - help!

Evening all, desparately seeking help.

We live in a rented end terrace, and we share a private water supply, provided by our landlord, with the other three neighbours on our row of four properties.

We currently pay the bill according to the number of people in each property. We are two adults, we pay 2/10s of the bill as there are 10 people living on the row in total.

There are ZERO restrictions on water use. Our immediate neighbour has a large paddling pool which is refilled every other day, if not daily, and has recently laid turf which is getting a regular water too. Then our next lot of neighbours (arguably the least wasteful) also have a paddling pool, with a sprinkler attachment which is used most weekends for several hours. And finally we have the neighbour with the front and rear garden sprinkler systems which are on at least an hour a day at the moment, plus a large koi pond requiring fairly regular water changes.

We have none of these things - in fact, we reuse as much grey water as we possibly can and are the only house of the four with a water butt installed to catch rainwater.

Our bill this time last year was £236 for 3 months use, and this summer has been far hotter, far longer, with water being used by our neighbours like it’s going out of fashion. Needless to say I am dreading our next summer bill, which is due any day now.

When we got last year’s whopping bill I queried the situation with the landlord’s aide and was told quite simply that that’s the way it’s always been, there is nothing they can do, the supply cannot be split, tough titties.

For several weeks now I have been emailing the land agent who now oversees the properties, letting him know what’s going on, the excessive water use, and our unhappiness at the current situation. After three weeks, we are no closer towards getting a clear understanding of why they say they cannot split the supply.

Today our neighbours has gone and bought an even bigger pool, which has been filling for a couple of hours now, and I am at my wits end. Based on last year’s bill I am fully expecting to be slapped with a bill for over £300 for the three months we are due for, and, quite simply - we can’t afford it.

Complicating matters further is the fact that the most wasteful of the three is a very good friend of the landlord...

I have chased up the letting agent yet again for answers, but in the meantime I am hoping for some advice on what I can go back with assuming I get the good old “Sorry, can’t split it” party line.

Can I demand to see the pipeline blueprints?
Do I have ANY legal rights to an individual meter?
Regardless of whether it’s a private supply, should the landlord enforce a fair use policy?

We otherwise love our house - it’s a lovely location, pet friendly, close to our places of work, quiet - but with our rent, electric and council tax having gone up this year we are seriously having to look at moving on simply because of our inconsiderate neighbours.

Please help!

And also please, don’t tell us how stupid we are for moving in in the first place. We wanted the house so badly and were told the water bills were very modest.

Thank you in advance. And sorry for the essay.