Water Meters
Household customers in England and Wales have been able to choose to have a water meter fitted in their homes free of charge since 2000.
Tenants with a fixed term tenancy of six months or more also have the right to have a water meter fitted. However, they may need their landlord’s permission to have an internal meter fitted, especially if plumbing has to be altered. (s209A of the Water Industry Act 1991)
Household customers in England and Wales have been able to choose to have a water meter fitted in their homes free of charge since 2000.
Tenants with a fixed term tenancy of six months or more also have the right to have a water meter fitted. However, they may need their landlord’s permission to have an internal meter fitted, especially if plumbing has to be altered. (s209A of the Water Industry Act 1991)
You may save money if you switch to a water meter. Generally speaking, you are more likely to benefit if you live on your own or you live in a property with a high rateable value. If you have a large family you may not benefit from having a water meter.
The water company can advise whether it thinks a household may be able to save money by switching to a meter. It generally depends on:
- how much is paid now
- the number of people living in the property
- how much water they use
Some company websites have an on-line calculator to help decide whether savings are likely. There is also a spreadsheet calculator on the Consumer Council for Water website. See Additional Resources for this website.
It is usually possible to switch back to an unmetered bill, however the water meter will remain there but go back to rateable charges, as long as this is done within 12 months of switching to a water meter. The 12-month time limit gives the chance to work out how the metered bill compares with the unmetered bill. You may not be able to switch back to unmetered charges if you live in an area of water stress where the Government has allowed compulsory metering as part of a plan to maintain secure water supplies.
When someone moves into a property that already has a water meter, they cannot ask for it to be removed. The water company has the right to charge according to that meter. It also has the right to install a water meter when the occupiers change.
In general the water company cannot insist that you have a water meter, but there are exceptions to this, which are set out in law. They can insist one is installed if someone:
- moves into a property
- uses an automatic watering device (such as a garden sprinkler)
- has a swimming pool
- has a large bath
- has a water softening unit that uses reverse osmosis
- has a power shower
- lives in a water stressed area where the Government has allowed compulsory metering as part of a plan to maintain secure water supplies
Some water companies have a programme of installing meters in all their remaining unmetered household properties. The Environment Agency has advised the Government which areas of England it considers to be short of water (or ‘water stressed’). Water companies in these areas can ask the Government for permission to compulsorily meter their customers. Most of south-east and eastern England is classed as being seriously water stressed.
In Scotland, homeowners can opt, at their own cost, to have a meter installed on the water supply to their property. Scottish Water will provide the meter at their expense, but all other costs involved in creating the space for the meter to be installed must be met by the homeowner. These costs will include a survey charge and any installation charges.
Scottish water have an information booklet to explain what is involved in getting a water meter installed and the associated costs, ‘your guide to metered charges’ which can be found on their website and in the reproduced in the Additional Resources section of this subject on this site.
They also have a DIY water usage calculator on their website to help estimate a households average water consumption. This can be used to work out how much may be charged if a water meter was installed, and then compare this against what is charged now based on the Council Tax Band for the property.
Tenants must have the owner’s permission to get a meter installed. Where the property is not metered or occupied for a full year the charges will be apportioned on a daily basis.