Am I liable for water charges if my rented property hasn't been registered with the w

[kevsterman]

I've lived in my rented flat for 3 months and I'm now about to move out. I emailed Anglian Water when I moved in letting them know my new address but as I hadn't heard from them I emailed and ask why I'd not been sent a bill. They replied saying that my property isn't registered with them and asking for information such as dates of moving in and do I have a meter (surely they should tell me that?!) As far as I know there isn't a water meter, I certainly wasn't told about one by the agents when I moved in.

A friend has told me that as a tenant, if the property hasn't been registered with the water board by the landlord then I am not liable to pay the bill. Is this true? I don't mind paying the bill if legally I have to as after all it is water I've used, but if my landlord has made a mistake and not registered the property and I don't have to pay then I'll make sure I don't. My flat is a recent conversion and I am the first person to live in the flat so it is quite feasible that the landlord hasn't registered the property. Any advice will be really appreciated.

[enaid]

Re: Am I liable for water charges if my rented property hasn't been registered with t

Hi kevsterman and welcome to beagles.
You say the flat is a conversion, by this do you mean that a house has been converted into flats now?
If this is the case then surely water would have been supplied to the house previous to the conversion. If is the case then I would imagine the person who owns the whole of the property would be billed for the water and it may be taken into consideration as part of your rent, this you will find out in your Tenancy Agreement. If it is not part of your rent then the landlord would probably split the bill betwean the flats equally.
If this is not the case then I would have thought meters would have been installed into the individual flats then therefore making the tenant responsible for their own useage.

[kevsterman]

Re: Am I liable for water charges if my rented property hasn't been registered with t

Hi enaid,

The flat I live in is one of two above a shop in a medieval building that was derelict for many years before being bought from the council by the local preservation society. They renovated the building, creating the two flats and put them on the market. My landlord bought this flat and the shop downstairs, where his wife works. The other flat is still empty. There must have been water supplied to the premises in the past but as I say, the building has been more or less derelict for decades.

It would make sense for water meters to have been installed during the conversion but if so Anglian Water would have the flats on their system surely, which they don't at the moment. The email I received from AW asked me if there was a meter. If they don't know then how would anyone else??

My tenancy agreement states I'm liable for water charges and whilst my inventory has the meter serial numbers for gas & electric, nothing is filled in for the water so I presume that the agents aren't aware of a meter.

I wonder how its possible for water to be supplied to a building without the water board having the property on their system. Seems quite odd.

[enaid]

Re: Am I liable for water charges if my rented property hasn't been registered with t

Well I would imagine if the building was left empty for so long and all the utilities were cut off then it would be possible for it to go off a suppliers radar.
Could you not find out through the landlords wife who they pay the water bill to?
Who owns the other flat?
It is quite sad that someone who is willing to pay their dues has to go through any detective work in order to pay what they owe. I would be tempted to write to the agent or landlord and state that while you are in no way refusing to pay, you are at a loss as to who to pay the money to and how much.

[kevsterman]

Re: Am I liable for water charges if my rented property hasn't been registered with t

Indeed it is odd that the building could go off their radar. The other flat is currently owned by the local preservation society who were responsible for the renovation although I believe my landlord is trying to purchase it too.

I would go down and ask the landlady but I don't particularly want to as we're kind of being thrown out after only 3 months and I don't trust myself to have a go and say something I shouldn't. Anyway, that is a whole other story which is all in hand.

I'll contact AW and tell them my moving in & out dates and let them work it out and tell me how much they want. Hopefully it won't be too much as I've only lived here 3 months!

Thanks for your advice.

[enaid]

Re: Am I liable for water charges if my rented property hasn't been registered with t

Well it isn't really advice i have given as I have not given a satisfactory result to your problem. I am an honest person myself, but I think I would leave it standing and let them get in touch with you if they need to. If they do and you are happy with the amount they bill you then all well and good. If not there will be measures you can take I am sure.