Tenant - Water Meter Installation - Help Please

Tenant - Water Meter Installation - Help Please

Author
Discussion

Wings

5,808 posts

214 months

Saturday 29th May 2010
quotequote all
As a landlord I would have no problems with a tenant fitting a water metre.

At home, just me and the wife, following a fitting of a metre, we made considerable savings on water and sewage charges, with our last 6 months bill being £46.24 and sewage 62.99.

Since water rates usually relate to Council Tax charges, with my Council Tax being only just under £3k, you can see just how much I am saving on my water bills.

As a landlord, I try very hard to encourage long term tenancies, having some tenants for over 5 years, so granting permission for a water metre goes some way to that end.

jpires

1 posts

164 months

Friday 23rd July 2010
quotequote all
I am a landlord my tennant of 5 years has changed to a water meter without my knowledge, below is a copy of the response back from DWR Cymru (welsh water)

"Section 11 of the Water Industry Act 1999 introduced new rights for tenants in relation to metering. As a result, as long as the tenancy agreement is for more than six months then the tenant does not need the landlords permission before a meter can be fitted. This means that landlords are unable to impose conditions on either the tenant or the statutory water undertaker requiring that the meter be removed on termination of the tenancy. The meter remains the property of Dwr Cymru to be used for charging for water services in the future.

Once a meter is fitted the customer has up to 12 months to decide to revert back to the previous unmeasured basis of changing. As the meter was fitted on 23 May 2008, this option no longer applies."

So from the horses mouth ...as to speak, I have no choice but to live with it.

Scraggles

7,619 posts

223 months

Friday 23rd July 2010
quotequote all
sucks that the tenant did so

anglian water have reduced my monthly bill from £9 to £7 per month, rateable value is over £300 per year

Liam359

1 posts

155 months

Tuesday 26th April 2011
quotequote all
Blimey - Theres a lot of anger here. And all over a simple meter.
Additionly a lot of people here claim to be landlords - If they are, I hope they act calmer towards their tennets than on this site.
I really can't stand the attitude that 'I'm the landlord - It's my house and I can do what I want'.
It's not.
If you rent a house, it's no longer 'Yours'. For the time they have a contract and pay rent it is in essence someone else's home. If you have a problem with that idea, then you shouldn't rent out a place.
As for the water meter idea, this simple paragraph end's all issue:

Tenants
All these new rights are available to tenants as they are to other water
customers. Landlords may not use tenancy agreements to stop tenants who
pay their own water bills from choosing their method of charging.


fergywales

1,624 posts

193 months

Tuesday 26th April 2011
quotequote all
Liam359 said:
Blimey - Theres a lot of anger here. And all over a simple meter.
Additionly a lot of people here claim to be landlords - If they are, I hope they act calmer towards their tennets than on this site.
I really can't stand the attitude that 'I'm the landlord - It's my house and I can do what I want'.
It's not.
If you rent a house, it's no longer 'Yours'. For the time they have a contract and pay rent it is in essence someone else's home. If you have a problem with that idea, then you shouldn't rent out a place.
As for the water meter idea, this simple paragraph end's all issue:

Tenants
All these new rights are available to tenants as they are to other water
customers. Landlords may not use tenancy agreements to stop tenants who
pay their own water bills from choosing their method of charging.
rolleyes Thread resurrection for that? Where is that tard of the year thread...

JustinP1

13,330 posts

229 months

Tuesday 26th April 2011
quotequote all
fergywales said:
Liam359 said:
Blimey - Theres a lot of anger here. And all over a simple meter.
Additionly a lot of people here claim to be landlords - If they are, I hope they act calmer towards their tennets than on this site.
I really can't stand the attitude that 'I'm the landlord - It's my house and I can do what I want'.
It's not.
If you rent a house, it's no longer 'Yours'. For the time they have a contract and pay rent it is in essence someone else's home. If you have a problem with that idea, then you shouldn't rent out a place.
As for the water meter idea, this simple paragraph end's all issue:

Tenants
All these new rights are available to tenants as they are to other water
customers. Landlords may not use tenancy agreements to stop tenants who
pay their own water bills from choosing their method of charging.
rolleyes Thread resurrection for that? Where is that tard of the year thread...
Indeed - where do you start ripping holes in that...

I just won't bother...

Cyberprog

2,186 posts

182 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
The only way to prevent this, would be to include the water rates in the rental amount - then the tenant can't change the meter.

Kevin VRs

Original Poster:

11,553 posts

279 months

Thursday 28th April 2011
quotequote all
As this thread has been resurrected I thought I would give you an update. Landlord agreed to reduce my rent by half of the water bill on the understanding I will not fit a meter. Thereby costing himself £200+ a year rather than allow the fitting of a free meter. That's fine by me although I think him a bit daft....

fergywales

1,624 posts

193 months

Thursday 28th April 2011
quotequote all
Kevin VRs said:
As this thread has been resurrected I thought I would give you an update. Landlord agreed to reduce my rent by half of the water bill on the understanding I will not fit a meter. Thereby costing himself £200+ a year rather than allow the fitting of a free meter. That's fine by me although I think him a bit daft....
Not being nosey, but what is that as a % of your annual rent? If cost outweighs the potential future loss, that'll be why they've decided to do this.

Kevin VRs

Original Poster:

11,553 posts

279 months

Friday 29th April 2011
quotequote all
Not much at all, approx 2%. He could have saved the money by letting us install a water meter at no cost to himself.....