HELP!

I was wondering how this ended. I have a very simular situation.

I had been paying my water bill (£52 a month) by direct debit on a rental property my girlfreind I lived in for just 6 months. On moving from the property I provided the water company (Anglia Water) a meter reading. Weeks later in our new property we received a bill of £621 outstanding on our bill despite paying £52 a month.

I contacted the Landlord and agreed to meet at the still empty property. Before we even entered the property we looked at the meter which was turning, but faily slowly. However 17 cubic metres had been clocked up since we left. We turned of the stop *** inside the property and checked the meter again which had stopped.

I informed Anglia Water of the leak and they sent me a claim form. However I am unable to fill out the form because now my landlord is claiming that he has had a plumber check his property and no leak was found. Without knowing the cause of the leak and how it was fixed Anglia Water will not entertain any compensation.

In one conversation with an employee at Anglia water we came to an agreement that we shall have our bill adjusted based on our first months usage at our new property. However they have now back tracked from this saying that it was never promised. They are insisting details on the fault.

Any advise would be much apprechiated.

Thank you

Scott,

Having just managed to get my hands on a copy of the Tenancy Agreement, I am still a little confused as to it's standpoint. The intention to "clarify" responsibility in this document does not, in my opinion, stand firm and as such, I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on it's definition?

I know this is a lengthy submission but hopefully you can appreciate the necessity?

Thanks in advance!!

From our Tenancy Agreement relating to -

"THE TENANT HEREBY AGREES WITH THE LANDLORD

as follows:

16 To make good all damage occasioned to the Premises or to any part of the building through any breach of the obligations set out in clause 2.15 hereof or through any improper use by or the negligence of the Tenant or the servants or agents for the Tenant or any person for the time being in or using the Premises or through the stopping up bursting overflowing or leakage of any of the said taps baths washbasins waste closets sinks cisterns heaters pipes fittings or apparatus due to the negligence of the Tenant or any such persons as aforesaid PROVIDED THAT this sub clause shall not impose any liability upon the tenant which is cast upon the Landlord by Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

Minor,

No worries.

The landlord is responsible for all pipes within the property and therefore is responsible for settling any debt with the water company.

I strongly advise you check the contract to ensure this is covered. If it's not, things could get a bit more tricky.

Thank you for this information Scott, I'm sure this will prove very useful in our attempt to resolve this issue.

Just to fill you in, there had been a steady leak from the cistern of the toilet. Something that had been identified by the plumber whilst rectifying a faulty heating system (repeated low water pressure!!) to which he came back a few days later and fixed at the request of our landlord.

Our landlords are contesting responsibility stating that they were, as were we, unaware of the leak and that the sole responsibility rests with us as they would have no way of knowing about the leak. Initially they asked us to deny all knowledge of a leak (which they have since refuted in writing and admitted there was a leak which they have since fixed!) to the water board but as this property is metered, this would imply we had somehow used 99 cubic meters of water and would therefore indicate we, as the tennants, were solely responsible for it's usage.

All parties are unanimous that 2 people in a 2 bed flat could NOT have used that amount of water in a single quarter. Especially as my girlfriend was out of the country for 2 months out of the 3.

The landlords are now asking to see copies of all water bills and correspondence between us and the water board.

Minor,

This issues is for your landlord and the water supply company to resolve.

If you visit the Ofwat website, you can find the following text:

What are the householders' responsibilities?
In most cases, the part of the service pipe taking water from the company's stop tap into the house belongs to the householder or property owner. This is known as the supply pipe. It is the householder's responsibility to keep the supply pipe in good order, in the same way as they are responsible for the plumbing. It is the landlord's responsibility in rented properties (unless the rental agreement states differently).

Looking at this you need to review the contract to see whether the agreement covers this. Also, this text refers to the process for repairing a leak and how the bill can be dealt with.

Leaks in properties with water meters
When a water meter is installed the water company usually checks for water leaks and these will be repaired, either at the householder's or the company's expense. If there are any subsequent leaks the householder will usually be responsible for repairing them, although some companies may still offer a free repair service. The location of the leak will determine who is responsible for making repairs. If a leak can be repaired without additional excavation it will be repaired free of charge, but if additional excavation is required the householder may be asked to repair the leak or pay the bill if the company repairs it.

If there are any subsequent leaks the householder is responsible for repairs. Abnormally high water bills may be due to an undetected leak. The water company may agree to adjust the bill (downwards) to its usual level, provided the householder ensures the leak is repaired within a reasonable time. The company will, normally, only do this on the first occasion this happens. All companies produce a code of practice on leakage which sets out their procedures.

(Source: http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/aptrix/ofwat/publish.nsf/content/waterandseweragepipes)

I hope this helps and good luck resolving this issues.

Hopefully I can attract the attention of Scott Byrom - Moneysupermarket's Utilities Manager by this method.

Scott, could you please advise me on this and how we stand legally? We are currently considering handing in our notice for the property but obviously this would not relieve us of the bill, just the non-conformist landlords!

Please, please help us as this, in our opinion, is not our liability.

I hope to hear from you soon. Many thanks.

No, nothing has changed that would increase the usage, in fact quite the opposite. My girlfriend was out of the country for 2 of the 3 months that we are being billed for so that would, in theory, indicate lesser amounts being utilised.

As you correctly guessed, my landlord is very unwilling to help in any way and is even refusing to speak directly with the water board but is very eager to have us explain to them that there is no leak and that we have had this verified by an independent plumber.............utter bobbins really as we have his testimony to the contrary.

It does appear that we are being taken seriously by the water board however they do state that they are unable to amend the invoice. Maybe they could send an engineer to assess the situation, determine that there is no external leak, that we (as a couple in a 2 bed apartment) could never use that quantity in this specific timeframe and advise us accordingly.

I will however, look at the link that you kindly supplied..............and your advice is much appreciated!!

Hi Minor --- Luckily the water board seem to have already decided in your favour by stating that this excessive amount of water would have been impossible for you to have used, a fact further backed up by your previous bills jumping from an average 20 ....to a sudden 99 a quarter, anyone with an ounce of common sense can see that something has drastically changed from the "norm".

Ask the water board to bill you only for what you have reasonably used based on your previous average usage in the past two years, then leave the landlord to fight his own case with the water board direct (he wasn't too willing to help you was he ?), if you have any problems from here on take the matter to the regulators below.

http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/

Have any changes to the residence taken place recently, i.e. new flats within, extensions or restoration ...building works. ?

Hi ConmanKilller, thanks for you reply!

So from what you are saying, in light of our regular usage from the last 2 years being somewhere in the region of 20 cubic meters per quarter and being presented with this "spike" invoice for 99 cubic meters, we have a case to argue with both our Landlord and the Water Board?

Initially, our landlord denied that there was a leak and asked us to corroborate his claim but we figured that would place us in the unenviable situation of accepting liability. Now he has admitted there was a leak but we have recently discovered that he does not have insurance to cover this...............maybe this is why he is contesting the outstanding sum?

Is there a way of placating the Water Board until another invoice is issued which will inevitably prove that the leak was responsible for the vastly increased meter readings? This will undoubtedly act as sufficient evidence for my Landlord in this case...........I hope!

Thanks once again!

I have recently received a vast water bill for the recent quarter which is almost 500% more than it has ever been.

The water board are claiming that we have used 99 cubic meters of water and as this is metered, they can "prove" this utility has entered the property. However, the water board, my landlord and myself are adamant that this amount of water is ridiculous but the water board are standing firm. As far as they are concerned, the water has been used and must therefore be paid for..............understandable. The concern is that, according to sources, the water only becomes OUR responsibility once it leaves the taps/outlets. Prior to that it is the responsibility of the landlord............apparently.

The problem is that a small leak has been detected and although has now been fixed the plumber suggested that a constant trickle from the problem area may account for some of the water but surely not all of it as we are talking about a leak the volume of a swimming pool in just over 3 months!

Upon investigating this issue, the water board are stating that as it is impossibe for us to have used this much water the issue rests upon the shoulders of the landlord for faulty fixtured and fittings............they, however, are challenging this and claiming that as they do not live there and the bill is not in their name, the bill rests solely with us.

Can someone please advise as to whose respnsibility this is? Surely if the property was vacant then the leak would still exist and they would still be liable? Does this change purely because it is inhabited?

Thanks in advance!