Average water rates>?

A question about : Average water rates>?

I'm not used to living on my own but there will come a point when I'll probably have my own flat. I was shocked to see how much people pay for water in this country. I see for some it costs about Ј30 a month.

Say I were to live in a taxband a flat. Now I know the average rate is regionally dependent. however what's the average cost on this sort of property likely to be?

So my questions are.

Average water rates/annum nationwide on,

Band A?
Band B?

Cheapest place for water?

I though council tax is expensive, I didn't expect water rates would come to almost half as much as council tax.

Best answers:

• Water is charged by several methods and it is not possible to answer your question without knowing more about your intended flat. There are 2 main schemes(and lots of exceptions)
  Modern properties from 1989 on normally have metered water and costs obviously depend on your useage. There are also standing charges and for sewage and drainage(if applicable)
  Older properties can have their charges based on their old Rateable Value(RV) which are no longer in use for rates/council tax. Band A to H have no affect on water charges.
  In general you are better off being metered. The exception is if you live in a property with a very low RV and use a lot of water – although you should pay extra for hosepipe outlets.
  I would think in a smallish flat with metered water for 1/2 occupants charges would be in the region of Ј12-15 a month.
• i live in a one bedroom house with my partner and we are on the old RV system even though the property was built in the 80's. our RV is 125 it basically means we pay 95 punds a year (9.50 over 10 months DD)
• I've just had my water bill for the year ahead and it's Ј585!! Payable over 10 monthly direct debits that's nearly Ј60 a month. There's just me and my two teenage children with the third child home part time when she's not at university. I looked on a "comparison" web site last year and typed in how many showers, loo flushes, washing machine loads etc I have (no dishwasher and don't use a hosepipe) to see if I'd be better off with a meter...it said I would be worse off! I think it's extortionate, we're obviously paying for them to keep the beaches clean (Cornwall) but I think it should be a national rate. If I do try a meter and find it's more expensive I don't know if I could get it removed afterwards. Any advice??
• Mine water came in a week or so ago and was Ј111 over 6 months, so no way near as high as yours. It's just me living in a little house.
  I checked if I would be better off metered and it said I wouldn't, though I am looking at moving into a property that was built in the 1990's. I take it this will be metered then??
  K
• I think it's criminal too, especially as I find their water disgusting and have to use a jug filter, the tap water always tastes like a swimming pool to me.
  Thank you Noozan for the advice, I wasn't sure if having a meter was a reversible descision but, if it is, I think I will seriously consider it. Where abouts are your parents? I'm in Falmouth.
• God Carol - that's surely too much! There's just me and my husband but we live in a large 4 bed. 2 bathroom house and our water bill is around Ј25 per month!
• I've only got a 3 bed semi, one bathroom, we always take showers, never baths but South west water are the most expensive in the country I think, we paid Ј500 last year too. They always say that the money is for cleaning up the raw sewage outlets into the sea etc but Cornwall isn't the only place in Britain that has beaches!!
• Yes, the house prices have got ridiculous here too I agree. I've lived here since 1980 so only paid Ј12,000 for my first house! Thanks for the info about doing an estimation, I think that's the one I did last year and it did work out more than the bills, must be the four loads of washing I do for my daughter when she comes home from uni once a fortnight that bumps it up! At least you can go back to the set charge if you don't like the meter within 12 months so I may think it over again. Thanks again and I hope you're happy in bonny Scotland.
• The size of your property doesn't matter if you are metered. 4 people in a huge mansion will not, on average, use more water than 4 people in a tiny house.
  There will be a small extra charge if the surface water drains into a sewer.
  I can't see how 3 people, with the odd visitor, could have a bill of Ј500+ if they were on a meter. I would have thought Ј300 would be on the high side.
• If you think about it, if you're paying extra to a water company to clean up the local environment then this means you're paying extra council tax.
  I know council tax doesn't cover this but I think it should, the fact it doesn't just shows government isn't doing a very good job with its finances.
  I have a problem with buying a water meter. I just think it's morally wrong to be charged for water per unit.
• Hi,
  I have just moved into a 3 bed property in Walsall, the posh part, but my water bill in Ј800 pa. Surely this can't be right???
• Hi all,
  I really wish mine was a cheap as some listed on here
  I live in a 3 bed house with my wife and 6mth old baby. We only use one bedroom, no dishwasher, i shower 1 in the morn before work, the wife has a shower before bed, the baby has his little bath, the washing is done every saturday, 1 or 2 washes and there is no hosepipe. I pay Ј85 p/m with South West Water! I think its an absolute rip off!! We use very little but somehow they justify these huge bills, was paying every 3 mth but have just switched to the monthly because was struggling to pay the big bill in one go.
  I said to SWW that the usage seems very high on the bill and that we use very little, they basically said just try to lower your usage and not to shower every day, cheek of it.
• Yes, indeed it is a pain living in the South West! We are on a meter and that has been there since we moved into the property 1 1/2 years ago. I always question the charges i get but i get very annoyed with their response of take less showers!
  I am renting the property and as the meter has been installed since we moved in, can i still revert back to the old style rates?