Every year, the water companies are faced with the problem of unpaid water bills. Since someone has to cover the bill, the end result is that the paying households in the UK are charged an extra £15 to make up the shortfall.
Government Water Database
The government believes that the majority of the people who don’t pay are tenants who move home without paying their outstanding bills. To address this issue, the government plans to introduce a national voluntary database where landlords can supply information about their tenants. The more information the water companies have, the easier it will be to chase the non-payers for money if they try and leave a property without paying the bill.
Plans to Make Landlords Legally Responsible
If the Welsh Government has its way, landlords would be made legally responsible for their tenants not paying the water bill, something that all landlords quizzed by the RLA oppose. Indeed, 80% of those questioned were happy to support a voluntary scheme and 63% already provide information when asked.
As Richard Jones, Policy Director of the RLA commented,
“Making landlords legally liable for the debt incurred on water bills where they did not pass on their tenants details to water companies would serve only to add to the creaking weight of regulations already affecting the sector and lead to increased rents to reflect the greater risks involved.”
Hopefully, if the government backed voluntary database proves to be successful, the standing charge we are all obliged to pay will eventually be abolished.
