If you cannot have a water meter installed, your water company should offer you an assessed charge. This is an alternative to your rateable value charge.
You will not be offered an assessed charge unless you apply for a meter.
Setting assessed charges
Assessed charges are generally based on one of the following:
- the number of bedrooms in your property
- the type of property you live in
- the number of people who live in your property
- the average metered bill in the water company’s area
The level of the charge can be found in your company’s charges scheme.
You may also be offered an assessed charge if your property has been altered substantially. For example, extensive rebuilding work may invalidate your property’s original rateable value.
The way that assessed charges are set varies from company to company. However, each company must treat all of its customers on assessed charges in the same way.