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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be shocked that this is legal

30 replies

TibetanTerrah · 19/04/2022 14:18

I had to call a plumber out yesterday and while he was here he checked my immersion tank.

I live in a block of 4 rented flats. It seems we all share the same tank. I laughed dryly and said "how does that work with hot water bills then?" And he said there's no way to track who is using what so the bill is divided between you. If someone happens to be a high user then the others effectively subsidise their bills.

Especially now with cost of living rising, I'm surprised that this can be a "thing" and that they can get away with not telling you when viewing and applying. I've lived here three years but have had periods when I haven't lived here (six months over lockdown when I only popped back to get post etc for example), and I was surprised when my electric bill was the same as usual after that time. Now i know why! Angry

There's nothing I can do, but this week has been really shit already and we're only on Tuesday so this revelation has pissed me off even more than it would normally.

OP posts:
1000yellowdaisies · 19/04/2022 14:20

I am literally shocked by this! I lived in flats for several years and never knew either....

Getoff · 19/04/2022 14:24

@1000yellowdaisies

I am literally shocked by this! I lived in flats for several years and never knew either....
I don't think it is necessarily true in all flats. I'm going to guess that OP is in a conversion.

I didn't know this happened at all, but now that I do, I can see why it might be done in a conversion.

Getoff · 19/04/2022 14:27

Actually I know it's not generally true because I've lived in the three different flats, and the last two I definitely had my own hot water tank. (Can't remember the first.) All my flats were purpose-built, relatively recently.

Original poster
TibetanTerrah · 19/04/2022 14:29

I think if it's done there should be full disclosure before you move in. I was told about the storage heaters (expensive) and the council tax band etc so I could weigh up bills before committing. I've subsidised various neighbours as they move in and out (I live alone in the smallest flat) and should anyone else realise this is how it works they could take advantage and push everyone's bills up Shock

OP posts:
Gowithme · 19/04/2022 14:29

Oh god that's awful - you're literally at the mercy of others and if you're not there you're subsidising their bills. I had no idea this was possible, surely they could easily have put in an immersion tank for each of you?? Wouldn't it cost a bomb to heat a tank of water big enough for 4 families to have hot water?? and do you heat up overnight on an economy 7 tariff?? I'd be moving out sharpish, this definitely should have been made clear to you before you moved in IMO.

AHungryCaterpillar · 19/04/2022 14:29

Yes I live in a gf maisonette and seem to have this as well! The people from upstairs sent someone into mine once because they needed to do something with the hot water in their flat. I had no idea it was shared until then Confused

SmileyClare · 19/04/2022 14:31

There are some benefits to a communal tank. It's larger and more cost effective than heating a smaller one for a single person. The cost for repairs or replacements are presumably divided between you (?) and if any of the tenants are away or a flat is empty, you will benefit from the lower usage.

It's worth checking with your landlord before calling out and paying for a plumber. I'm not sure you should have to foot that bill?

springtimeishereagain · 19/04/2022 14:37

I can understand having a shared water tank, but how can they justify shared electricity bills?? That's insane. Why didn't you do anything about it after you moved out for 6 months and noticed that your bill hadn't gone down? Think I would have...

I wonder if that is legal.

burnoutbabe · 19/04/2022 14:39

How can the elec bill be shared like that?

The hot water must be attached to one meter. Now that maybe a communal meter which the landlord is billed and charges you all 1/4. But it can't be that the elec company adds 1/4 of another meter to your bill. (If they did I'd expect it to be very obvious on the bill anyway)

So I'd double check how it's billed.

Original poster
TibetanTerrah · 19/04/2022 14:46

@burnoutbabe

How can the elec bill be shared like that?

The hot water must be attached to one meter. Now that maybe a communal meter which the landlord is billed and charges you all 1/4. But it can't be that the elec company adds 1/4 of another meter to your bill. (If they did I'd expect it to be very obvious on the bill anyway)

So I'd double check how it's billed.

As the water is used and reheated again, all four meters are charged for the electric used equally. but theres no way of tracking which flat the water went into and calculating the cost to replace it in the tank iyswim.

@springtimeishereagain I was disappointed, but as I'm a low user anyway and my standing charge has always been quite high, I just sucked it up and didn't think there might be a shared tank. This is my first rental alone and it never occurred to me.

@SmileyClare I'm not paying for the plumber. The emergency guy at the letting agent told me he wouldn't come out as he was ill and to call someone myself and they'd reimburse me. As it happens the plumber was lovely and I didn't have to pay anything upfront anyway.

OP posts:
Pinzotti · 19/04/2022 14:48

I don't understand. How does this affect your HOT water and electricity bills?

Original poster
TibetanTerrah · 19/04/2022 14:58

@Pinzotti we don't have gas, so all the flats equally share the cost of electric to heat the tank, regardless of who actually uses the hot water and how much they use.

OP posts:
SmileyClare · 19/04/2022 15:07

It depends on the other tenants and the size of the other flats. If they're all for single professionals or couples, I would imagine your usage would be fairly equal and it may actually be more cost effective to share a communal tank.

I think it's unlikely any of the tenants will "realise how it works and take advantage" Confused what do you mean? They'll start offering baths to anyone visiting or something?!

It should be in your tenancy agreement and definitely worth checking the contract you signed.

Lochroy · 19/04/2022 15:11

I can see why this is shocking, but it's not actually that unlike the way water is billed for house which don't have a meter, just a different scale.

Original poster
TibetanTerrah · 19/04/2022 15:29

@Lochroy

I can see why this is shocking, but it's not actually that unlike the way water is billed for house which don't have a meter, just a different scale.
Yes that makes sense. Its just disheartening as I'm trying to reduce my usage to save money and this is something out of my control Sad
OP posts:
Jossbow · 19/04/2022 15:33

So who has the control switch? An immersion heater you switch on and off.

OneTC · 19/04/2022 15:37

You're just talking about unmetered water aren't you?

You're actually heating the water yourself

Unmetered water is becoming more unusual but our block of 57 flats has only just had individual meters installed.

irishfarmer · 19/04/2022 15:38

I lived in a converted old Edwardian house. 4 flats in the one house. I know we shared one oil tank and the cost was just added to our rent. We had electric meters for our own flats though. How is the electricity cost split between the 4 flats? Surely it can only be read by one meter, probably the same meter the the communal lights etc are connected to.

I'd be asking your LL

Original poster
TibetanTerrah · 19/04/2022 15:40

@Jossbow

So who has the control switch? An immersion heater you switch on and off.
Its in a cupboard in the communal hall.
OP posts:
ArcheryAnnie · 19/04/2022 15:48

I live in a massive block of flats and share my hot water tank with nearly 1,000 other people. Beat that!

kgap · 19/04/2022 15:56

I remember looking into this ages ago and there was some EU regulation/directive that required each flat in a rental building to have a meter for their heat usage. It’s worth you researching it a bit. There may be something similar that we inherited from our good old EU days that you can point your landlord to.

10HailMarys · 19/04/2022 15:58

I used to live in a house converted into four (tiny) flats and we had card meters for electricity but our gas bill was split in the same way that yours is, OP. Also ... the thermostat, boiler and heating controls were in one of the flats, so the other three flats had no control over when the heating was on or what temperature it was set at. Luckily, the couple who had the magic gift of heating control were great and agreed what times they'd put it on ... but only after they were actually made aware by the landlord that they were only ones who could set it. He didn't actually tell them when they moved in, so for the first few months the rest of us would occasionally be freezing for an entire weekend because they'd gone away or something.

kgap · 19/04/2022 15:59

Yep. There you are:
Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU (EED) on Heat Metering
• Art 9(3): multi-apartment or multi-purpose buildings supplied with heating or cooling or hot water from external sources, meters had to be installed at the heat exchanger or the point of delivery to the building before 5 June 2014. No exceptions are foreseen.
• Art 9(3): individual meters for each apartment or unit in such building had to be installed by 31 December 2016 where technically feasible and cost-efficient.
• If the installation of individual heat meters is not technically feasible or not cost-efficient, accurate heat cost allocators had to be installed for each radiator, unless it was shown by the Member State that this would not be cost-efficient

chesirecat99 · 19/04/2022 16:07

As the water is used and reheated again, all four meters are charged for the electric used equally. but theres no way of tracking which flat the water went into and calculating the cost to replace it in the tank iyswim.

Who told you that? The electricity supplier? I'm not sure that is possible with an ordinary meter... Are you sure you aren't paying for it?

catndogslife · 19/04/2022 16:16

Are you in England OP and were you given the EPC rating for your rental property?
The minimum rating for a rental property is grade E at the moment and it is illegal to rent out a property below this value.