Help! HUGE Water bill due to rental leak

[MrsIndiana67]

I'm in desperate need of advice. I just received a water bill for thousands after giving my meter reading, my first since moving to my rental property 2 months ago.
I obviously haven't used all that water - I live alone - but there have been leaks at the property due to faulty pipes that I reported straight away which might be the cause. The landlord took a while to repair them ( over a month) but the bill still seems extremely high.

1. is the landlord liable to pay the bill as I reported the leaks straight away and the high bill must be due in part to the leaks that were caused by the faulty pipes?

2. could there be some other reason for the high bill? Faulty meter? Underground leak?The water company can't tell me anything.

3. could the bill be partly from the previous tenants water usage if I only gave the meter reading 2 months after I moved in? The reason is because the agents couldn't tell me where the water meter was located (they did not do a reading before I moved jn) so previous bill of less than £50 last month was an estimate.

Thank you for any advice.

Was no meter reading taken as part of the inventory when you moved in?

Who did you report the leak to - just to the landlord or the water company as well?

Have you actually discussed the bill with the water company?

You may want to contact Shelter and/or the CAB for advice. LandlordZone is another useful resource - the forum members help tenants too, not just landlords.

Have got contents insurance?
Often there is cover on there for loss of metered water. So basically like in your situation if you've had a leak that's caused a high water bill on the meter you would be covered for the high water bill.
It's worth checking your contents insurance for. It's one of those things people don't realise is on there.

The water company, in the event of a leak, apply a leakage allowance. It depends where the leak was.

You are responsible only from the point you moved in. A meter reading should have been taken at that point.

You need to have a discussion with your landlord.

I’ve known a few people end up with horrendous water bills and there was nothing they could do about it. They had to pay as it was in their name and on their boundary.

Was the leak inside the property or outside the boundaries of the property? This makes a big difference as to whose responsibility it is. You also need to find out when the last metered reading was, even if it was not when you moved in.

Answers to these questions will affect how easy it will be to sort out.

ETA: it does sound on the face of it like you should not be responsible but it’s a question of how easy it will be to evidence whose fault it is and get them to cover it.

Thank you for answering.

The leaks have been inside the property. There have been many as landlord delayed fixing it properly. They were due to faulty pipes.

Contents insurance doesn't cover this.

I have lots of evidence to show that I reported the leak immediately and that I repeatedly chased up on it. I noticed the leak was a problem from the day I moved in so it may well have been around when the last tenants occupied the home.

The agents could not tell me where the water meter was to send a water reading earlier. I found it's location later.

I really would feel it is unfair for me to be held responsible and not the landlord but I don't know how these things go. The bill is big enough that fighting it in court might be worth it

What does your tenancy agreement say about water bills?
The supply pipe leading up to and into the house are the owners responsibility, but some water companies will repair leaks outdoors up to the point of entry under the house.
His landlord insurance should cover internal leaks.

His insurance won't cover the tenant's metred bill though, even if it is caused by internal leaks

In your position I would speak to the water company and find out the period the bill covers and when the last few meter readings were taken. Make sure you’re only on the account from the date you moved in.

Tell them you’re disputing it with your landlord. You could even ask that they create a new account for you from the date that the leaks were fixed so that the disputed bill is treated separately. That way you’ll be paying your ongoing water costs and showing good faith for payments.

Make an appointment with CAB and find out what your rights are. There’s probably a long waiting list so do this asap. Tell the water company you’ve done this.

Good luck, given that you notified the landlord you shouldn’t have to pay. It really depends on how much you’re prepared to fight it and your landlords attitude towards their own liability.

if you’re the person liable for the water bill you have the liability to pay.

You could speak to your landlord about compensation for the extra you have to pay because of the leak but I’m not sure how you would prove how much that is - you will have used water in the period of the leak so how would you work out which is the increased amount? Especially in the absence of readings.

definitely contact the water co and make sure you’re only being billed for the period you have lived there, seems unlikely you have accrued thousands in two months regardless of a leak.

I would work out how much water you’re using in a week now, then calculate what the move in reading would have been based on that, and give them that as a start reading.

Is the leak now fixed? Was it internal or outside, possibly for the water company to fix?

This is really helpful. I have done that now so am awaiting a response.

The main leak has now been sorted. There is another one elsewhere but I agree with the poster who said even with the leaks it would unlikely to be thousands.

I regret moving to a place with so many problems. The agents have been rubbish.

Hi, Just an update in case this thread helps anyone else in the future.

It turns out that no one reported the previous tenants had left the property. They did not pay any bills when residingbhere so I ended up with a huge bill when I gave a meter reading on moving in.

It took a long time to sort out but after many phonecalls and new meter readings it seems to have been sorted.