We’re moving to a house with a water meter

[Bobsyer]

We’re a family of five that currently pay £35 a month (United Utilities). In the searches it says the house we’re moving to is metered. I guess that makes sense as for years it’s been one person living there on her own - but we’re a family of five, two of whom are almost teens.

Can anyone offer any insight into how much it costs them on a meter?

Looks like despite starting the process in April we’ll have to pay stamp duty as the vendors solicitors have been so shit, and when I read this yesterday it immediately worried me. The house is much bigger so was expecting electricity and gas to be more expensive but hadn’t counted on water.

Everything about this move is stressing me out I’m getting so little sleep.

So - anyway. We obviously have a washing machine, we have a small dishwasher used at least once sometimes twice daily, daily showers for five - oh yes and there’s a garden too.

Am I going to be bankrupting myself to pay for water?!

Any house you move to, whether it currently has a meter or not, will have one fitted when you move. Although if it absolutely can't have one fitted you won't have it.
And you can't ask for it to be removed either as by law, since 1990 all houses must be on metered water.

Why would a water meter be installed when you move? I've not heard that one before.

@tintodeverano2

Any house you move to, whether it currently has a meter or not, will have one fitted when you move. Although if it absolutely can't have one fitted you won't have it. And you can't ask for it to be removed either as by law, since 1990 all houses must be on metered water.

My dad owns a house that is not on a water meter, and one wasn’t put in when he bought the house about 5 years ago.

All houses built since 1990 have to have one. Not all houses. And I'm as sure as I can be that installation isn't triggered in a pre-1990 house by anything other than the occupier's request.

We pay £80 pm 5 people. Live in south west which I think is expensive for water though

where we lived in se london water meters where put in for all houses.
no choice.

I have one person and a dog in my house. Use the washing machine every other day. Have a quick shower each day.
Use a water butt for garden use.
Flush the toilet about 4 times a day.
Dog uses as little as possible - so long as his water bowl is filled.
My charge (including sewage and street runoff) is £17 per month. I would assume that for a family of 4 - it would be around 4 times that. As others have said - it depends on your water provider.

OP we're a family of 4. When we moved to a house with a water meter our bill virtually doubled.

5 bed detached with 7 people on a water meter and we pay £45 a month. Two teenagers and myself that shower every other day, and probably 6 baths a week between the other 4 people (the younger kids will usually have a bath together).

Are you Thames Water @purplesequins? Looks like they are fitting compulsory meters. I'm not sure any other supplier is doing that though. Yet. It will come.

I honestly don’t understand how there can be such wild differences in prices?! I mean, a 7 person household using £45 but £80 for a 5 person household elsewhere?

Crazy.

(I get it just....seems like it should be standardised across water authorities)

We were worried about this but actually it's been ok. We have a big house so high rateable value but with the meter we are about £45 a month
4 people, daily showers, 2 bathrooms, I work from home, dishwasher & washing machine everyday, some watering in summer but we have water butts as we have a lot of plants, no car washing.

Just throwing it out there incase it applies - if any of you have a condition which means you use more water (ie ibs / Crohn’s disease / autism or learning difficulties - sometimes a child with autism can soil themselves or need changing more often so can create more washing…. Etc etc) approach your water company and ask if they do a discount. We have done this and our water is capped at £35 a month for however much we use.

Water prices vary massively. My parents worked out the £1700 a year in water rates was cheaper than going onto a meter with their use.

Look into sinking a borehole if you plan to stay long term and are rural enough to be on your own drainage, we know a couple of people with them and it seems about £8k for the borehole then £100-150 a year to maintain the system for as much water as you can find uses for.

@Asdf12345 we're in a city so I don't think that will wash!

@Bagelsandbrie - no conditions that would apply, but that's great they'll do that. I will keep that knowledge in my back pocket in case a friend might need to know.

The rateable cost on our house was about £500 a year , We use just below that on a meter. 3 people. Seven Trent.

Flushing the toilet is the biggest use of water in the average household

Disclaimer I’ve not read through the whole thread.
My parents have a five bed house wash cars, use hose pipe on the garden, water horses, washing machine on and dishwasher every day. And their water bill on a meter is less than mine in a two bed terrace with a yard! It’s the same water company
One day my dad was complaining how the bill was £90 for three months and that was so high they would have to start being more economical with the water. I pointed out mine was £39 per month and there no way of changing it because my house can’t be metered due to a shared supply.
I think you might be pleasantly surprised

United utilities here.

3 teens 2 adults lots of sports kits.

£60 per month. Thames water is so much cheaper!

Thanks @RandomMess! We are also UU so good to see a comparison that probably is the most applicable for us.

No sports kits at the moment but the tweens are on the cusp of 13 so laundry requirements can only get worse!

I'm with South West water. In our old house with no meter we paid over £90 a month. In our new build with meter we pay £45. 2 adults, 1 child, no dishwasher, all daily showers/bath, washing machine on most days.

I’ve just placed an order for a new Samsung washing machine which is A rated so that’ll help. Not the bank balance but still.

I’m in a better mood than I was this morning but I’m still hacked off about this.

No reason to tell you that other than I needed to share!

OP I really think the area has a lot to do with cost. I moved (40 miles away) but same water company. My house is still a 3 bed semi, same council tax band etc. Previous house it was £55 a month. Now I'm paying £33 a month. Only bill that is cheaper .

You can get water saving taps, toilet flushes etc. My shower has one fitted and you really don't notice much difference. I think most new bathroom suits are like this now.

Those saying about the garden. I rarely use the hose pipe. I have a 130ft garden and 4 huge water butts .

Meant to say, both unmetered properties

We have Samsung machines, if you have a power cut you need to do something to reset it measuring how much water it needs!

I don't know if all, but some water companies do free water saving kits- so things to put in your cistern so uses less water to flush, things to screw on taps that aerate the water so you need less when washing hands etc.