Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Would a water meter put you off buying a 4-bed, 2-bath family home?

102 replies

Aprexio · 20/02/2022 18:44

DH and I are empty nesters and the family home is worth about £450,000. We're thinking of having a water meter which would definitely save us money.

But, we may downsize in a few years and think a family would be the most likely buyers (just as we were when we bought it).

Would a water meter be a deterrent to buyers?
Have you bought a house without one in preference to a home which did have a meter?

One of the bathrooms has a power shower, there's a built in dishwasher and it's a medium-sized garden which needs watering from the mains only in very dry weather.

OP posts:
Beth13579 · 20/02/2022 19:32

They say that dishwashers are a much more economical way to wash up than doing it by hand.

LadyCurd · 20/02/2022 19:34

We moved house and water company made us install a water meter with new agreement, we run the dishwasher 2-3 times a day. We are a family of 5 and our water bill is £63.99 a month

Happydays321 · 20/02/2022 19:36

We have a dishwasher and washing machine on every other day.
Two of us daily showers, £20 a month direct debit.
We have lots of tubs we water in the summer.

ExtremelyDelighted · 20/02/2022 19:41

Our area was compulsorily metered a few years ago (our water bill doubled) so no choice here anyway.

RichTeaRichTea · 20/02/2022 19:45

We are in a bigger house metered and pay less than we did in smaller house unmetered. Also one more human living in this house than the previous one!

StillUp · 20/02/2022 19:49

Wouldn’t put me off. We have a meter - family of 4, DW and WM run twice daily, daily showers etc, and we pay less than half what the old lady who lived here alone before us paid unmetered.

StillUp · 20/02/2022 19:50

Sorry that was supposed to see once and occasionally twice daily. I don’t do that much laundry!

Redlorryyellowduck · 20/02/2022 19:52

I much prefer not having a meter, the dc have lots of baths, paddling pool in the summer etc. I do endless laundry, run the dishwasher a few times a day.

Quartz2208 · 20/02/2022 19:55

I think when a property changes hands the water company automatically wants to put in a meter - at least mine did! Bit like council tax gets rejigged as well when new people move in

So it is whether it works for you!

Noisyprat · 20/02/2022 19:56

There was an article in the Telegraph yesterday saying that to meet their green targets the water companies may start to add an additional levy on households who refuse to have a meter. This is because it is an easier to penalise consumers than fix their massive leakage problem. So you may find that actually not having a meter costs more.

In any event I cannot imagine being put off buying a house because of a water meter tbh.

AnotherDelphinium · 20/02/2022 19:57

No, it wouldn’t put me off at all. It wouldn’t even be something I looked at.

As PP have mentioned, as soon as a new account is setup, they’ll come and install a water meter anyway!

ShallWeTalkAboutBruno · 20/02/2022 19:59

@Redlorryyellowduck

I much prefer not having a meter, the dc have lots of baths, paddling pool in the summer etc. I do endless laundry, run the dishwasher a few times a day.
We do all that too, 3 young kids. We still only pay £30 a month on a meter.
drpet49 · 20/02/2022 20:00

* Isn’t it common for a meter to have to be installed when a property changes hands anyway? So your potential buyer would have to have one.*

^This

SeasonFinale · 20/02/2022 20:02

We are in an area where it is unmetered. The people we know who gave switched to meter say they have ended up paying more. Maybe see if you can find someone locally and chat about their bills and usage before switching if you don't need to.

SeasonFinale · 20/02/2022 20:02

@drpet49

* Isn’t it common for a meter to have to be installed when a property changes hands anyway? So your potential buyer would have to have one.*

^This

Not where we live...
SeasonFinale · 20/02/2022 20:04

@Quartz2208

I think when a property changes hands the water company automatically wants to put in a meter - at least mine did! Bit like council tax gets rejigged as well when new people move in

So it is whether it works for you!

Council tax does not get rejigged. It remains in the band it was put in initially or when built unless an owner puts infor assessment.
KateTheEighth · 20/02/2022 20:05

We own a Victorian house and when we bought it 16 years ago the water company installed a water meter. It was standard practice whenever a house was sold.

abbey44 · 20/02/2022 20:08

Wouldn't bother me - most houses now seem to have them. The last house I moved into (Northumbria Water) didn't have one and they came up with some ludicrous amount as a monthly payment because there was no meter. Like three times what I'd paid in the previous house. The woman I spoke to said they automatically over-estimated for houses with no meter, presumably to encourage you to get one. So I had a meter fitted and only paid for what I used. I had a dishwasher that went on every other day, a washing machine that was on most days (messy dog...) and I had a bath/shower once a day at least. There was just me in the house though (apart from said dog), but my bill was around £30 a month. I'm in a different area now and pay about twice that as I'm billed separately for clean water and dirty water, which seems odd, but one of those things. I think maybe it might be adjusted once I've been here long enough for them to take some meter readings.

Beachsidesunset · 20/02/2022 20:08

How much do you currently pay? Ours is £32 a month, unmetered. Family of 5, NE. I'm sure it would be more on a meter.

Newnormal99 · 20/02/2022 20:09

@SeasonFinale

In my borough if a property changes hands and has building work done by the previous owner it will be reassessed. It was when I bought my property anyway.

ShallWeTalkAboutBruno · 20/02/2022 20:10

@Beachsidesunset

How much do you currently pay? Ours is £32 a month, unmetered. Family of 5, NE. I'm sure it would be more on a meter.
Ours is £30 a month, family of 5, on a meter. Midlands.
RichTeaRichTea · 20/02/2022 20:13

Family of 4, SE, baths, showers, dishwasher and washing machine nearly every day, water play in the summer, £25 per month. It actually just went down from £26 per month last year

RichTeaRichTea · 20/02/2022 20:13

(On a meter)

purplesequins · 20/02/2022 20:14

in many areas having a water meter is mandatory. so no, it wouldn't bother me.

where I am (not uk) we have 2 counters. one for drinking water and one gor waste water...it's normal.

findingsomeone · 20/02/2022 20:15

Anglian Water say they monitor our usage and will tell us if it is cheaper to switch to a meter. They never have, so theoretically it's cheaper for us not to be on one 🤷🏽‍♀️ I feel like we will be forced in time