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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:
NeedAHoliday2021 · 20/02/2022 23:35

I genuinely didn’t realise there were homes without meters out there. I’ve owned 3 homes - 2 newish builds and a grade 2 listed cottage and all had metres. As a family of 5 I don’t know why we wouldn’t pay for the water we use?

Kite22 · 20/02/2022 23:42

@NeedAHoliday2021

I genuinely didn’t realise there were homes without meters out there. I’ve owned 3 homes - 2 newish builds and a grade 2 listed cottage and all had metres. As a family of 5 I don’t know why we wouldn’t pay for the water we use?
Yes, pretty normal. I've never lived in a home with a meter.

I don't know that I know anyone with a meter (I mean, it doesn't come up in conversation when I first introduce myself to people Grin , but, on the odd occasion you are in that sort of conversation).

ramonaquimby · 20/02/2022 23:42

agree - everyone should be charged for the water they use! I’d love not to have to pay for watering the garden, topping up paddling pools, long showers and baths etc.

LondonQueen · 20/02/2022 23:46

Any water bill was almost halved when I got a water metre, I don't scrimp on water at all, I have a large bathtub and shower daily.

Using4532 · 21/02/2022 06:54

It was recently in the telegraph about it becoming compulsory in some areas, it's behind a paywall so can't see the details, I also heard this on the news recently so probably Google to see if you are likely to be in these areas

JaninaDuszejko · 21/02/2022 08:04

I genuinely didn’t realise there were homes without meters out there.

Whereas I have never lived in a house with a meter, suspect it must vary area by area.

I did know my brother resurrected the well on the family farm so he didn't have to be metered for the water that goes to the fields to feed the cattle and sheep but he's running a business.

GeneLovesJezebel · 21/02/2022 08:05

I would expect to have a water meter these days, and our dishwasher goes on twice a day.

Frederica852 · 21/02/2022 08:10

We've recently been forced into a meter and our water costs have doubled. Would never buy a house with a meter if I could avoid it!

Lostpainter · 21/02/2022 09:38

There are two of us in a 4 bed house. We pay about £50 per quarter for water. Use the dishwasher every other day (we have a lot of crockery and glasses so can wait until it’s full) and washing machine every other day. Shower daily and often bath in the evening. I used to live in a smaller house with no meter and paid much more.

Cryingbutstilltrying · 21/02/2022 09:51

DH spent ages deciding what to do about this before we moved.
He found something that suggested that (broadly speaking) if you have more bedrooms than people, meter is better. Fewer bedrooms than people, stay on rates.
It seemed to work for us, the old house was 3 bed and 4 people, we stayed on rates.
New house is 5 bed and 4 people, much cheaper on a meter.
Dishwasher is on once daily and washing machine probably every other day. Don’t use much on the garden and all the showers have efficient heads fitted. Kids avoid washing to do their bit 😩

RainingYetAgain · 21/02/2022 09:51

We moved from a small 4 bed (integrated garage) with one bath to a larger 4 bed 2 bathroom 25 years ago. Only now have we reached the same water payment, £50 per month We are 3 adults, 4 or 5 loads in washing machine weekly, dishwasher every day, sometimes twice if we are having a baking session, we water the veg garden in summer if needed. Our bill went up because we had DS home for 5 months due to covid lockdown. He has long showers!
Other DS is buying a house without a meter, and Anglian Water have indicated they will be installing one after completion. So your buyers may not have a choice.

SpiderinaWingMirror · 21/02/2022 10:09

Because its based on rateable value, if you have an old small house, water rates are cheaper. Newer, larger houses often cheaper to be metred

CeeceeBloomingdale · 21/02/2022 10:16

My parents don’t have one but I’ve had one in all the houses since I moved out so it wouldn’t put me off. Currently paying the most we’ve ever paid which is £34pm which I don’t think is bad for a family of four (both kids in double figures). I’m in the NE.

FurierTransform · 21/02/2022 10:17

It must depend on the area whether you are forced to get s meter when the house is sold. My last house & current one are both unmetered. It's not obvious at all whether I'd save money getting one fitted so I've left as is.

SatinHeart · 21/02/2022 10:24

We recently moved into a 4 bed house with a water meter. I'd kind of rather we didn't have one tbh but we're in one of the areas where you have to have a meter installed when the property changes hands, so it was basically inevitable we'd end up with one. Even if that wasn't the case, it wouldn't have been a deal breaker on a house that ticked loads of other boxes.

saraclara · 21/02/2022 10:46

If I was buying a house, I'd be surprised if it didn't have a water meter.
And if someone could afford a £450k house, I doubt they'd be worried about the risk of paying an extra £10 or so a month for their water.

gogohm · 21/02/2022 12:36

@Frederica852

I'm surprised it doubled.... I paid £99 a month (over 8 months) water rates and only £42 a month (over 12 months) on the meter for 4 adults, dishwasher, washing machine etc. might be area dependant

Frederica852 · 21/02/2022 13:16

[quote gogohm]@Frederica852

I'm surprised it doubled.... I paid £99 a month (over 8 months) water rates and only £42 a month (over 12 months) on the meter for 4 adults, dishwasher, washing machine etc. might be area dependant [/quote]
Can only assume our rates were low because our house is a small terrace

AskingforaBaskin · 21/02/2022 13:18

It's a standard around here.
Detached house 2 adults 3 children under 7. We have frequent baths, showers and everything. Washing machine is never off.

I think we pay around £70 a month.

FrugralMcDougal · 21/02/2022 13:28

We are in a 4 bed 2 bath house band E and our water bill with 2 teens showering daily plus us showering, a dishwasher on every day and the washing machine on daily too is £40pm. It did go up a bit when everyone was here for homeschooling and Dh working from home. Everyone drinks water from the filtered fridge supply, we usually have water with our evening meal too.

FIL refuses to have a meter, is alone in a 3 bed bungalow (different area) and pays £60pm!

AskingforaBaskin · 21/02/2022 13:32

I just logged in out of curiosity and we're £50 per month.

ukborn · 21/02/2022 16:59

No. I thought most houses had metered now - my last three did.

TangfasticsAreFantastic · 21/02/2022 17:26

It wouldn't bother me - we're a couple in a 4 bed house and had a meter installed when we moved in.

We use, on average, 40 cubic meters of water every 6 months and pay around £135 per 6 months. Water rates not on a meter would be in excess of £400 for our house (impossible to find out exactly how much!).

We shower every day, DH frustratingly refuses to stop leaving the tap on when he brushes his teeth (I know - I've tried!). We do 2-3 loads of washing a week and the dishwasher goes on every other day with some bits and pieces being hand washed too.

In the summer we water the garden and clean our cars with the hose too.

I think it's the intention for all houses to have a water meter before long, so it wouldn't bother me.

lazyakita · 21/02/2022 22:31

We found it cheaper on a meter. We were in a two bed flat, band B, that was on rates and we paid almost £55 a month for two people. We asked for a meter and they refused. We then moved some years later to a 5 bed house, band E, with a meter and paid £29 -£35 per month. I run the dishwasher about 5 times a week (occasionally handwashing stuff that's not dishwasher safe), do about 5 loads of washing a week, and we have showers every other day. I do turn off taps, try to take quick showers and we try not to flush the toilet at night (mainly to avoid noise, but has the side effect of saving water). We wash cars occasionally and water the garden sometimes.

Anyway, due to my experience I prefer a house with a meter.

FinnulaFloss · 21/02/2022 23:43

Not at all.

There are 5 of us in a 3 bed. When we moved here we were shocked at the standard water rates - £85 a month due to high Council Tax band, nearly double what we'd paid before in a lower band house.

We got a meter (against everyone's recommendations - except the water company) and our bill dropped to £55 a month.