water

Water resale

Some domestic tenants or others buy their water or sewerage services from another person or company instead of directly from a water or sewerage company. This is known as water resale.

The rules about water resale charges may apply to you and your property if:

• it is your main home

• you do not buy water or sewerage services directly from an appointed water company

• the person you buy water and sewerage services from (your ‘reseller’) supplies you with water or sewerage services that they have been supplied with by an appointed water company

If you buy water in this way you are known as a ‘purchaser’.

Maximum resale price

The maximum resale price is the most anyone can charge another person for supplying water or sewerage services that they have bought from a water or sewerage company.

The maximum resale price does not apply to holiday lets, second homes, commercial customers or private supplies.

We decide how a maximum resale price should be worked out. Anybody reselling water or sewerage services should charge no more than the amount they are charged by the company. They are also allowed to make a reasonable administration charge.

Calculating water resale prices

The ‘Water resale order ‘ outlines our rules which determine how much you should pay for your water. The rules depend on whether water meters are installed. Your reseller should tell you how they have worked out your bill.

If you pay for your water as part of your rent or pitch fee, your re-seller should show you how much your water charges are so that you know how much you are paying.

If no purchasers are metered

The water reseller must charge for water in one of the following six ways:

1. split equally between the purchasers, or in proportion to:

2. the number of people in each property

3. the rateable value of each property

4. the total floor space of each property

5. the number of bedrooms in each property

6. half the bill according to method 1 (split equally between purchasers) and the other half of the bill according to any one of methods 2-5

If your reseller shares the water supply ,they must pay their share of the total bill in line with the rules set out above.

The reseller can only charge you for the period you have lived in that property.

If your reseller charges you more than the average bill in your region, they must show that they worked out your bill using one of these methods.

If all purchasers are metered

If all the purchasers are metered, your reseller must:

• charge each purchaser the same amount for each cubic metre as they pay the water company, and

• share the cost of the standing charge they pay the company equally between all purchasers.

If some purchasers are metered and some are unmetered

If some purchasers are metered, the reseller must work out the charges for metered purchasers first and subtract these from the total bill. They must then work out the charges for the unmetered purchasers using one of the six rules above.

Administration charge

Anyone selling water or sewerage services is entitled to make a charge for reasonable administration costs and maintaining meters. Resellers can charge purchasers without a meter about £5 a year and purchasers with a meter £10 a year.

The administration charge applies to each purchaser, not each occupant.

What should I do if I think I am being charged too much?

First check whether your bill is higher than the average household bill in your area. If your bill seems higher than the average, or higher than you think it should be, ask your reseller how they have worked it out. You may need to ask some, or all, of the following questions.

• What is the total bill, standing charge and amount for each cubic metre or other charge the reseller pays to the water or sewerage company?

• How has the total bill been shared between different purchasers (for example, by rateable value, floor space, equal shares, or metered use)?

• What is the total number of purchasers who have been charged?

• What are the details of rateable values, floor space and so on (if you are not on a meter)?

• What is the metered consumption of water for your own home (if you have a meter)?

• Does the bill include a charge for repairs or maintaining water or sewerage pipes (not covered by the maximum resale price)?

Using the information that the reseller gives you, check whether your bill has been worked out in line with the rules.

You may need advice from your solicitor or the Leasehold Advisory Service for Park Homes on enforcing the maximum resale price.

Your Rights to Evidence

Park home residents in the UK have a legal right to request evidence of utility bills (gas, electricity, water, sewerage) from their site owner. Under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (as amended), site owners are obligated to provide this information free of charge upon request. 

Here is a breakdown of your rights and the procedures regarding utility bills in park homes:

• Documentary Evidence: You can ask the site owner to provide, in writing, evidence to support and explain any charges for electricity, gas, water, or sewerage.

• Free of Charge: The site owner cannot charge you for providing this documentation.

• Legal Basis: This right is protected under implied terms of the Mobile Homes Act 1983, which override any conflicting terms in your specific site agreement. 

How to Request Evidence

1. Submit a Request in Writing: It is highly recommended to ask in writing (letter or email) to keep a record.

2. Give Reasonable Time: Allow the site owner a reasonable amount of time to produce the documents.

3. Specific Inquiries: If a bill seems high, you can demand to see a detailed breakdown, including the supplier invoice, the standing charge, and how it was calculated.

4. Water Specifics: If the site owner does not provide a justification for water charges within 28 days of a written request, your liability is legally reduced to half of the average bill. 

Utility Charge Rules

• No Profiting: Site owners are generally only allowed to recover the unit cost of gas and electricity that they pay to the utility provider. They cannot charge more than the maximum price allowed by Ofgem.

• Meter Readings: If you have an individual meter, you should only pay for what you consume, plus a proportionate share of the standing charge.

• Third-Party Agents: While site owners may use third-party agents to calculate charges, they cannot recover these agent costs from you. 

Dispute Resolution

If the site owner refuses to provide evidence, or if the bills remain unreasonably high, you can:

• Contact LEASE: The Leasehold Advisory Service provides free legal advice on park home matters.

• Apply to a Tribunal: If the site owner fails to provide the requested information, you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a determination.