The Government has announced a review which could see it pull back from proposed powers that would make residential landlords liable for their tenants’ unpaid water bills.
Under the Flood and Water Management Act, the Government can make property owners liable for payment of water and sewerage bills if they fail to provide details of their tenants within a specified time.
However, the Government is now considering whether a voluntary approach would work better.
The concern is that unpaid water and sewerage bills add about £15 to the bills of those who do pay. Analysis shows that around 80% of those who do not pay their water bills are private tenants – either because the identity of the tenants is not known and the water company doesn’t know who to bill, or because they simply don’t pay up.
Once the tenant has moved out of the property, it becomes harder to chase the debt.
Before 1999, the approach to bad debt was straightforward: the water companies simply turned off the supply. Now, however, they are not allowed to do this, and while they have a statutory duty to supply water, they have no statutory power to withdraw supply, or to insist that occupiers or property owners give the identity of those who should be billed, or even to require a contract between the supplier and the customer.
Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the British Property Federation, said he welcomed the review: “Government policy in other areas is pushing for personal responsibility, and the same should apply here.
“Landlords should not be held liable for their tenants’ debt as this is simply unfair.
“We agree that water companies could do more to limit bad debts. Many landlords do already voluntarily provide information, but this could be made far easier and therefore encourage far more data sharing with the right systems in place.
”The consultation closes on April 16 and can be found at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/consult/files/bad-debt-consult-condoc-120123.pdf
