Notifying Water Companies of Occupiers Details – Wales only
The Welsh Government has introduced regulations making it mandatory for landlords to submit information to relevant water companies regarding responsibility for water service charges.
The Water Industry (Undertakers Wholly or Mainly in Wales) (Information about Non-owner Occupiers) Regulations 2014 came into force on 1 January 2015, with the aim of assisting the water and sewerage industry to reduce the level of debt in order to help lower bills.
The Welsh Government has introduced regulations making it mandatory for landlords to submit information to relevant water companies regarding responsibility for water service charges.
The Water Industry (Undertakers Wholly or Mainly in Wales) (Information about Non-owner Occupiers) Regulations 2014 came into force on 1 January 2015, with the aim of assisting the water and sewerage industry to reduce the level of debt in order to help lower bills.
The regulations place a duty on all owners of residential properties served by Dŵr Cymru (Welsh Water) or Dee Valley Water (whether in England or Wales), who let the property to someone else (e.g. a tenant) to provide basic information about the occupiers to the relevant water company. The regulations only apply if the owners don’t live in the property and therefore wouldn’t apply to people letting rooms in their homes, for example.The information required is:
- the full name of every occupant in a rented property;
- the address of the property;
- date of birth of the occupant (s) (if you have this information – however you must notify them that you do not hold it, if that is the case); and
- the date the tenancy started (when the occupant moved in).
If the owner fails to provide the required information within 21 days of a change of occupier, they will become jointly and severally liable with the occupier for any water and sewerage charges incurred during the period that they failed to comply with the regulations.
If the Landlord and owner of the property pays the water bill as part of the tenancy agreement there is no need to notify the water company of the tenant’s details as you are liable for any water debt that may accrue anyway.
Landlords can choose how to notify Welsh Water/Dee Valley Water – either directly by phone, e-mail or post, or online using a newly developed website called the Landlord and Tenant Address Portal or Landlord TAP. Occupier details input to the portal are automatically passed to the relevant water company and property owners receive a unique transaction receipt reference for their records. A link to the website (landlordtap.com) can be found in the Additional Resources section below.
The information can be provided by agents on behalf of landlords. However, the landlord must make formal arrangements for the agent to provide the information on his/her behalf so it may be advisable that this arrangement is set up in writing with your agent so it is clear who the liability is with should the information not be shared in the 21 day time frame. The portal has been set up to allow this arrangement as well. The portal remembers your properties simplify subsequent changes of tenant.
Occupants should also be notified that their details are being shared with Welsh Water/Dee Valley Water Companies.
You have a duty to pass on any information honestly and in good faith. If you have reason to think that the details provided may be incorrect then you should inform the Water Company that this is the case.