Water Charges Tenant or Landlord to pay?

kaza

Registered User
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175
Hi,

I rent out a property and I am wondering about water charges and who is responsible for payment etc?? Am I right in assuming it is the tenant?

With the likes of gas and electricity, I have a landlord account set up. Which means that when a tenant moves out, it automatically reverts to billing me until another tenant take up residency. Am I wrong in assuming it will basically be the same setup with Irish Water?

Thanks
 
Hi Kaza

Had this query myself recently which I emailed IW about. This is the response I got:

Please note that bills will be issued on a quarterly basis. Customers will received their first bill in January 2015, which will be determined by their water consumption of the previous three months. This will be the billing process going forward.

Irish Water will begin a customer validation process in late 2014. As part of this process, customers will receive a letter requesting they verify their details. It is at this time that we will ask customers to confirm who will be paying the bill, the landlord or the tenant. This is an important process to ensure correct billing information is provided.

The issuing of bills to landlords or tenants will depend on the agreement drawn up between the landlord and tenant themselves. The ownership of registration lies with either the landlord or tenant to contact Irish Water for validation. Division of water charges is also a private matter and must be decided amongst the landlord and tenants.

Please be advised that if a tenant left a premise with an outstanding bill in their name, the tenant is liable. The debt will remain with the person and not the premise. Landlords will not be held responsible for outstanding balances in a tenant’s name due to the Data Protection Act.
Hope this helps.

 
In most of the standard leases (as with the one available from [broken link removed]) it states:

3.4 To pay promptly to the authorities or to whomever they are due, local authority, and outgoings (including gas, water, electricity, cable television and telephone if any, relating to the property) including any which are imposed after the date of this Agreement (even if of a novel nature) and to pay the total cost of any re-connection fee relating to the supply of gas, water, electricity, cable television and telephone if the same is disconnected or the operating company changed.

I have already written to my tenants enclosing a copy of the lease and the relevant paragraph high-lighted just to be sure there's no confusion with the Water Charges.
 
Thanks! I must checking the wording in their contract and see does it state water. If not their contract is up for renewal in Nov, so I can add it in then.
 
What if the only lease you have predates the whole issue of water charges? What then?
 
I too am a tad confused about this.
I've received an application form and application guide. I gather from the latter that I ignore the application form and wait for some other correspondence that details all my investment properties. Am I right or am I still confused?
 
If it's based on usage, why would the landlord pay? If someone else is paying the bill for usage, the taps would be on all the time.
 
Just received a pack from Irish Water this morning at my home address for a rental property I own.

Where are they getting their information from??? It must be either Revenue or PRTB?

What happens to LL's who are not registered with the PRTB or who do not declare rental income to Revenue - are they going to escape again?

They can't give the same PPS number for 2 properties unless they maybe say the 2nd one is a holiday home.
 
Yes delgirl I got the same pack yesterday and the information is clearly coming from LPT. Nothing to do with PRTB
 
I'm a landlord abroad and have not receive any letter yet. I am registered for PRTB, NPPR, LPT etc. Is it only certain parts of the country that have received the letter?

Water is a utility, my tenants are being informed it will be up to them to pay for it. Same as gas and esb. Up to now I've always paid the bins/rates etc as rates charges run with the property, but now the corporations are moving away from that I guess it isn't so important.
 
Yes delgirl I got the same pack yesterday and the information is clearly coming from LPT. Nothing to do with PRTB
i received my pack about 10 days ago everything normal,, but i received another pack for my son, who moved out 5 years ago , on thursday last. its not the lpt. i think he still has his income tax returns forms posted to his original home address. so i think it is the revenue (income tax) who are supplying the addresses.
 
I don't think there is any confusion over who pays. What I'd like to know is who completes the application form?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
landlord are screwed again

If tenant doesn't sign up to Irish Water then the bottom line is the landlord will be gone after for any outstanding bills owed to Irish Water.

Ring Irish Water and that is there answer as of today 26/09/2014


  • They will not cut the water off, they will just keep running up the bill
  • If you don't have a meter you can add it to the rent plus the tax you will be charged on it so your rent is dearer than everyone elses
  • Where there is a meter how much do you charge??? The tenant could leave the tap running just to pixx you off when you ask them to leave because they haven't signed up to Irish Water.
Again the landlord has to do the goverments dirty work.
 
I also received a pack for one of my rental properties.

My question is - would the tenant themselves have also received a pack? I haven't been speaking to my tenant yet but must contact him next week.
 
I also received a pack for one of my rental properties.

My question is - would the tenant themselves have also received a pack? I haven't been speaking to my tenant yet but must contact him next week.

This is very confusing, on the website it says both will receive a pack.
[broken link removed]

but this article seems to say that the landlord hands over the pack to the tenant.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...-not-liable-for-tenants-water-bills-1.1944634

My tenant has not received a pack yet so maybe I should forward it to them.
 
We are renting for a couple of years as we have returned to Ireland recently. I am the tenant and I have received a pack for our address. I will fill it out with our details and pay the bill based on our usage. I don't expect the landlord to pay.
 
Hi - I clarified this this morning with Irish Water - as a landlord you should receive an application form for your rented property. The source of detail comes from the local authority. The landlord should then forward this application form to the tenants. The tenants then complete and return by end of October. If they don't, then Irish Water will come to the landlord / management company for the tenants details. Irish water will then pursue the tenants. The tenants are responsible for all ensuing water charges. The landlord has no liability for water charges in the tenanted property. If a property is not occupied then the landlord has to pay a flat rate of 125.00 euro per year.
 
Hi - I clarified this this morning with Irish Water - as a landlord you should receive an application form for your rented property. The source of detail comes from the local authority. The landlord should then forward this application form to the tenants. The tenants then complete and return by end of October. If they don't, then Irish Water will come to the landlord / management company for the tenants details. Irish water will then pursue the tenants. The tenants are responsible for all ensuing water charges. The landlord has no liability for water charges in the tenanted property. If a property is not occupied then the landlord has to pay a flat rate of 125.00 euro per year.
 
Hi - I clarified this this morning with Irish Water - as a landlord you should receive an application form for your rented property.

This is not my experience. I have 2 rented properties. Application packs were sent directly to the properties, addressed to "The Occupier". An application pack for my own home came to me, addressed to me.

Incidentally, both rental properties have tenancies registered with PRTB, and all taxes etc are paid up in full to the relevant authorities. I mention this only in relation to the various reports of Irish Water sourcing their ownership information from other agencies.
 
I have pasted below an extract from an Irish Times article that was posed on their website earlier today (a moderator might be kind enough to post a link):

"Irish Water has asked anyone with knowledge of errors in its listings of rental properties to contact the utility and help it to correct its data base.

In response to a series of questions put by letting agents and owners of private rental properties Irish Water said :

* Every rental unit in the State is to get a pack addressed personally to the occupant. If Irish Water does not have details of a tenant, the pack will be addressed to ‘The Occupier’

* Packs will only be issued to individual rental properties in so far as Irish Water is aware of them

* Landlords can contact Irish Water to advise they have let a property

* Application Packs are issued relative to the information on the Irish Water mailing list. If this is incorrect or out of date, landlords can contact Irish Water to have the information adjusted

* Irish Water will contact known landlords after the initial customer application campaign, to advise of properties for which no application has been received

* Irish Water said that when a household is occupied the tenant is liable and when vacant the owner is liable. Both should advise Irish Water of change of status to the property - the tenant to cease liability, the landlord to take it up.

Either party may take a reading and provide it to Irish Water, alternatively Irish Water will bill on average consumption, based on the date of change.

Irish Water allowances are only available to those with PPS numbers. Irish Water advises anyone not in receipt of a PPS number who wishes to avail of their free water allowances to contact the Department of Social Protection n order to get a PPS number.

Irish Water said the purpose of the customer application campaign is to build an accurate database.

Irish Water can be contacted on 1890 448 448."

No mention in this article to any requirement on the part of landlords to forward application packs to tenants. This really is farcical at this stage.
 
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