After intervention by the British Property Federation (BPF) the National Landlords Association (NLA) and Residential Landlords Association (RLA), the Government’s proposal that landlords would be automatically liable for their tenants unpaid water bills has not been implemented after its water charging review decided that landlords would have to notify water companies of changes in tenancy, and if they failed to do so, only then would the liability transfer to them.

Ian Fletcher, BPF’s director of policy (real estate), said: “Our actions have averted the immediate threat of legislation that could have seen landlords automatically liable for their tenants’ water bills. Following lengthy discussions with the water companies and Review team we believe a satisfactory outcome has been achieved.

“The water companies have significant problems with bad debts. However, to make landlords instantly liable for their tenants’ water usage and debts would have been inequitable and run against the environmental objectives of wider water metering. We are pleased therefore to have thrashed out a compromise that sees landlords and water companies working together for the benefit of the wider public.”

The review also looked at charges for shared accommodation, or houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), where it concluded that in such properties it was often general practice for the property owner to be billed for water charges with the owner often recharging the occupiers, making water metering difficult to implement.