Water bills

Is a water meter cheaper than paying on rateable value?

Short answer

A water meter can be cheaper if you live alone or your home has more bedrooms than people, which is CCW's rule of thumb. Without a meter you pay on your home's rateable value, whatever you use. Meters are fitted free, but switch-back rights vary by company, and some areas have none.

Updated 13 October 2026

0

Household water suppliers you can switch to

1990

Year the rates system behind rateable values ended

0 to 2 years

Switch back windows England and Wales water companies publish

Open CCW's water meter calculator Back to manage bills

Water is the one household bill with no supplier to switch to. Your region has a single water company and that is the company you pay. The saving, where there is one, comes from how you are charged rather than from who charges you, and that is a decision you can make yourself in an afternoon. This page sets out how the unmetered charge works, when a meter tends to win for a single person, a couple or a family, what renters can ask for, how long each water company lets you change your mind, and what help exists for households whose usage cannot come down.

Water supplier finder

Find your water supplier by region or company area

Household water suppliers are typically tied to where you live. Select your region or known company area to get the supplier and the correct website.

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Not sure which company covers your exact postcode? Use the official checker to confirm your provider.

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The checker is run by Landlord TAP, a separate company, as noted on Water UK's page.

Selected supplier details

Select an area above to show the supplier details and website.

Some homes, especially on newer developments, are served by smaller local NAV providers. If results differ, use the postcode checker and your tenancy/sale documents as the final source.

Company areas come from CCW's list of water companies and each company's own website, read on 13 October 2026.

The unmetered charge

An unmetered water bill is not a bill for water

If your home has no water meter, nothing on the bill has been measured. Your water company works the charge out from a valuation of the property, which is why two households using very different amounts of water can pay exactly the same.

Ofwat is blunt about it: if you do not have a water meter, your bill will not be based on how much water you use. Your company uses the rateable value of the property instead.
A rateable value was an assessment of a property's annual rental value. Local authorities used them for the General Rates system between 1967 and 1990, and water companies kept the approach after privatisation.
That system ended in 1990, so the valuation driving your bill is a historic one rather than a current view of the property.
With a meter you pay for the water you actually use, plus a standing charge covering costs that are not linked to usage.
Fitting a meter is the only lever a household has here. There is no second water company to take your business to, so there is no deal to hunt for and nothing to compare.

Sources: Ofwat, unmetered customers (read 1 September 2026); CCW, how is my water bill calculated (read 1 September 2026)

Work out a rateable value water bill

The rule of thumb

Count the bedrooms against the people

There is a well-worn filter for this, and it comes from the statutory consumer body rather than from anyone selling anything.

CCW puts it this way: if you live on your own, or have more bedrooms in your property than occupants, you may be able to save money if you choose to have a water meter fitted.
The logic is that the rateable value charge scales with the property while a metered charge scales with the household. A roomy home with one or two people in it is where the two diverge most.
It is a filter, not an answer. CCW publishes a water meter calculator that takes your household details and estimates what a metered bill would look like, so you can compare two numbers instead of a number and a hunch.
Water companies install meters for free, and unless fitting one is impractical or would involve unreasonable cost, a company must comply with a household request for a meter.
In England, where the company is obliged to act on your request, it must begin measuring your supply within eight weeks of the day you ask.

Sources: CCW, tips to cut your water bill (read 1 September 2026); CCW, should I get a water meter fitted (read 1 September 2026); Ofwat, metered customers and applying for metered charges (read 1 September 2026)

Open CCW's water meter calculator

By household

Is a water meter cheaper for a single person, a couple or a family of four?

The rule of thumb turns on how many people share the bedrooms, so the answer changes with the household. CCW's calculator puts numbers on it for your own home.

A single person is the first case CCW names: if you live on your own, you may be able to save money with a meter. An unmetered bill follows the property's rateable value, not the number of people using the water.
A couple: the rule turns on bedrooms. Two people in a one-bedroom flat have no spare room, so it gives no steer, while two people in a three-bedroom house fall within it.
A family of four: in a three-bedroom home there are more people than bedrooms, so CCW's rule points the other way and the unmetered charge is more likely to be the cheaper. Run the calculator before deciding either way.
CCW's water meter calculator asks how many people live in your home and how you use water, from baths and showers to washing machine and dishwasher runs and garden watering. It also asks for your water and sewerage companies, your home type and, if you know it, your current bill.
CCW says the calculator's figures are only estimates to give you a rough idea of a metered bill, and that they may vary with your appliances and water use.
Ofwat: whether you save depends on how much you pay now, the number of people living in the property and how much water you use.
Some companies publish their own figures. Thames Water's typical metered bills for 2026-27 are £261 a year for one person with low use, £619 for two people with medium use and £891 for four people with medium use. They are one company's estimates, not a saving.

Sources: CCW, tips to cut your water bill (read 13 October 2026); CCW, water meter calculator (read 13 October 2026); Ofwat, metered customers and applying for metered charges (read 13 October 2026); Ofwat, unmetered customers (read 13 October 2026); Thames Water: installing meters in our region (read 13 October 2026)

Open CCW's water meter calculator

What to do

Five steps to settle the meter question

1
Count bedrooms against occupants
CCW's filter is whether your home has more bedrooms than people living in it. If it does, a meter is worth pricing up. If it does not, the unmetered charge is more likely to be the cheaper of the two.
2
Find the annual total on your current bill
An unmetered bill states the rateable value your company has used and the annual charge that follows from it. That total is the number a metered bill has to beat.
3
Run CCW's water meter calculator
The calculator estimates a metered bill from your household details, which turns the decision into a comparison rather than a guess.
4
Ask your water company to fit a meter
Household customers in England and Wales can ask for a meter free of charge, and the company must comply unless installing one is impractical or would cost an unreasonable amount.
5
Diarise the switch back deadline
Check your company's own window in the company list on this page, because it runs from none to two years. Keep that date with your renewal dates, because the option expires quietly.

Sources: CCW, tips to cut your water bill (read 1 September 2026); Ofwat, metered customers and applying for metered charges (read 1 September 2026)

The safety net

Trying a meter, and going back if it costs you more

The reason this decision is lower risk than it sounds is that for most households it is reversible, but the exceptions are large and worth checking before you apply.

CCW: many water companies will now give you up to two years to trial a meter and switch back if you are unhappy or not saving money.
CCW also says the meter is fitted free and that you can switch back to the unmetered charge within two years if you are unhappy with the change, except for customers in areas of England where compulsory metering is being introduced.
CCW names the exceptions: customers of Southern Water, South East Water, Affinity Water and Thames Water do not have the option to switch back to unmeasured charges, because of those companies' compulsory metering programmes.
Because CCW's wording is that many companies now offer up to two years, confirm the window with your own company before you apply rather than assuming you have the full two years.
CCW's list of four comes from its April 2016 announcement. The companies' own pages, read on 13 October 2026, show more variation: South Staffs Water and Cambridge Water allow no switch back once a meter is installed, Anglian Water ends the option once its switching programme reaches your area, Portsmouth Water says you have to have a meter, and Severn Trent gives 12 months rather than two years.

Sources: CCW, should I get a water meter fitted (read 1 September 2026); CCW, millions of households given more time to trial a water meter (read 1 September 2026); South Staffs Water: meters FAQs (read 13 October 2026); Cambridge Water: meters FAQs (read 13 October 2026); Anglian Water: switching to measured charges (read 13 October 2026); Portsmouth Water: moving to metering (read 13 October 2026); Severn Trent: metering installation policy (read 13 October 2026)

Company by company

How long does each water company give you to switch back?

As each company publishes it, read on 13 October 2026. Two years is common but not universal, and several companies in water-stressed areas give no switch back at all.

Thames Water: no switch back; a one-year comparison period, then metered bills.
Anglian Water: 24 months if you asked for the meter, until its switching programme reaches your area.
Severn Trent Water: 12 months from fitting, or 30 days after your second bill.
United Utilities: two year trial under its lowest bill guarantee.
Yorkshire Water: within two years, through its Switch Back Service.
Northumbrian Water: up to two years, for the household that asked for the meter.
Essex & Suffolk Water: not stated on the pages read; it is metering every home by 2035.
Southern Water: not published on its meter pages; CCW says its customers cannot switch back.
Wessex Water: two years, with its Money Back Guarantee.
South West Water: two years, under its Lowest Bill Guarantee.
Bristol Water: two years of metered bills, but not after a change of occupier.
Bournemouth Water: two years to decide.
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water: up to two years from fitting, if you asked for the meter.
Hafren Dyfrdwy: one year trial.
Affinity Water: none in its Central and South East regions; conditional in its East region.
South East Water: meters are compulsory in its area; no switch back published.
SES Water: not stated on the pages read; its area is seriously water stressed.
Portsmouth Water: meters are becoming compulsory; a 12 month Lowest Bill Promise instead of a switch back.
South Staffs Water: no switch back once a meter is installed.
Cambridge Water: no switch back once a meter is installed.
Each company's guide on this site has the conditions in full, with the company's own page cited, alongside its moving-in steps, social tariff and WaterSure details.

Find your water company's guide

Renting

Can I get a water meter if I rent?

Usually yes, and the law protects the request. The open question is what the Renters' Rights Act did to its one exception.

CCW: you can ask for a water meter to be fitted if you rent your home in England. If you rent in Wales, your landlord can prevent a meter being fitted if your rental agreement is for less than six months.
Section 209A of the Water Industry Act 1991 stops the terms of a tenancy being used to block a meter the tenant has asked for, or to make it depend on anyone's consent. It does not apply to a fixed term tenancy of less than six months, and the Act defines a fixed term tenancy as any tenancy other than a periodic one.
GOV.UK: under the Renters' Rights Act, most existing assured shorthold tenancies in England became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, and a new private tenancy agreed from that date is periodic.
Neither CCW's renting guidance nor Ofwat's metering guidance, as read on 13 October 2026, says how that change affects the six-month exception. Read literally, a periodic tenancy is not a fixed term tenancy, so the exception would not apply, but that is a reading of the Act, not official guidance.
Some companies have published their own position. Northumbrian Water and Essex & Suffolk Water say that if you rent and pay your water bill directly to them, you do not need your landlord's permission, citing the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Thames Water takes applications from renters with a tenancy of six months or more, Severn Trent asks for permission if you have been in occupation for less than six months, and Wessex Water if your tenancy agreement is for less than six months.
Citizens Advice: a landlord cannot evict you just because you ask for a water meter, but your tenancy agreement may require permission for alterations. If your landlord does not agree, get advice before having a meter installed.

If a meter will not fit

Flats and shared supplies: the assessed charge

Plenty of flats share a single supply pipe, which makes individual metering impractical. That is not the end of the route out of a rateable value bill.

Ofwat: if you cannot have a water meter installed, your water company must offer you an assessed charge as an alternative to your standard unmetered charge.
An assessed charge is an estimate of what your metered bill might have been had a meter been installed.
Ofwat says a single occupier assessed charge should reflect the volume of water likely to be supplied to premises occupied by one person, which is exactly the household the rateable value charge tends to overcharge.
Assessed charges apply where the company received a request for measured charges but was not obliged to meet it, because metering the premises is not reasonably practicable or would involve unreasonable costs.

Sources: Ofwat, assessed charges (read 1 September 2026)

If usage cannot come down

WaterSure and social tariffs

A meter only helps a household that can use less water than its rateable value implies. Some households genuinely cannot, and there are two separate schemes for that.

WaterSure caps the water and sewerage bill of customers who are on a meter and receive an income-related benefit. CCW lists Universal Credit, Housing Benefit and Pension Credit.
You also need one of two high-use reasons: child benefit for three or more children under 19 living in your household, or extra water use because of a qualifying medical condition. CCW lists abdominal stoma, Crohn's disease, incontinence, renal failure requiring home dialysis, ulcerative colitis and weeping skin diseases.
The UK Government announced a WaterSure reform that is set to come into force in early 2027: people receiving disability benefits become eligible where household income is below £25,745 a year, the cap moves to the lowest possible average bill, and the requirement to pay for a doctor's note goes.
Separately, every water company has a social tariff scheme that can reduce bills for customers on a low income. CCW is explicit that who is eligible and the level of support varies depending on your water company, so the only reliable answer is your own company's scheme.

Sources: CCW, what is WaterSure (read 1 September 2026); GOV.UK, reduced bills for around 300,000 households in WaterSure reform (read 1 September 2026); CCW, help with bills (read 1 September 2026)

Scope

This is an England and Wales decision

The general rules on this page come from Ofwat and CCW, and each company's own rules from its website. GOV.UK describes CCW as representing water and sewerage consumers in England and Wales, and Ofwat's metering guidance is written for residential customers in England and Wales.
If your address is in Scotland or Northern Ireland, start with your own provider rather than with this page. The finder below lists them alongside the England and Wales companies.
The finder is a directory, not a lookup. Taupia does not check your postcode: the postcode checker it links to is the official one published by Water UK.

Sources: GOV.UK, Consumer Council for Water (read 1 September 2026); Ofwat, metered customers and applying for metered charges (read 1 September 2026)

Where Taupia stands

There is no commission in water, which is rather the point

Comparison sites have no reason to write this page, because there is nothing on it to compare. That is exactly why it is here.

Household water is a regional monopoly. There is no supplier to switch to, no deal to be introduced to, and no commission for anyone to earn from anything on this page.
Taupia still tracks the bill: what you pay, when it is due, and each housemate's share on the split rule your household sets.
Helping with the bills nobody earns a fee on is the difference between a bill manager and a lead generator. Water and the TV Licence are the two clearest cases of it.
If you are moving into a new address rather than reviewing a bill you already have, the setup guide is the one you want: it covers registering as the occupier and taking the opening reading.

Water bill setup when you move in

Unmetered against metered, side by side

What you are asking	How the two charges differ
What the bill is based on	Unmetered: the rateable value of the property. Metered: the volume of water you use, plus a standing charge.
Does using less cut the bill	Unmetered: no, because nothing is measured. Metered: yes.
Who it tends to suit	Unmetered: households with more people than bedrooms. Metered: single occupiers, and homes with more bedrooms than people.
Cost to change	Nothing. Water companies install meters for free.
Can you undo it	Depends on the company. Several give up to two years, Severn Trent gives 12 months, and some, including Thames Water, South Staffs Water and Cambridge Water, give none.
If a meter cannot be fitted	Your company must offer an assessed charge as an alternative.

Water meter FAQ

Questions households ask before asking for a meter

Can I switch water supplier to get a cheaper bill?

No. Household water and wastewater services come with the address, so there is one company for your region and no market to shop in. The only lever you have is how you are charged, which is what the meter decision is.

Is a water meter cheaper for a single person?

Often worth checking first, but not guaranteed. CCW's rule of thumb is that you may be able to save with a meter if you live on your own or have more bedrooms than people, because an unmetered bill follows the property rather than how much water you use. Run CCW's calculator with your own usage before you apply.

Can I go back to unmetered charges if the meter costs me more?

It depends on your company. CCW says many companies give up to two years to trial a meter and switch back, but Severn Trent gives 12 months, and Thames Water, South Staffs Water and Cambridge Water give no switch back. The company list on this page sets out each company's rule.

Can I ask for a water meter if I rent?

In England, CCW says you can. Section 209A of the Water Industry Act 1991 stops tenancy terms blocking a meter you ask for, except on a fixed term of less than six months. Most private tenancies in England became periodic on 1 May 2026, and there is no official guidance yet on how that affects the exception.

Does it cost anything to have a water meter fitted?

No. Water companies install meters for free, and a company must comply with a household request for one unless fitting a meter is impractical or would involve unreasonable cost. In England, Ofwat says the company must then begin measuring your supply within eight weeks.

What if my flat cannot have a meter fitted?

Ofwat says your company must then offer you an assessed charge, which estimates what a metered bill would have been. For a one-person household, the single occupier assessed charge should reflect the volume one person is likely to use.

We cannot use less water. Is there any help?

Two schemes. WaterSure caps the bill of metered customers on an income-related benefit who have three or more children under 19 at home or a qualifying medical condition. Separately, every water company runs a social tariff for customers on a low income, though eligibility and the level of support vary by company.

Does Taupia earn anything if I switch to a meter?

No. There is no water supplier to switch you to and no commission anywhere in this bill. Taupia tracks water alongside your other household bills, and that is the whole of our interest in it.

Related pages

Where to go next

The setup guide is for people arriving at a new address. Everything else here is for a bill you already hold.

Start here

Water bill setup when you move in

Recommended

Moving rather than reviewing? Find the supplier for the address, take the opening reading, and check the first bill against your move-in date.

Official references

Cite this page

Taupia. "Is a water meter cheaper than paying on rateable value?". Last updated 13 October 2026. https://taupia.com/manage-bills/water-meter

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