Moving house with United Utilities: register, meters and help

• ✓CCW lists United Utilities' area as the North West of England.
• ✓United Utilities: to set up your account, call 0345 026 7661, open 8am to 7pm Monday to Thursday, 8am to 6pm on Fridays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, or complete its online form.
• ✓United Utilities: the best time to tell it you are moving is on your move-in date, or within a couple of days after. Have your new address, the date you moved in and a meter reading if the new home has a meter.
• ✓United Utilities: if your landlord is responsible for the water charges, the landlord should contact it. Otherwise you are responsible for paying them.
• ✓Ofwat: under the current legislation, household customers are not able to change their water supplier or sewerage service provider. The company that supplies your property depends on where you live.

Sources: United Utilities: new customer (read 13 October 2026); United Utilities: moving home FAQs (read 13 October 2026); CCW: find your water company (read 13 October 2026); CCW: what if I move to a property with a meter? (read 13 October 2026); Ofwat: changing supplier (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓United Utilities: rateable values are used to work out the charge for people without a water meter. The calculation is the rateable value multiplied by a charge for each service, water and wastewater.
• ✓United Utilities: rateable values can no longer be changed by the Valuation Office or the water company and cannot be appealed. The council tax single occupier discount does not apply to water charges.
• ✓United Utilities: if your new home has no meter, your new charges are either included in the final bill from your old address or sent as a separate bill. A metered home is billed each time it reads the meter, every six months.
• ✓United Utilities: you cannot ask for a meter to be removed when you move into a home that already has one.
• ✓Ofwat: if you do not have a water meter, your bill is not based on how much water you use. It is usually a fixed charge plus a charge based on the rateable value of your home, a valuation last updated in 1990.
• ✓CCW: if your new home already has a water meter, you must pay metered charges based on your usage and you cannot switch to an unmetered bill. Take a reading as soon as you move in.
• ✓CCW: a water company can install a meter when you move in, but not if you have already received an unmetered bill for that property. It tells you when you report the move.

Sources: United Utilities: rateable value explained (read 13 October 2026); United Utilities: moving home FAQs (read 13 October 2026); Ofwat: unmetered customers (read 13 October 2026); CCW: what if I move to a property with a meter? (read 13 October 2026); CCW: can my water company install a meter before I move in? (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓United Utilities: its lowest bill guarantee means you will not be worse off during your two year trial period, and if you do not make a saving you can switch back to your fixed bill.
• ✓United Utilities: if you want a water meter it will fit one for free. Request one with its application pack by post, or by calling 0345 672 2888.
• ✓United Utilities: since 1990 it has been compulsory for all new homes to be fitted with a water meter.
• ✓Ofwat: household customers in England and Wales can choose to have a meter fitted in their homes free of charge. If a meter cannot be fitted, the company must offer an assessed charge instead.
• ✓Ofwat: in England, where the company is legally obliged to act on your request, it must begin measuring your supply within eight weeks of the day you ask.
• ✓CCW: you can usually 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 introduced. Where the company publishes its own rule, as above, that is the one to go by.
• ✓CCW: you can ask for a water meter to be fitted if you rent your home in England.

Sources: United Utilities: cheaper with a meter (read 13 October 2026); United Utilities: rateable value explained (read 13 October 2026); United Utilities: moving home FAQs (read 13 October 2026); Ofwat: metered customers and applying for metered charges (read 13 October 2026); Ofwat: assessed charges (read 13 October 2026); CCW: should I get a water meter fitted? (read 13 October 2026); CCW: can I ask for a water meter if I rent my home? (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓United Utilities: Back on Track can help if you are finding it difficult to pay and are either receiving benefits or on a low income after a recent change in your financial circumstances.
• ✓United Utilities: Help to Pay gives a bill discount to low-income pensioners receiving Pension Credit, and the Low Income Water Discount gives an annual discount to customers with a low household income.
• ✓United Utilities: if you have a water meter, receive benefits and use a lot of water because of ill health or a large family, WaterSure caps your annual bill whatever you use.
• ✓United Utilities: apply through its online form or on 0800 072 6765. It also offers Payment Matching, payment breaks and an independent Financial Hardship Trust Fund.
• ✓CCW: every water company has a social tariff scheme which can help reduce your bills if you are on a low income, and who is eligible and the level of support varies depending on your water company.
• ✓CCW: WaterSure caps the water and sewerage bill of customers on a water meter who receive an income-related benefit and either get child benefit for three or more children under 19 or use extra water because of a medical condition.
• ✓GOV.UK: a WaterSure reform is set to come into force in early 2027. People on disability benefits become eligible where household income is below £25,745 a year, the cap moves to the lowest possible average bill, and the paid-for doctor's note goes. Scheduled, not yet in force.

Sources: United Utilities: how we can help with your bill (read 13 October 2026); United Utilities: difficulty paying your bill (read 13 October 2026); CCW: help with bills (read 13 October 2026); CCW: what is WaterSure? (read 13 October 2026); GOV.UK: reduced bills for around 300,000 households in WaterSure reform (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓United Utilities: for financial support call 0800 072 6765, and to request a meter call 0345 672 2888.
• ✓United Utilities: landlords can register a tenant's details by calling 0345 026 7661 or through Landlord TAP.
• ✓CCW: the homeowner is responsible for maintaining the water pipes on private property up to the boundary of the road. The water main, the connection up to your boundary, the outside stop tap and the meter are the company's.
• ✓Ofwat: companies are required by their licences to reimburse the cost of water lost through leakage by way of credits to your bill, a leakage allowance that can apply to water and wastewater charges. You can only claim once the leak has been repaired, and it can be refused if you did not arrange the repair within the company's timeframe.
• ✓CCW: complain to the company first and give it a chance to put things right. If it does not reply within 10 working days you may be entitled to a Guaranteed Standards Scheme payment. CCW can take the complaint on once you have a final response or have waited eight weeks, and its service is free.

Sources: United Utilities: difficulty paying your bill (read 13 October 2026); United Utilities: rateable value explained (read 13 October 2026); United Utilities: moving home FAQs (read 13 October 2026); CCW: who is responsible for my water pipes? (read 13 October 2026); Ofwat: metered customers and applying for metered charges (read 13 October 2026); CCW: make a complaint (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓Taupia keeps the United Utilities account next to your energy, broadband and mobile: what it costs, when it is due, and each housemate's share on the rule your household sets.
• ✓For energy, broadband and mobile, Taupia compares your tariff against the market and lines up a switch when one is worth it. Water is monitored only, because it cannot be switched.
• ✓Taupia is free. You pay the water company directly, as you always have, and nothing changes without your approval.