Moving house with Wessex Water: register, meters and help

• ✓Wessex Water: it is a regional water and sewerage business serving 2.9 million customers across the south west of England.
• ✓Wessex Water: if you are moving home you need to set up, update or close your account. New customers set up an account online, customers moving within its area update theirs, and anyone leaving closes it.
• ✓Wessex Water: landlords tell it about changes to their lettings through Landlord TAP, and it publishes advice for tenants and students moving in or out.
• ✓Bristol Water: in its area, Bristol Water supplies drinking water and Wessex Water provides wastewater services. Bristol Water tells Wessex Water about your move.
• ✓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: Wessex Water: tell us you are moving (read 13 October 2026); Wessex Water: about us (read 13 October 2026); Bristol Water: I'm moving home (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)

• ✓Wessex Water: standing charges differ for metered and unmetered customers, because water and sewerage service charges are included in the standing charges for metered customers but not in the rateable value unit rate paid by unmetered customers.
• ✓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: Wessex Water: apply for a water meter (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)

• ✓Wessex Water: if you do not save money after two years with a meter, you can switch back to unmetered charges and it will credit your account with any overpayments.
• ✓Wessex Water: if you have a tenancy agreement of less than six months, you need your landlord's consent for a 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: Wessex Water: apply for a water meter (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)

• ✓Wessex Water: Assist can help if you cannot afford your ongoing water bill or would have to go without essentials to pay it.
• ✓Wessex Water: its discount for low-income pensioners can help if Pension Credit or the State Pension is your only form of income, and it has a discount for care leavers under 21.
• ✓Wessex Water: WaterSure can help if you receive benefits and need to use a lot of water.
• ✓Wessex Water also lists flexible payment plans, payment breaks, Restart for significant debt, and Water Direct for customers on benefits who are behind.
• ✓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: Wessex Water: help to pay 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)

• ✓Wessex Water: live chat is available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, excluding bank holidays. It offers British Sign Language through Convo and text calls through Relay UK.
• ✓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: Wessex Water: contact us (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 Wessex Water 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.