Moving house with Yorkshire Water: register, meters and help

• ✓CCW lists Yorkshire Water's area as the Yorkshire region. Yorkshire Water points to its postcode checker if you are not sure you are moving into its area.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: you can tell it you are moving up to 7 days before you are due to move. Have your current address, your new or forwarding address, your sale completion or tenancy agreement dates, and your phone number and email address.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: new customers use its new customer form, existing customers moving within its area use the existing customer form, and anyone leaving the area closes the account.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: if you forgot and moved within the last 3 months, you can still use the online forms. If it was longer ago, you need to talk to it.
• ✓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: Yorkshire Water: moving home (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)

• ✓Yorkshire Water: for a home without a meter, it bases the water charge on the rateable value of the property, and the cost is different if you live in a York Waterworks area.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: an unmetered bill also covers sewerage, surface water drainage and standing charges. If your rainwater does not go into a public sewer, you can apply for a rebate.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: rateable values were decided between 1973 and 1990 by the Valuation Office and were loosely based on the annual rental value of the property.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: if your home does not have a meter, you could be eligible for its water usage scheme, which takes £50 a year off the bill.
• ✓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: Yorkshire Water: charges for customers without 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)

• ✓Yorkshire Water: if you have a meter fitted but do not think it is right for you, you can switch back to being billed the old way within two years of the meter being installed.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: the meter stays in place for the next occupier's bills, even if you have returned to the unmetered charge.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: installing a meter is free, provided it can be fitted in its preferred location. The easiest way to request one is to book a free call back.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: tenants should check with their landlord or review their tenancy agreement before having a meter installed.
• ✓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: Yorkshire Water: could I save with a water meter? (read 13 October 2026); Yorkshire Water: request a 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)

• ✓Yorkshire Water: WaterSupport is a bill cap scheme for low-income households. You might be eligible with a household income below £21,000, or below £26,000 with dependants, and depending on your circumstances the bill could come down to £295.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: WaterSure is a bill cap scheme for customers who have a water meter, claim an income-based benefit and need extra water because of a medical condition or three or more children.
• ✓Yorkshire Water: for arrears it lists its Community Trust, Water Direct and Resolve schemes, and you can apply for a payment break if your income stops or falls. Call 0345 1 299 299 for advice on which scheme fits.
• ✓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: Yorkshire Water: help 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)

• ✓Yorkshire Water: its get in touch page routes you to the right team for your question, and for help paying your bill it gives 0345 1 299 299.
• ✓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: Yorkshire Water: help paying your bill (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 Yorkshire 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.