Government review on collection of water charges : RLA Survey

As some of you may know, the Government are reviewing how water charges are collected. The water companies have huge arrears of unpaid water charges and they are blaming the private rented sector for a considerable part of this debt. Unlike other utilities, water companies are not allowed to disconnect for non-payment.

The RLA, together with the British Property Federation and the NLA are in negotiation with the Government Review and the water companies on these proposals. They are currently out for consultation.

To help us in our negotiations, we need information from landlords about the extent to which landlords already, in practice, pay the water charges (and then recover them with the rent from tenants). This is very important information which we need.

We have published a survey on the RLA website, asking landlords to answer a small number of questions relating to water charges. To complete the short survey, visit the following link:

http://www.rla.org.uk/questionnaires/water_charging_aug09.shtml

If you wish to add your comments to this forum thread, those comments will be forwarded onto our lobbying team.

Thank you,

John