Information for tenants of Home Group

From 1st April 2020, your water charges will no longer be collected as part of your tenancy agreement. Please continue with your current payment arrangements as your landlord will need to collect your water charges up to 31st March.

The date you receive your water bill will depend on whether or not you have a water meter.

• If you don’t have a meter you will receive your water bill towards the end of March 2020. This bill sets out your charges for the year ahead (1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021) and you can either choose to pay us the full amount on 1st April or spread your payments over the year and pay in weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments (we’ve explained more about all the ways you can pay your bill below). Your charges will be calculated as they are at the moment using the rateable value of your home.
  
  
• If you have a water meter, your charges will continue to be based on the amount of water you use. We will send you a schedule of payments in the first week of April so you know exactly what you need to pay for the coming year.

If you have a water meter installed in your home, we’ll send you a schedule of payments at the beginning of April so you can see exactly what you need to pay for the year ahead. We will then read your meter twice a year and send you a bill shortly after we read your meter and charge you for the amount of water you have used. 

If you don’t have a water meter, you normally receive one bill a year (between January and March) and the charges are based on the rateable value of your home. As you are transferring to us in April, we will send you your bill towards the end of March and this will show your schedule of payments for the year ahead. 

The quickest and easiest way is to set up a Direct Debit. You can choose to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly and we’ll even give you a £5 annual discount if you choose to pay in this way. You can also pay by credit or debit card on our website or smartphone app and you can make cash payments at any Post Office or Payzone outlet. We have a payment option whatever your circumstances.

Don’t worry, if you’d prefer to pay by cash you can do this at a local Post Office or Payzone outlet. We can send you a payment card which makes it really easy to make regular payments at these locations. 

The majority of people who switch to a water meter save around £100 a year compared to their existing rateable value bill. The general rule is that if you have more bedrooms in your home than people, then it’s likely you’ll make a saving with a meter. When you call us on 0345 026 3813 to set up your account, we’ll check to see if you could make a saving. We fit meters free of charge and you have up to two years to switch back to your old rateable value bill if you’re not making a saving. 

No, choosing a water meter is entirely your choice and we would only recommend one if we were confident that you’ll make a saving. We’ll never put you under any pressure to have one fitted.

We offer a range of support schemes for customers who are having difficulties paying their water bills. We’re already helping more than 100,000 customers with their bills and we’ll be happy to check if you’re eligible for any of our support schemes when you call us. We’ll ask you a few questions about your income and expenditure and if we can lower your bill, we’ll do that before you receive your first bill from us in March or April. 

Like the energy companies, we offer a Priority Services scheme which provides additional services for customers who may need it due to age, ill health, disability, mental health or language barriers. Registration is free and we can sign you up for this scheme when you call us on 0345 026 3813 to set up your account with us.