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Low Income Water Discount Terms and Conditions

Eligibility criteria

The low-income water-discount scheme provides a fixed yearly discount off your water bill if you are on a low income and meet the conditions shown below.

This is a yearly discount of £50, which we will automatically credit to your account if you qualify. You will see the discount on your first bill due on or after 1 April each year that you qualify. We will assess whether you are still eligible on a ‘qualifying date’ each year.

Eligibility

If all of the following apply on 1 December 2024 (the qualifying date), you will qualify for the discount:

  • You are the account holder named on the water bill which covers the qualifying date or you pay your water services charges to a registered social housing landlord or local authority who has a legal agreement with us to collect water services charges from their tenants on our behalf.
  • You do not already receive financial support through any of our other schemes (WaterSure, WaterSure plus, Back on track or Help to Pay).
  • You are receiving one of the following means- tested benefits.
    • Income Support
    • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
    • Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
    • Housing Benefit
    • Pension Credit
    • Working Tax Credit
    • Child Tax Credit
    • Universal Credit
  • You are receiving financial support towards your housing costs through Housing Benefit or the housing-costs element of Universal Credit.
  • You live in social housing or local authority housing.
  • Your yearly water bill on the qualifying date is more than £350 (or is expected to be more than this, in the case of measured charges), based on either:
    • the full charging year’s unmeasured charges for the year the qualifying date is in; or
    • measured charges assessed for the full year based on the amount of water you have used up to the qualifying date.
  • You receive your water supply and bills from us (or you pay your water services charges to a registered social housing landlord or a local authority who has a legal agreement with us to collect water services charges from their tenants on our behalf).

We will automatically identify customers who qualify for a discount by working with the Department for Work and Pensions. There is no need for you to apply or contact us about this.

However, if you believe you were eligible on the qualifying date but did not receive a discount, you can apply for one by completing our online form  or calling us on 0800 072 6765. You will need to provide evidence that you qualified on the qualifying date. We will not consider your application until we have issued your first bill due for payment on or after 1 April 2025 and we must receive your application by 31 March 2026.

If you were not eligible on the qualifying date, you will not be considered for the discount until the next qualifying date. 

If your circumstances change after the qualifying date, or we accept you onto one of our other support schemes during the charging year, we will not award or claim back any discount as your eligibility was assessed on the qualifying date. We will consider any changes to your circumstances on the next qualifying date.

Some groups of customers will not be eligible to receive the discount this year. This may apply to you if, for example, you are on a supply where there is a shared water meter or you pay your water services charges to a third party.