Tenants

The landlord/ property owner is ultimately responsible for the charges at the property, regardless of:

• any billing arrangement we may have with the landlord/owner
• provisions in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 dealing with liability for water and wastewater charges between landlords and tenants.

For more information, see the customer contract.

The government site Tenancy Services has information for landlords and tenants about paying the water bill:

• Utilities and other payments
• Water and wastewater charges

By law we must provide a continuous supply of water, as it is essential for survival. Unlike other utilities such as power or gas, we cannot turn off the service.

We supply the service to the property, not to individual tenants. This means that the landlord or property owner must ensure the continuous water supply is paid for.

It is up to the landlord and tenant to agree on who will pay each part of the bill.

If you are paying the usage (volumetric) part of the water bill, your landlord can give you authority to talk to us about bills and payments. For full details see Authorising tenants.

Yes. There are two ways to set up and manage automatic payments:

• Contact your bank to set up automatic payments.
• Set up Pushpay on your mobile.

Yes, you can use both these methods. But unless you are taking full responsibility for the bill, we don’t recommend tenants using these options because:

• We take the total amount due, which is for the water and wastewater services you have used, plus the fixed charges. Generally the landlord is responsible for fixed charges.
• If you move house and don’t notify us to cancel the payment, we will continue to automatically take money from your bank account each month. It is your responsibility to cancel a direct debit payment.

More ways to pay 

• To cancel direct debit, please contact your bank.
• To cancel a recurring credit card payment, phone us on (09) 442 2222, press 2.

Yes, you can switch to another plan. When you move into new premises we create a new account. You will receive a letter showing the previous tenant's pricing plan (low, moderate, high, industry) and industry type. We carry over this pricing plan to your account.

Please check your pricing plan and industry type to ensure they make sense for your business.

View pricing plans

View industry type

Related

Moving house – commercial tenants
Wastewater audits

Bills can be sent to a tenant at the owner’s request (by post or email).

• No names of tenants will be on the bill.
• The second line of the postal address will say c/- The tenant.
• The owner will have an email copy of the bill sent to them.

First and last names will be printed on the bill. If there are more than three owners of a property the names may not all be printed.

The name of any person who is not a legal owner will not be on the bill. This is because the contract is between Watercare and the owner.

We only send one paper bill from an account – all other copies are by email.

Commercial tenants/lessees

The owner’s name will be printed on the first line of the postal address.

No employee name will be printed on the bill.

To change the name on the bill from the owner to the lessee, please complete the change of non-domestic lease form, including the direct debit form.

If the request comes from the owner, bills can be sent to a tenant without a completed change of non-domestic lease form.

We can only deal with tenants who have been authorised by their landlord. For all the details, see Authorising tenants.

Yes, anyone can report a fault. 

Generally it is the landlord’s/owner’s responsibility to fix leaks and pay for any repairs. Tenants should notify the landlord as soon as there is a problem. However, it depends on the agreement with the tenant.

It is important to fix leaks quickly to minimise property damage and avoid high water bills. 

TIP: Set up an agreement about repairing leaks, including what to do when the landlord is unavailable.

See also: Leak repairs

You can apply for this allowance if you are an authorised tenant and you have paid to fix a leak.

Apply for a leak allowance

More information

Higher bill than usual
Check for a leak
Leak repairs

Yes, tenants can sign up to MyAccount. Once registered online, you can pay a bill, or set up a direct debit or recurring credit card payment. But you must be an authorised tenant if you want to do these tasks online:

• view billing history
• download a copy of a bill
• set up e-billing
• apply for a leak allowance
• view water usage
• link your bill to Xero.

We only set up accounts under the legal property owner’s name, as our contract is with the owner. This is different from other utilities.

However, your landlord can give you authority to deal directly with us – see Authorising tenants.

• If the property you are renting has been sold, we set up a new account in the new owner’s name. This can be confusing if you are a tenant paying the account. The property owner or landlord may not have told you that the property has been sold.
• We will also set up a new account if the property is sold to a different legal entity – for example it changes from a person to a trust.