House Purchase - Who Pays?

Flatzie_poo

Hi there,

Just wondering, is there a date in the calendar year which dictates who is responsible for paying the charges?

Or is it the seller of the house in all cases?

Cheers!

Irish Water: Mairead

Hi Flatzie_poo,

Thanks for your query.

Bills are calculated on a pro-rata basis, determined by how many days are in each billing quarter. We advise customers to update their details once they move into/out of a home so we can ensure they are being billed accurately.

This would also extend to the selling of a home.

Under the Water Services Act, 2013, it is determined that the occupier of a property is liable for water charges if they are connected to the public water main and/or sewer.

If you live in said property, you can call us on 1890 448 448 once you vacate or sell the property, we can close off your account in this home and update your details.

I hope you find this information helpful and if you have any other queries, please feel free to contact us.

Kind regards,
Mairead

Flatzie_poo

Irish Water: Mairead wrote: »

Hi Flatzie_poo,

Thanks for your query.

Bills are calculated on a pro-rata basis, determined by how many days are in each billing quarter. We advise customers to update their details once they move into/out of a home so we can ensure they are being billed accurately.

This would also extend to the selling of a home.

Under the Water Services Act, 2013, it is determined that the occupier of a property is liable for water charges if they are connected to the public water main and/or sewer.

If you live in said property, you can call us on 1890 448 448 once you vacate or sell the property, we can close off your account in this home and update your details.

I hope you find this information helpful and if you have any other queries, please feel free to contact us.

Kind regards,
Mairead

Thanks for getting back Mairead,

No, not 100% clear on this still. But let's try to clear this up.

Are you saying the occupier is only liable for charges in each quarter? 

And if one were to mid-quarter, you calculate over days in said months up to sell date?

Best,

Irish Water: Mairead

Hi Flatzie_poo,

Bills are sent out on a quarterly basis that are based on how many days are in the billing cycle.

If the person who is registered in the property vacates the premises mid-quarter, we advise that they call us on 1890 448 488 and a member of our team can update their account to ensure they are billed accurately.

Kind regards,
Mairead

Flatzie_poo

Irish Water: Mairead wrote: »

Hi Flatzie_poo,

Bills are sent out on a quarterly basis that are based on how many days are in the billing cycle.

If the person who is registered in the property vacates the premises mid-quarter, we advise that they call us on 1890 448 488 and a member of our team can update their account to ensure they are billed accurately.

Kind regards,
Mairead

Mairead, 

This is very frustrating. The answer isn't "please contact this number."

Is there another representative who can help me? Or who can attempt an answer that isn't providing a phone number?

I feel like I'm being fobbed off here.

Irish Water: Mairead

Hi,

The occupier of the property is liable for charges for the time they reside there.

Bills are issued in quarters, and if the occupier moves out mid-quarter we advise that they contact us to ensure that they are only billed for the time within that billing quarter that they lived in the property.

Kind regards,
Mairead

Flatzie_poo

Irish Water: Mairead wrote: »

Hi,

The occupier of the property is liable for charges for the time they reside there.

Bills are issued in quarters, and if the occupier moves out mid-quarter we advise that they contact us to ensure that they are only billed for the time within that billing quarter that they lived in the property.

Kind regards,
Mairead

Thank you Mairead - this is some of the information I require.

So basic example -  if I sold 3 days into a quarter, having used €3 worth of water up until sell date. Said month had 30 days so my charges (according to your pro rata explanation) are 10c, correct?

Please escalate to a more senior member of staff if required.

Thank you for your help in getting an answer in advance.

seamus

Flatzie_poo wrote: »

Irish Water: Mairead wrote: »

Hi,

The occupier of the property is liable for charges for the time they reside there.

Bills are issued in quarters, and if the occupier moves out mid-quarter we advise that they contact us to ensure that they are only billed for the time within that billing quarter that they lived in the property.

Kind regards,
Mairead

Thank you Mairead - this is some of the information I require.

So basic example -  if I sold 3 days into a quarter, having used €3 worth of water up until sell date. Said month had 30 days so my charges (according to your pro rata explanation) are 10c, correct?

Please escalate to a more senior member of staff if required.

Thank you for your help in getting an answer in advance.

No, your charge would be €3.

It works the same as any other utility - when you move you ring Irish Water and give them a reading from the old meter and a reading from the new meter. You are liable for outstanding charges on the old meter (i.e. the current meter reading minus the previous reading).

In the current flat rate regime, the cost is pro-rated. So let's say you sell 3 days into Q4. Q4 is Oct/Nov/Dec and has 92 days. Therefore you are liable for 3/92 or 0.033% of the flat rate for that quarter. Or €260/365 * 3  == €2.14

Flatzie_poo

seamus wrote: »

Flatzie_poo wrote: »

Irish Water: Mairead wrote: »

Hi,

The occupier of the property is liable for charges for the time they reside there.

Bills are issued in quarters, and if the occupier moves out mid-quarter we advise that they contact us to ensure that they are only billed for the time within that billing quarter that they lived in the property.

Kind regards,
Mairead

Thank you Mairead - this is some of the information I require.

So basic example -  if I sold 3 days into a quarter, having used €3 worth of water up until sell date. Said month had 30 days so my charges (according to your pro rata explanation) are 10c, correct?

Please escalate to a more senior member of staff if required.

Thank you for your help in getting an answer in advance.

No, your charge would be €3.

It works the same as any other utility - when you move you ring Irish Water and give them a reading from the old meter and a reading from the new meter. You are liable for outstanding charges on the old meter (i.e. the current meter reading minus the previous reading).

In the current flat rate regime, the cost is pro-rated. So let's say you sell 3 days into Q4. Q4 is Oct/Nov/Dec and has 92 days. Therefore you are liable for 3/92 or 0.033% of the flat rate for that quarter. Or €260/365 * 3  == €2.14

Finally!! An answer!!! Thank you!! 

Irish Water: Mairead

Hi Seamus and Flatzie_poo

seamus wrote: »

No, your charge would be 3 euro.

It works the same as any other utility - when you move you ring Irish Water and give them a reading from the old meter and a reading from the new meter. You are liable for outstanding charges on the old meter (i.e. the current meter reading minus the previous reading).

In the current flat rate regime, the cost is pro-rated. So let's say you sell 3 days into Q4. Q4 is Oct/Nov/Dec and has 92 days. Therefore you are liable for 3/92 or 0.033 percent of the flat rate for that quarter. Or 260 euro/365 * 3 == 2.14 euro

Thanks for your input Seamus. Just to elaborate on the below query:

Flatzie_poo wrote: »

Thank you Mairead - this is some of the information I require.

So basic example - if I sold 3 days into a quarter, having used 3 euro worth of water up until sell date. Said month had 30 days so my charges (according to your pro rata explanation) are 10c, correct?

Please escalate to a more senior member of staff if required.

Thank you for your help in getting an answer in advance.

You are billed for how many days in the quarter for a household that is connected to the public main and/or sewer.

As per your example, if you lived in the property for three days and sold the house, we would advise you call us. If you call, a member of the team will update your account, and you would receive a closing bill for the period the property was occupied.

If you then informed us you had moved into a different property, we would also update these details and move you into your new home, and your bill would be updated to be inclusive of charges for both properties for the billing quarter.

You are billed on your water usage. This is measurable if you have a meter installed in your property. If you are an assessed customer, you are billed on the number of occupants in your home for the period.

Due to capped charges, which will be in place until 2018, your bill should not exceed 64 euro per quarter approximately.

If you are a metered customer, we can update your account with an estimated meter read based on your average water consumption. Unlike other utilities, water has a typical pattern of usage and we assure you that our estimates are very accurate.

However, if you have a meter and wish to read it, we can also input these meter readings.

For more information on how to safely read your meter, please see here.

I hope you find this information helpful, and if you have any other queries, please feel free to let us know.

Kind regards,
Mairead