As most landlords are no doubt aware, disconnection of water for non-payment has not been an option in this country for over a decade now. While most of us understand why that is the case, there is no doubt that this law has led to a massive rise in bad water debts. The figures are in the region of a rise from £684 million to a whopping £1.2 billion.
No wonder then that The Residential Landlords Association is backing the Walker Review’s proposal for sanctions against non-payers. They are also vocal in their support of changing the rules so that water users are obliged to give their personal details when applying to be supplied.
“The statistics show the ridiculous state we have reached,” says Richard Jones – lawyer for the Residential Landlords Association
The RLA are, however, quite concerned as to how the new sanctions will be implemented. Though delighted that the Walker Review listened to the many recommendations of the RLA and most significantly agreed that landlords should not be held responsible for water charges in shared houses, they are concerned that the Government is taking the wrong tact with the sanctions.
The Walker Review indicated that non-paying tenants could be pursued and ultimately jailed for failure to pay for their water. This has met with disapproval from the RLA.
“At the moment our prisons are overflowing so it does not seem a good idea to add to the prison population when there is a far better alternative. It is possible to install trickle valves to reduce the water supply to a property while still allowing a sufficient supply for hygiene purposes.” Mr Jones said.
It will be interesting to see how this progresses.
