Rateable value explained

If your property is unmetered, you will be charged based on the rateable value of your property.

What are rateable values?

Rateable values were given to all UK homes between 1967 and 1990 by the District Valuer’s Office of the Inland Revenue.

They were an assessment of the annual rental value of a property and used to calculate the amount of tax owed.

A number of factors were taken into account when assessing the rental value, including the size of the property, general condition and availability of local services.

How do they impact your bill?

Water companies use rateable values to work out how to charge unmetered customers.

Before the water industry was privatised in 1989, this is how all customers were charged. Following privatisation, it remained the way to charge customers without a meter.

The higher the rateable value of your home, the more you will be charged.

Can rateable values change?

These values were last updated in 1990 and can no longer be changed as the District Valuer’s Office was disbanded.

Any changes to your property since 1990 will not be reflected in your rateable value.

If you feel your unmetered charge is higher than your water use, you can switch to a water meter. This is free and on average customers save £125 a year.

If you apply for a meter, but we cannot fit one, you will be charged based on our assessed charges.

If you have any questions

More information about rateable value can be found on Ofwat's website.

You can also learn more about our charges and how they are set.

If you have any other questions, please contact us.