Cut your water bill: meters, help schemes and free kit
You cannot switch water company. But you can still cut what you pay. The three biggest levers are a free water meter, help schemes if money is tight, and stopping waste — including leaks you may not know about.
This guide covers England and Wales. In Scotland, most households pay for water through their council tax, so the options below do not apply there. Northern Ireland households do not get separate domestic water bills at all.
Why your bill has gone up
Water bills took a big jump in April 2025. The average yearly bill in England and Wales rose by 26% to £603, according to industry body Water UK.
From April 2026, the average bill rose again, by £33 (5.4%) to £639 a year (Water UK, 2026-27 figures). Your own bill depends on your company and your usage. Southern Water customers pay the most on average (£759 a year in 2026-27). Some companies raised bills by 10% or more this April; others barely changed.
These rises come from Ofwat’s 2024 price review. Ofwat is the water regulator. In December 2024 it approved a huge investment programme — over £100 billion — to fix sewage spills and secure water supplies. Customers are paying for that through bills, with rises planned every year until 2030.
You cannot shop around to escape this. Unlike energy or broadband, your water company is fixed by where you live. So the savings have to come from how you are charged, and how much you use.
Would a water meter cut your bill?
If you do not have a meter, you pay a fixed amount based on your home’s old “rateable value” — a rating set decades ago. It has nothing to do with how much water you actually use.
With a meter, you pay for what you use. So the maths is simple: light users win, heavy users lose.
The rule of thumb: if your home has more bedrooms than people, you will often save with a meter. The Consumer Council for Water (CCW), the official watchdog for water customers, says households with more bedrooms than people are the most likely to save — sometimes more than £100 a year.
That is because unmetered charges roughly track the size of your home, not the number of people in it. One or two people in a three-bedroom house are usually paying for far more water than they use.
Before you decide, check your own numbers. CCW runs a free water meter calculator at ccw.org.uk. You put in your postcode, your current bill and how your household uses water. It estimates what a metered bill would look like. It assumes each person uses about 11,000 litres a year, then adjusts for your habits.
Some key facts about meters:
- Fitting one is free. Your water company installs it at no cost.
- Renters can ask too. You can have a meter installed if your tenancy is at least six months long. It is worth telling your landlord, but in most cases the choice is yours.
- Your bill changes from the fitting date. You start paying for what you use straight away.
You can switch back within two years
Worried it might backfire? There is a safety net. If a meter is fitted at your request, you can switch back to unmetered charges within 24 months if you are unhappy (CCW, 2026).
That makes trying a meter close to risk-free for most people. Get one fitted, watch your bills for a year, and go back if you are worse off.
One exception: in parts of England where water is scarce, companies are rolling out compulsory metering. If your meter was fitted under one of those programmes, you cannot switch back. The meter itself usually stays on the wall either way — switching back changes how you are billed, not the plumbing.
Be honest about the catch
Meters are not a win for everyone. A large family in a small house will often pay more on a meter, because they use a lot of water for the size of home they are charged on. If the calculator says a meter would cost you more, staying unmetered is usually the sensible call — and nobody can force a meter on you just for asking about one.
Also remember the price per litre is rising each year until 2030. A metered bill that looks good today still goes up with everyone else’s.
If a meter cannot be fitted: assessed charges
Some homes — often flats with shared pipes — cannot have a meter fitted. If that happens to you, ask about an “assessed charge”. This is an estimated bill based on things like the size of your household, and it can be lower than your current rateable-value bill (CCW). You only get offered it after the company has tried and failed to fit a meter, so it is always worth applying for the meter first.
Help if you are struggling to pay
Every water company must offer help to people on low incomes. Around two million households already pay less through these schemes, but many more qualify and never apply.
WaterSure: a cap for high-use, low-income homes
WaterSure caps your bill if you have a meter, someone in the home gets a qualifying benefit, and you cannot avoid using a lot of water. You qualify on the usage side if either:
- you have three or more children under 19 in full-time education living with you, or
- someone in the home has a medical condition that means they need extra water — conditions such as eczema, incontinence, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis or home dialysis count.
The qualifying benefits include Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support and income-related ESA or JSA (Citizens Advice).
The cap means you pay no more than the average metered bill for your company’s area — however much water you use. If you use less than average, you just pay for what you use. In Wales, Welsh Water runs a near-identical scheme called WaterSure Wales.
WaterSure is changing in early 2027. The government announced reforms in March 2026: disability benefits such as PIP, DLA and Attendance Allowance will count as qualifying benefits for the first time, caps will be set at the lowest local average (with a fairer cap for single-person households), and you will no longer need a doctor’s note for listed medical conditions. A household income limit of £25,745 a year will apply. The government expects around 300,000 households to get help, saving an average of £325 a year (GOV.UK, March 2026). If you were turned down before because you get PIP rather than an income benefit, it is worth applying again once the new rules start.
Social tariffs: cheaper bills on low income
Separate from WaterSure, every company runs its own “social tariff” — a discounted bill for people on low incomes. Names and rules vary a lot. Some cut bills by a fixed percentage. Some cap them at a set amount. Some look at your income; others at the benefits you receive. You do not need a meter for most of them.
The quickest route is CCW’s directory. Its “Help with bills” pages list every company’s scheme and how to apply. Or just call your water company and say you are struggling — they are required to help, and asking will never raise your bill.
Other help worth knowing
If you are behind on payments, companies offer payment plans, payment breaks and hardship funds. Some run debt-matching schemes, where they write off some arrears if you keep up agreed payments. None of this affects your water supply — companies in England and Wales cannot disconnect a home for unpaid water bills.
Leaks: whose job, whose bill?
A hidden leak can quietly double a metered bill. So it pays to know two things: who fixes what, and what you can claim back.
Who is responsible for the pipes? The water company owns the mains in the street and the pipework up to your property boundary, plus the outside stop tap and the meter. From the boundary to your home — the “supply pipe” — and everything inside the house is the property owner’s responsibility (CCW). If a shared supply pipe serves several homes, the owners share responsibility jointly.
Check for leaks the easy way. If you have a meter, take a reading last thing at night and first thing in the morning, using no water in between. If the numbers have moved, water is escaping somewhere. A constantly running toilet is one of the most common culprits and can waste hundreds of litres a day.
Ask for a leak allowance. If a hidden leak on your supply pipe pushes up your metered bill, most companies will grant a “leak allowance” — they write off some or all of the extra charges, usually for a first-time leak that you fix promptly. CCW publishes guidance on how these allowances should work. Many companies will also repair a first supply-pipe leak free or at low cost, but policies differ, so check yours before paying a plumber.
Report suspected leaks in the street or on your pipe to your company quickly. Acting fast protects both your bill and your claim.
Free water-saving kit from your company
Most water companies give away water-saving devices free. CCW points customers to GetWaterFit (getwaterfit.co.uk), a site where you enter your postcode, answer a few questions about how your household uses water, and order what your company offers.
Typical free items include:
- water-efficient shower heads
- tap inserts that reduce flow without killing pressure
- “leaky loo” detection strips, which show if your toilet is silently leaking
- shower timers and cistern devices
The gadgets only cut your bill directly if you are on a meter. But less hot water also means a lower energy bill — showers are heated water, and heating water is expensive. So an efficient shower head saves money in any home.
Everyday habits that actually move the number
If you are on a meter, small habits add up:
- Shorter showers beat baths. Even a minute off each shower helps.
- Run the washing machine and dishwasher with full loads.
- Fix dripping taps — a steady drip wastes thousands of litres a year.
- Use a bowl for washing up rather than a running tap.
- In the garden, a water butt collects free rainwater for plants.
If you are not on a meter, these habits will not change your bill — which is exactly why it is worth checking whether a meter suits you first.
Your five-minute checklist
- No meter? Run the CCW calculator. More bedrooms than people usually means a saving, installation is free, and you can switch back within 24 months.
- Meter refused? Ask for an assessed charge instead.
- Low income? Check CCW’s help-with-bills directory for your company’s social tariff, and check WaterSure if you have a big family or a medical need for extra water.
- Bill jumped? Do the overnight meter check for leaks, and ask about a leak allowance.
- Everyone: order the free water-saving kit through GetWaterFit.
Figures in this guide are from Water UK, CCW, Citizens Advice and GOV.UK, checked in July 2026. Water charges change every April, so check your own company’s current prices before making decisions. This guide is information, not personal advice.
Sources
Just so you know: this guide is information and journalism, not financial advice, and we don't recommend specific financial products. Your circumstances are your own — if you need personal advice, speak to a suitably qualified adviser. Information was correct at the "last updated" date above but things change; always check the linked primary sources.