A new voluntary register, whereby landlords can choose to supply contact details for their tenants to a central database, has been announced by environment secretary Owen Paterson.
The aim of the database is to allow water companies to pursue tenants who have moved out of properties, leaving water bills unpaid.
Households currently pay an extra £15 on their water bills to cover the cost of those who do not pay.
Ministers believe that much of the problem rests with tenants who fail to settle their bills when they move to a new property.
The measure is designed to get rid of this charge by making sure tenants cannot escape paying their charges, and has been welcomed by the Residential Landlords Association.
The RLA says that the proposal is in contrast to that being suggested by the Welsh Government which wants to make landlords legally responsible for providing such information or face having to pay the debt left by their tenants.
A survey of RLA members in Wales found that all of those who responded opposed making such a measure a legal requirement for landlords. However, 63% said they already provided information on a voluntary basis whilst almost 80% said they would support a voluntary scheme.
Richard Jones, the RLA’s policy director, said: “Making landlords legally liable for the debt incurred on water bills where they did not pass on their tenants details to water companies would serve only to add to the creaking weight of regulations already affecting the sector and lead to increased rents to reflect the greater risks involved.
“Whilst it is vital that the technology to implement the scheme is properly tested and thought through first, the RLA welcomes the Government’s decision to opt for a lighter touch, voluntary solution that the majority of landlords already abide by.”
Initially, the voluntary database will be set up for water companies but could end up being used by other utility suppliers.
Despite Wesminster's voluntary approach, the proposal has raised some concerns.
Emma Carr, of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: “There’s going to be an inevitable temptation for this data to be used more widely and for it to be compulsory.”
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Comments
what about those who have never paid for water
there mut be thousands
So many companies are now telling their customers that they must do this and that as part of their contract that I think it is time to simply start laughing at them and tell them to get on with their own job which is providing a service. Using their customers as unpaid and uninsured debt recovery agents is just not on.
Recently British gas hit me with an automated phone call demanding that I go and read my gas meter immediately and then contact them to pass on the reading. I thought this was a horrible, thoroughly rude experience and needless to say I ignored it. The meter is outside.
We fell foul of Anglian Water who billed us incorrectly and then sent the bills to a residential address which we had no connection with. The consequence of this was that Anglian Water informed Experian and our credit rating plummeted from 87 out of 100 to 25 out of 100. The total debt was £42.59!
Its OK having a central database but if the Water Authorities ignore correspondence already what chance is there that they will get it right in the future.
Also presumably other utility companies and councils will eventually want access to the database as well and we know how good they are in dealing with changes.