Council Tax and Water When You Move House: Who to Tell and What the First Bill Looks Like

Council tax and water are the two household bills you cannot shop around for. Both are set by the address. When you move, tell the council and the water company for the home you are leaving and for the one you are moving into, with the date, and check the first bill at each.

Council tax: tell both councils

In England, Wales and Scotland council tax is charged on each home by the local council. You pay for the old home up to the day you leave and for the new one from the day you move in. Tell the old council your moving date so it can send a final bill and refund anything overpaid, and register with the new council straight away. A late registration does not avoid the charge: it arrives later, as a larger bill. Northern Ireland has domestic rates instead of council tax, collected by Land and Property Services.

The band

Every home is in a band set by its value at a fixed date: 1 April 1991 in England and Scotland, and 1 April 2003 in Wales. The band belongs to the property, not to you. You can look up the band of any home in England or Wales on GOV.UK, and in Scotland through the Scottish Assessors. If you think the band is wrong, you can ask for it to be checked, but it can move up as well as down.

Discounts depend on who lives there

• One adult living alone usually gets 25% off.
• A home where every adult is a full-time student is usually exempt.
• Some people are not counted when working out the number of adults, including full-time students and some carers.
• Councils run their own reduction schemes for people on a low income.
• Payment is usually spread over ten months from April. In England you can ask to pay over twelve.

Tell the council when the household changes, not only when you move. A discount claimed for a single occupier stops when a second adult moves in.

Water: the company is set by the address

In England and Wales each home is supplied by its regional water company, and households cannot choose another. Tell the company for the old home your moving date and a final meter reading if there is a meter. Then contact the company for the new home: it may be the same one. If the new home has a meter, give an opening reading. If it does not, the bill is usually based on the property's rateable value, and you can ask for a meter to be fitted free of charge; whether a meter would cost less depends on how much water the household uses.

Help with water bills

Every water company in England and Wales offers help to households that struggle to pay, often a reduced social tariff. The company's own site states who qualifies.

The first bills

• Check the start date on each bill matches the day you moved in.
• Check the council tax band and any discount are right.
• Check a water bill with a meter starts from your opening reading.
• Keep the final bills from the old home until each one is settled or refunded.

How Wisemium helps

Start with the postcode of the new home and Wisemium works out the council from it and shows the water company likely to supply the address, so you know who to contact. Add each bill and it is kept with its amount, beside everything else the household pays.