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When you sell a property, you don’t need to let us know about the sale.

Once we receive notification of the property title change from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) – also known as the Titles Office - the next bill will be issued to the new property owner in the name provided by DNRM.

 

We do not issue ‘final accounts’ when a property is sold. Prior to settlement of the property sale, the purchaser or their solicitor typically arranges a special water meter reading (SMR). The SMR service allows the solicitor or conveyancer to identify the pro-rata balance owing (or any credit) on the account at the time of settlement. Any balance owing for the water and sewerage account is typically paid by the seller to the buyer in the settlement. This is in accordance with the REIQ Contract of Sale.
 
The new owner of the property is then responsible for paying the water and sewerage account when the next bill is issued.  This may take several weeks or months from settlement date.
If you have any concerns, you can refer to your property settlement statement provided by your solicitor or conveyancer or contact them directly to clarify the terms of your property settlement.
 
Any outstanding balance after a change of ownership will become the responsibility of the new property owner, as the debt remains with the land, not with the customer.

IMPORTANT

For solicitors, conveyancers and customers looking to calculate property settlement figures, there is a new way to calculate a Water Cost Estimate.

Thanks to our Simpler Billing initiative, service charge periods now start from the same date as the last meter reading date.

To calculate the unbilled service charges a buyer is responsible for, simply multiply the daily price by the number of days between the last meter reading and the settlement date.

Unfortunately, we are unable to change property owner details until we receive formal notification from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) – also known as the Titles Office - of the change of ownership. You may choose to follow up with your solicitor or conveyancer to check that the change of ownership documents have been submitted.
 
If you are no longer the property owner but we have not received change of ownership notification, you may still receive an account from us. However, any outstanding balance after a change of ownership has been completed will become the responsibility of the new property owner, as any debt remains with the land, not with the customer.
We recommend that you forward the bill to your solicitor to on forward to the new owner.

If you have sold a property and had a Direct Debit payment arrangement set up to pay your bills, please contact us to cancel your payments. If you have purchased a new property within our service area and would like to apply for Direct Debit, please complete a new Direct Debit application.