"A tenant made repeated requests to the public authority that owned the property about high water bills and possible leaks in the reticulation for the property. A leak allowance credit was provided but the high bills continued. At the end of the tenancy, the tenant received a further high bill which included charges for the period after the tenancy. The tenant complained to the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman contacted the public authority, which acknowledged that the tenant was charged for consumption after the tenancy period ended and placed a credit on the person’s account. The Ombudsman requested that the public authority further investigate the tenant’s concerns about the high bills and inform the tenant and the Ombudsman of the outcome.
The public authority reviewed the tenancy history and acknowledged that the tenant had made numerous reports about excessive water bills and possible water leaks from the reticulation which were not addressed in an effective and timely manner. The public authority apologised to the former tenant, waived further charges and provided a refund for the final high bill."