Affinity Water Moving Home: A Complete Guide

By David Tait

Content Editor

With so many things that need to be done, we understand that moving home is stressful. With our Affinity Water moving home guide, we hope to take away some of the stress and help you figure out what you need to do as a customer of Affinity Water.

Affinity Water Moving Home for Customers

We’ve broken down our Affinity Water moving home guide into sections based on your type of move since new customers will need to do things differently compared to an existing customer who is moving within the Affinity Water region.

Affinity Water Moving Home for Existing Customers

Existing Affinity Water customers who are moving home to another property that Affinity Water will supply can inform Affinity Water about their move up to 30 days before in advance.

You can let the Affinity Water moving home team know either online or you can contact Affinity Water by telephone on 0345 357 2401

Before you contact the Affinity Water moving home team, you will need to know some information about your current house and your new house, such as:

• Your Affinity Water account number and postcode
• Your new address
• Your contact details
• A meter reading, if you’re old or new property has a water meter
• Details of who is moving into your old property, if known

For customers with a water meter, it’s very important to provide meter readings for both properties, where applicable, to make sure both your bills are both correct. We recommend you tell the Affinity Water moving home team about your move close to the time of your move if you have a water meter. This means your last bill will be accurate and up to date. If you have a smart water meter your meter readings will be sent automatically to Affinity Water.

You can read our UK Water Meter guide to learn how to read your meter.

The moving home team will usually update your account the same day you contact the Affinity Water moving home team. You will receive your last bill in the post or by email within a few days.

Affinity Water Moving Home for New Customers

Customers who move into a house within the Affinity Water region will need to register as an Affinity Water new customer.

To register as an Affinity Water new customer, you can either visit the Affinity Water website or contact the Affinity Water moving home team on 0345 357 2401.

When you register with the Affinity Water moving home team, you will need to have some details ready before you register. The information you need is:

• The date you’re moving in
• Your new address
• Your contact information
• A meter reading, if your property has a water meter
• Your bank details, if you choose to set up a direct debit

Water hardness in the Affinity Water area The Affinity Water supply area generally has hard water. This means there is a higher concentration of minerals in your water than other parts of the country. If you would like to learn more, check out our Water Hardness guide.

As an Affinity Water new customer, you can choose how you would like to pay for your Affinity Water bill. You can choose from different options, such as:

• Direct Debit
• Pay Online
• Pay by Telephone
• Pay by Bank Transfer
• Cheque Payments
• Instalment Payments

You can change your payment method at any time, so you can choose what works best for you now and make any adjustments to your payment method once you’ve settled in. Once you receive your first bill, you'll be able to see a breakdown of your water rates.

There are lots of options available for customers who want to pay their water bills, and you might benefit from finding the most convenient method for you. Check out our guide on How To Pay Your Water Bill to learn more.

How Does My Bill Compare? Customers up and down the country pay differently for their water rates. If you're interested in how much you're paying compared to the rest of the country, check out our guide on the Average UK Water Bill.

Affinity Water for Landlords and Tenants

Water bills can sometimes be confusing when you are either a tenant or landlord since it's hard to tell who pays for what. Most of the time, who pays the water bill for a property is on a case-by-case basis as some landlords like to include the water in their rent and some prefer to leave the bills up to tenant. Either way, the Affinity Water moving home process is smooth if you're a landlord or tenant.

Affinity Water Moving Home for Landlords

It’s important that landlords keep Affinity Water up to date about changes of tenancy if your tenants pay the water bill themselves.

You can create an online account with Affinity Water to manage your properties. This is quick and easy to do via the Affinity Water website.

Alternatively, if you have over 10 properties, you can use Landlord TAP, which is a free nationwide portal, to let landlords manage all the details regarding the water supply for their properties

With Landlord TAP you can:

• Add and remove properties from your portfolio
• Update Affinity Water about the change of tenants, or update existing details
• Inform Affinity Water about an empty property

If you, as the landlord, pay the Affinity Water bill for your properties, you can manage up to 30 properties under the same account holder’s name. You can manage your account online, making it easy to provide meter readings, make payments, or update account details.

Affinity Water Moving Home for Tenants

As an Affinity Water tenant, you can choose to register as an Affinity Water new customer or simply change your address with Affinity Water if you have an existing account with Affinity Water.

However, it’s important to check who is going to pay for the Affinity Water bill as some landlords include the water bill in your rent.

You can check your tenancy agreement to see who pays the Affinity Water bill. If your tenancy agreement doesn’t specify who should pay, then you are most likely responsible for the Affinity Water bill. You can check with your landlord or agency if it’s unclear.

As an Affinity Water new customer, you will need some information ready when you register as an Affinity Water new customer:

• The date you’re moving in
• Your new address
• Your contact information
• A meter reading, if your property has a water meter
• Your bank details, if you choose to set up a direct debit

You can either visit the Affinity Water website or contact the Affinity Water moving home team on 0345 357 2401 to register.

Need help setting up your water bill? Sometimes it can be confusing when you move house and need to get started with your water bill. If you need any help with your water supply, you can check out our guide on How To Set Up Your Water Bill.

Existing Affinity Water moving home customers can either login to Affinity Water MyAccount or contact the Affinity Water moving home team on 0345 357 2401 to let Affinity Water know about your move.

You will need to prepare the following information before you register or call the Affinity Water change of address team:

• Your Affinity Water account number and postcode
• Your new address
• Your contact details
• A meter reading, if you’re old or new property has a water meter
• Details of who is moving into your old property, if known

You can notify the Affinity Water moving home team up to 30 days before you move.

How Do I Close My Affinity Water Account?

Customers who are moving out of the Affinity Water region will need to cancel their Affinity Water account. You will also need to set up an account with the water supplier that supplies your new home.

To cancel your Affinity Water account, you can go online to the Affinity Water website, or you can call the Affinity Water moving home team on 0345 357 2401.

You can let them know up to 30 days before you need to cancel and you will also need a few other details:

• The date you’re moving out
• A forwarding address
• The details of the new occupier, if known
• A water meter reading, if you have a water meter

With that information at hand, you can cancel your Affinity Water account. After you have cancelled your account, Affinity Water will prepare and send you a final bill via email or to the forwarding address that you have provided.

Affinity Water Moving Home Complaints

If you have a problem with your Affinity Water moving home experience, you should get in contact with Affinity Water as soon as possible. Unfortunately, you can’t switch water suppliers so should be patient and allow the Affinity Water moving home team to help resolve your complaint.

If after 8 weeks they haven’t responded or you are unsatisfied, you should take your complaint up with the Consumer Council for Water (CCW). The CCW is an official body that works like the ombudsman of the water industry. You should contact the CCW only after you have given the Affinity Water moving home team time to sort it out.

If the CCW fails, you can escalate your complaint further by taking it to the Water Redress Scheme (WATRS) who deal with long-term disputes.

Don't take your complaint to Ofwat! If you’re having problems with Affinity Water, do not take your complaint to the water regulator Ofwat since they will not be able to help you. Ofwat only regulates the water industry regarding anti-competitive behaviour. The correct body to go to is the CCW.

Affinity Water Moving Home with No Water

If you've just moved into a property and there is no water coming from the taps, it could be that water was turned off by your landlord or the previous tenants. Before you call the Affinity Water moving home team, you should try the following:

1. Locate the stop tap. This will often be near your water meter.
2. Turn the tap anti-clockwise to allow the flow of water. Don't force it, it should turn easily.
3. Check the taps to see if you have water running.

If you've tried this and there's still no water coming from the tap, consult our No Water in House Guide.

Affinity Water Wastewater and WaterSure

When moving to an Affinity Water supply area, you might find that processes are done slightly different compared to the area you were living in before. If you've used to having your clean water and wastewater with the same company or you have been eligible for the WaterSure Scheme, we've detailed below how these work with Affinity Water moving house process.

Affinity Water Moving Home with Wastewater

Affinity Water is a water-only company. This means they will only supply your clean drinking water supply and provide a bill for those services. Your wastewater and sewerage will be handled by another company that does both water and wastewater.

If your water supplier is Affinity Water, it is like that you wastewater supplier will be one of those following depending on your region:

1. Thames Water - for the Central and East regions
2. Anglian Water - for the Central and East regions
3. Southern Water - for the South East region

Affinity Water will bill you on behalf of all three of these companies and you will only receive one bill with all the charges. If you want to contact any one of these suppliers, here are their contact numbers:

You do not need to contact the wastewater suppliers to set up your sewerage bill with them. This will be done automatically through Affinity Water.

Affinity Water Moving Home with WaterSure

If you are on the WaterSure Scheme, you might be worried that you could lose your right to have your water bill capped. All water suppliers must offer the WaterSure Scheme so you don’t have to worry about losing the eligibility if you have been eligible before and your circumstances.

However, since you will be moving to a new area, it is possible that you might end up paying more for your water since the WaterSure Scheme caps your water bill at the average for your area. The Affinity Water average bill for all three regions in 2022 will be:

If you find you are paying more with Affinity Water, they also have their own help and support programme called Lift. Lift is for customers with a low income and who receive benefits and it helps by fixing your water rates for you.