We support the Government's response to the Ukranian refugee crisis and its proposal to provide a one-off payment of £350 to those who open up their homes to those in need. Customers who apply for our Assure tariff will not have to declare this payment, as we will not be using this as an assessment of household income. We know this is the right thing to do and we stand united with Ukraine and its people.
Who is eligible?
Low household income
If your household income is less than £20,050* per year, you may qualify for a discount on your water charge. If you are eligible and your application is successful, your charges will be discounted for two years, in the first year by 60% and the second year by 40%.
If you have a dependent child living at your address, an additional allowance of £1,500 per child may be added to the household income threshold amount of £20,050* per year.
*We do not take into consideration income received from the following benefits:
- Attendance Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- Carer's Allowance
- The disabled child or severely disabled child element of Child Tax Credit
- Disability Living Allowance
- Housing Benefit or Housing Element of Universal Credit
- Council Tax Benefit
- Homes for Ukraine scheme
Pension Credit
If you are in receipt of Pension Credit (guarantee element), you may also qualify for a discount on your water charges. Your charges will be discounted for two years, in the first year by 60% and the second year by 40%.
Compare our tariffs and help available
If our Assure tariff is not right for your circumstances, we also offer a range of other special tariffs and options. Find out which is best for you >
How can I apply?
1) Application form: Complete the application form in full.
2) Income: Provide details of all income as requested on the form and return it to us.
3) Payslips or benefits: You may be requested to provide proof of income, which can be your three most recent payslips or your most recent benefits awards notice.
Important: If requested, please send only copies of your proof of income (payslips and benefits), as we do not return the documents to you. 'Proof of' documents are destroyed confidentially, once we have processed your application. If you send original documents to us, these will not be returned.
It is important that the information you provide to us is accurate, so that we can ensure that the advice and assistance we give is right for you.
If you need help with your application, please call us on 0800 093 0570 (calls to 0800 numbers are free). We can go through the form with you over the phone, or if it’s easier, we can come to your home and help you fill it in.
If you are already discussing your financial circumstances with a third party such as CAB, StepChange or National Debtline, they can apply to us on your behalf. If you have been given a reference number, please quote this in any correspondence to us. It will help us to quickly find your details and enable us to discuss your application. This advice agency can also sign the application to verify your proof of income; in this case, you will not need to send in copies of income proof.
Assure tariff application form
Download and fill in the Assure application form.
What happens next?
Once we have received your application, we will complete an assessment by reviewing your financial situation.
We aim to let you know in writing, within ten working days, whether your application has been successful.
If we are unable to apply a discount, we will provide you with other information to help you manage your account. This may include information from other organisations.
Frequently asked questions
We use the income your household receives to assess whether you qualify for a discount, so we need to see proof of this. Please only send copies of your proof of income (payslips and benefits), as we do not return the documents to you. 'Proof of' documents are destroyed confidentially, once we have processed your application. If you send original documents to us, these will not be returned.
If you are receiving help from an advice agency, they can sign the form to verify that they have seen your proof of income.
No. You can apply for the Assure tariff as long as you meet the qualifying criteria.
If you are billed on rateable value, we may determine that you would save money by having a meter installed.
Where it is practical to do so, we will encourage you to have a meter installed to help you make a long-term saving. However, if you find the metered charges are higher than you were paying on rateable value, you will have two years to switch back.
If it is not practical to have a water meter fitted, you may still qualify for a discount, which will be based on an average water bill.
Find out how to switch to a water meter.
If you are accepted onto the Assure tariff, you will automatically qualify for the sewerage provider’s equivalent tariff.
You do not need to do anything; we will notify your sewerage provider on your behalf.
If you are eligible, the discount will be applied to your bill for two years (in the first year a 60% discount will be applied, with a 40% discount applied in the second year).
We will contact you before the tariff expires to review your discount. If your circumstances have not changed, you may be eligible for the discount again. If they have changed, we will review the changes and let you know whether you still qualify.
We offer a range of flexible payment methods and frequencies; these will be agreed with you as part of the application process.
If you are struggling to pay your water bill, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help support you.
If you do not make regular payments, you may no longer qualify for a discount.
Updated: 1 April 2024