Water schemes - Water companies (Scotland)

Domestic households in Scotland are all provided with water by Scottish Water unless there is a separate private source like a spring or a borehole.

Houses with no water meter (unmetered charges)

If your home doesn’t have a water meter, and you are not on a private water supply, then your local council will bill and collect your water charge and, if it applies, your waste water charge. Your local council bills and collects these charges on Scottish Water’s behalf and you can find details of how to pay on your Council Tax bill.

Any questions regarding your bill, including payment options and any applicable discounts or exemptions, should be directed in the first instance to your local Council. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) website has links to Scottish council websites

Water Charges Reduction Scheme

Some Council Tax exemptions and discounts will continue to apply to these charges. Under the permanent Water Charges Reduction Scheme, introduced by the Scottish Government on 1st April 2006, households which have two or more adults and which receive Council Tax Reductions (which replaced Council Tax Benefit from April 2013) but don’t already receive status discounts, will automatically get a discount of up to 25% on these charges. Whether you receive Council Tax Reductions or not, you must still pay the water charges as set out on your Council Tax bill.

If your property has been altered to meet the needs of a disabled person, you may be entitled to a Disabled Banding Reduction on the charges you pay for your property.

Please contact your local council for further information.

Houses with a water meter

Householders may opt to have a water meter installed and their charges billed on a measured basis. For information on this, please contact the Scottish Water Customer Helpline (see contact details at the end of this page).

Scottish Water will invoice and collect water and waste water charges direct from homeowners whose homes have a water meter. For properties with water meters, Scottish Water sends invoices direct on a quarterly basis.

You can arrange a Scottish Water Payment Plan based on your average annual invoice. This will set up agreed instalments to be paid on specific dates every quarter.

All other charges

As well as providing water and waste water services to household properties, Scottish Water can also provide other non-licensed services on request

Scottish Water invoice and collect all other secondary charges direct.

Information on these other charges can be found on the Scottish Water website.

Customers invoiced directly by Scottish Water

For customers invoiced directly by Scottish Water, there are various payment options available. To discuss payment options or if you have problems paying, please contact the Scottish Water Customer Helpline (contact details below) as soon as possible.

Contact details for Scottish Water

• Helpline: 0800 0778 778 (open 24 hours a day)
• Report a problem through online portal

See also the Citizens Advice Adviceguide website information on Water and sewerage (Scotland)