IT HAS ALREADY been established that whoever uses it, pays for it – when it comes to water charges.

However there was some confusion yesterday after Irish Water tweeted that if a tenant doesn’t return the completed pack – the landlord will be liable for water charges.

Irish Water has now clarified its position about who pays for what.

First up – if you live in a house you own, you are responsible for payment of the water charges and should register with Irish Water in order to claim your allowances.

Renting

Irish Water says if you rent a property then you are responsible for the payment of the water charges for that property and should register with Irish Water in order to claim your allowances.

And for landlords – it says if you own a property that is unoccupied you are responsible for payment of the water charges and should register with Irish Water to ensure you are charged the ‘unoccupied’ rate.

If you have a tenant in a property – the tenant is responsible for the payment of the water charge and should register with Irish Water in order to claim their relevant allowances.

However, if the tenant has not registered with Irish Water, Irish Water will contact the property owner to ensure that the responsible party (ie the tenant) receives the bill.

Irish Water says it will announce details of this shortly.

Finally it added that “if the tenant moves out of the property without closing the account, the tenant remains responsible for the payment and Irish Water will follow this up in the standard ways.”

Read: I’m a landlord, and my tenant won’t pay water charges … Who’s liable?>

Read: I rent my home, who pays for my water?>