Are registered charities exempt from water charges?
Short answer: no.
Registered charities in England are not automatically exempt from paying water and sewerage charges. Being registered with the Charity Commission does not, by itself, remove the requirement to pay for the services a property receives. However, some charities and community organisations may qualify for concessionary surface water drainage charges.
This isn’t an exemption from the entire water bill. It’s a potential reduction in a specific sewerage charge, with eligibility depending on the organisation, how the premises are used and the wholesaler serving the property.
How do charity water concessions work?
The concession relevant to charities and community organisations generally relates to surface water drainage, the charge for collecting and treating rainwater that drains from a property into the public sewer network. Water and sewerage wholesalers can offer reductions in these charges to certain types of community group.
Under Ofwat’s Wholesale Charging Rules, wholesalers must publish the classes of community group, if any, that qualify for a reduction and the reduction available.
So, this means there isn’t a single charity water concession that applies throughout England. The concession available to an organisation will depend on the charging arrangements of the wholesaler serving its property.
Which charities and community organisations might qualify?
Eligibility varies between wholesalers. Depending on the relevant scheme, qualifying organisations can include certain:
- places of worship;
- village halls and community centres;
- Scout and Guide organisations;
- Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs);
- youth organisations; and
- other qualifying community facilities.
It’s important to note that being a registered charity doesn’t automatically make an organisation eligible.
A charity operating from ordinary commercial premises, for example, shouldn’t assume that it qualifies simply because of its charitable status. Equally, some community organisations that aren’t registered charities may qualify because of the type of organisation they are or how their premises are used.
Why do surface water drainage charges matter?
Surface water drainage charges can represent a significant part of the sewerage bill, particularly for organisations occupying larger sites.
That means, depending on the wholesaler’s charging method, the amount charged may be influenced by factors such as the size of the site.
For qualifying organisations, a community-group concession can therefore make a meaningful difference to the amount they pay.