Thames Water overpayments

This page is to help those who may be eligible for a credit as a result of overpaid water charges.

What has happened?

Alongside many other London boroughs, Lewisham Council had a written agreement with Thames Water Utilities Ltd for the supply of water to its properties. Thames Water calculated each bill, and the Council passed the bill onto tenants and collected payment along with rent. Thames Water paid the Council a small commission to carry out this function, to account for the risk of non-collection of charges.

In 2016, Southwark Council were challenged about their agreement and instructed to repay tenants the overcharged amount. The position was clarified in late 2020 following a Court of Appeal case involving Kingston Council. As a result, we now know we unknowingly overcharged tenants by the amount of the commission Thames Water paid us.
The Council made an early decision to credit tenants who have overpaid these water charges, as we are committed to putting this situation right.

You may be eligible for a payment if you were a resident in a property managed by Lewisham Council, Lewisham Homes or Regenter B3, between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2017 and you paid for your water alongside your rent.

Information for current tenants

Letters were sent in late 2021 if you were eligible for a payment and you were living as a tenant in a property managed by Lewisham Homes or Regenter B3. The letter set out the amount to be paid and the process for crediting your rent account with this amount.

The credit was applied to your rent account. If you had rent arrears, the credit has been used to repay those arrears. If your account was in credit, the letter set out the way that you could claim the amount back by requesting a refund. Further information is available on the Lewisham Homes website. Refund requests for accounts in arrears have not be processed.

The credits applied either from 1 April 2001, or from the date you became a tenant, if that was after April 2001, until 31 March 2017. These dates are important because April 2001 is the date the Thames Water agreement came into force and 31 March 2017 is the date that it ended. Payments have not been made to residents who became tenants after 31 March 2017, as that is the date that the agreement with Thames Water ended.

If you have any queries about this process, please contact Lewisham Homes via the Lewisham Homes website which includes a series of Frequently Asked Questions or ThamesWaterQueries@lewishamhomes.org.uk

Information for current leaseholders

We are sending letters in August 2022 to current leaseholders with details of your refund. Payments will be made to current leaseholders if you bought your home under Right to Buy between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2017. The payment will apply to the time when you were a tenant of the property only. This is because leaseholders become responsible for their own water payments from the date of purchase. For this same reason, current leaseholders who bought their home from another leaseholder will not be eligible for a payment.

Information for former tenants and former leaseholders

We do not hold current addresses for former tenants and leaseholders, so we have no direct way to contact you. We have made the application form available via the Lewisham Homes website accessible for eligible former tenants and leaseholders to apply for their payment. Please enter 0.00 for the refund amount. You will need to provide us with some details including your former address and proof of identity, to ensure we can protect against fraudulent claims. Any outstanding rent arrears will be deducted from your payment.

If you were a tenant of a property which was transferred to either L&Q, Hyde, Clarion or Phoenix as a result of stock transfer, you may also be eligible for a payment from Lewisham Council for the period in which you were a council tenant. Please follow the information set out on the Lewisham Homes website and apply for a refund as a former tenant.

Proof of identity for former tenants

To enable Lewisham Homes to validate your identity, we would be grateful if you could provide a copy/photo of one item from each list detailed below.

You cannot use one form of identification for both name and address. For example, if you provide your driving licence as proof of your name, you must provide another form of identification for your address, such as a utility bill.

Proof of name

Current signed passport
Recent benefits notification letter from the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) or your housing benefits department
Current UK photocard driving licence
Birth, Civil Partnership or Marriage Certificate
National identity card bearing a photograph of the applicant

Proof of address

Utility bill (gas, electric, satellite television, landline phone bill) issued within the last three months
Local authority council tax bill for the current council tax year
Current UK driving licence (but only if not used for the name evidence)
Bank, Building Society or Credit Union statement or passbook dated within the last three months

Documents we will not accept include, but are not limited to:

Mobile phone bills
Credit card statements

Published on: 21/07/2022