Environment & Energy

Quick search says only 40% of homes have water meters in England and Wales.

I know what happens here in our city when people don't pay their water bill. The water company sends a burly guy out to turn the water off at the meter and lock it. Usually they are quite stealthy about it, preferring to avoid confrontations. Unpaid bills eventually end up as a lien against the property and the property can be red-tagged as uninhabitable. Cutting the lock off a meter or attempting to bypass it becomes a criminal offense. (With smart meters the electric companies have it even easier. They can turn the power off remotely and anonymously. No need to send someone out.)

Sewers can't be shut off for obvious health reasons which is why most landlords pay that separate bill as part of the rent. Properties can accumulate some fairly hefty liens before any action is taken.

That's my understanding of it, anyways, having suffered through times and couldn't pay my bills, and having worked in my youth for some pretty sketchy landlords. ( I would not like to be a landlord. )

Maybe it's set up that way here because we are a violent nation.

England privatized it's water and sewer systems expecting the new owners would modernize them. Instead, these new owners sucked all the money out of these systems they could, leaving the water and sewer systems in a decrepit state and burdened with loans.

Vulture capitalism at its finest... leaving the community to deal with the mess.