Water charge exemption scheme

About the scheme

The Scottish Government’s Water Services Charges Exemption Scheme is designed to help charitable and voluntary bodies with small incomes. They have extended the scheme to 2015. To be eligible, your organisation needs to:

• have already been receiving exemption at 31 March 1999
• have a net annual income of less than £61,500 (for 2011/12)

And it must not:

• be a retail outlet or council building
• have had a permanent liquor licence before 1 September 2009

How to apply

To have your water charges waived, you need to apply, showing that your organisation meets the scheme criteria.

We’ll help you through the application process and review your application before passing it to Scottish Water, who make the final decision.

If you qualify, we’ll cancel water charges for your premises from 1 April of the year you applied. As long as your premises continue to be used for the same purpose, you’ll be exempt from water charges until at least 31 March 2015.

You won’t need to reapply each year. However we may ask for evidence annually to make sure that you are still eligible.

Remember you must inform us if your circumstances change.