Central Coast RemovalistsLabel 3 of 5: the water

The water account when you move on the Central Coast

If you own the home, the water bill comes from Central Coast Council, and you change the address it goes to with Council’s Update Contact Details form, which can take Council up to 20 business days to work through. If you rent, NSW Fair Trading says the water account is in the landlord’s name, and your tenancy agreement says who is responsible for which utility charges.

General information from Central Coast Council and NSW Fair Trading, read on 9 October 2026, not advice about your account. Outages, restrictions and the pipes themselves are outside this label.

Owner or renter: two different jobs

If you own

  • Change the postal address on Council’s form
  • Read the meter on the way out and on the way in
  • Keep the meter easy for Council to reach

If you rent

  • The account stays in the landlord’s name
  • Check what your agreement says about charges
  • Note the meter reading at the start and end

If you own: the address on the bill

Ratepayers who want their mailing address changed fill in Council’s Update Contact Details form, an online form. Council asks that it include the names of every owner whose address is changing. The form covers property matters only, meaning rates, water and debtor accounts; for other Council services, Council asks you to contact its Customer Service.

Allow for the gap. Processing an address change can take Council up to 20 business days, and in that time owners, or the agents managing for them, still have to see that payable notices get to the right place. If your rates and water notices come by eNotice, a new postal address does not change that: they keep going to the email address on your eNotice account.

If someone else will be handling things while you move, Council lets a ratepayer authorise a person or organisation to see information about the rates and water accounts. Its examples include a Power of Attorney, a company director, a legal representative or a managing agent. Removing that authority later is done in writing to Council.

Reading the meter on moving day

Council reads water meters quarterly, about every 90 days, and the usage charge on the bill is based on what the meter records over the billing period. That means the final amount for a period cannot be confirmed until the meter has been read. Writing down your own reading on the day you leave, and again on the day you arrive, gives you a number to hold the next bill against. Council’s three steps:

  1. LocateMeters are usually found level with the property’s front boundary.
  2. IdentifyMeters generally read left to right. The black digits are kilolitres, each 1,000 litres, and the red digits are single litres.
  3. RecordWrite down the black digits only.
An illustrated meter face: five dark boxes of kilolitre digits on the left, then three light boxes of litre digits, which are red on a real meter. 0 0 4 1 7 2 6 3 Kilolitres: write these down Litres (red)
An illustration of the layout Council describes, not a real meter or reading. Council says meters vary: some have dials as well as numbers, and some have two, three or four litre digits.

Owners must keep the meter safely and reasonably accessible at all times. Council asks for at least 300 mm of clear space around and below it and 1200 mm above, free of plants, soil and anything else in the way. If a locked gate stands between Council and the meter, or there is a dog close to it, Council asks you to get in touch to arrange access.

Bills and due dates

Water and sewer bills generally come every quarter, on billing periods of about 90 days, so the gap between bills can vary a little. Each bill is due one month after it is issued, and Council’s Credit Management Section is the place to ask about a payment arrangement. Interest builds on water charges left unpaid after the due date.

If you rent: the NSW rules

NSW Fair Trading puts it plainly: water is always connected, unlike electricity and gas, and the account for the water supply is in the landlord’s name. Landlords must pay “all water supply service charges (other than water usage charges) and all sewerage supply service charges (other than pump out septic service charges)”.

NSW Fair Trading lists the conditions; a landlord may ask a tenant to pay for water usage only when all of them are met:

  • the property has its own water meter, or its water comes by vehicle
  • it meets the water efficiency measures
  • the landlord charges no more than the water supplier billed, and
  • the tenant has been given the part of the supplier’s bill that shows the charges, or other evidence of what the tenant’s water cost.

The landlord or agent can ask for water usage charges within 3 months of a bill being issued, must give the tenant a copy of the bill, and must allow at least 21 days to pay. Water usage is paid separately from rent.

Moving is where the dates matter. NSW Fair Trading notes that water billing periods are unlikely to line up with a tenancy, and says “the water meter reading should be noted on the condition report at the start and end of each tenancy”, so a tenant does not pay for another tenant’s water.

If a tenant thinks a water usage charge is wrong, NSW Fair Trading says to raise it with the landlord or agent first and try to agree. Tenants and landlords can also contact NSW Fair Trading, and a tenant may apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal over water charges where they think the landlord has not met the water efficiency requirements. Falling behind on water, electricity or gas payments can lead to a non-payment notice; NSW Fair Trading sets out how that works on its page on non-payment of water and utilities in a rental property.

The short version

Owners: send Council the new address early, since it can take up to 20 business days, and note the black digits on the meter as you go. Renters: the account is the landlord’s, usage charges come with a copy of the bill and at least 21 days to pay, and a meter reading on the condition report at each end keeps the water you pay for your own. The same week usually brings power and gas, and, for a cat or dog, the NSW Pet Registry; a clear-out first is in Bulky waste before you move.