Landlords have urged the Government not to pass on to them 500 million pounds of tenants' unpaid water bills

Landlords have urged the Government not to pass on to them £500 million of water bills which have not been paid by tenants.

Trade bodies the British Property Federation (BPF) and the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) warned they would "fight tooth and nail" against such a move.

It is estimated that private tenants fail to pay around £500 million of water bills each year.

It is harder for water companies to collect this money, as unlike other utilities, they are not allowed to cut people off or limit their water supply.

Water companies are asking the Government to consider a law that would enable them to pass on bills to landlords in situations where tenants could not be identified.

But in their response to the Walker Review of Water Charging, the BPF and RLA said there were alternative measures that could be taken to improve the problem.

They claimed there could be a significant improvement in debt levels if water companies stopped issuing bills to the occupier and instead worked with landlords to identify when tenancies started and finished.

They added that companies should also make it easier for landlords to give notice on tenancy changes, while the firms themselves should act on the information quicker.

Ian Fletcher, director of policy at BPF, said: "If the Government decides to pursue the passing on of a private debt to an innocent third party we will fight it tooth and nail because it is wholly inequitable.

"Landlords are neither the consumers of the water being provided, nor the unpaid debt collectors for the nation's water companies. It seems incredible that we are even discussing passing debts from what are very well resourced companies on to what are predominantly small businesses."