When a registered consumer ceases to be the owner, tenant or occupier of the premises, he/she should inform Water Supplies Department (WSD) to close the water account and apply for refund of the deposit. After deduction of the outstanding charges, the balance of deposit, if any, will be refunded to the registered consumer. The liabilities of the registered consumer will be discharged upon closure of the account and settlement of all outstanding charges.
The current water deposit for a domestic account is $400. Many registered consumers did not apply for closure of accounts and a refund of the deposit when they moved out of their premises. Some might have lost the deposit receipts, while some might simply consider the amount of the deposit not worth the trouble to request refund. However, so far as they were the registered consumers, they would remain liable for payment of water charges in respect of their former premises even though they had physically moved out and did not use the water concerned. In many cases their lack of action had led to heavy financial losses, which in some cases were as high as tens of thousands of dollars.
To protect their own interest, registered consumers should submit their applications for closure of accounts to WSD within 30 days (but not less than 14 days) before the effective date of termination of their consumership when they cease to be the owner, tenant or occupier of the premises.
For accounts of domestic or flushing supplies and registered in personal capacity, applications may be made through the Internet or by phone.
Application can be made with a completed Form WWO 1145 or Form WWO 243 or a letter to the same effect together with the required document (Note 1) and should be sent to WSD either by post or by fax or by email to WSD or in person to any of our Customer Enquiry Centres.
| Type of Application | Required document (Note 1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | If an ex-registered consumer does not give 14 days' advance notice, the WSD will not be able to take the final meter reading on the account closure date and the final bill will be based on an estimated consumption. To avoid disputes arising from consumption estimation, ex-registered consumers are strongly advised to try to contact the new occupiers, direct or through property agents, to agree on a date of change of consumership, take the meter reading and jointly complete Form WWO 1145 for the change of consumership. The final bill of the ex-registered consumers and the first bill of the new registered consumers will then be based on the agreed meter readings. |
For non-domestic accounts opened before 22 January 2005, the ex-registered consumer has to provide Water Deposit Receipt. If the receipt has been lost, please also submit the completed Form WWO 213. |
| 2. | If an ex-registered consumer cannot contact the new occupiers, application should be made with Form WWO 243 or a letter to the same effect. If 14 days’ advance notice of closure of water account cannot be provided, the ex-registered consumer is advised to provide the meter reading taken at the date of application as far as possible. The WSD will make reference to the meter reading in issue of the final bill. |
The tenants of domestic flats in public rental estates under HK Housing Authority (HKHA) or HK Housing Society (HKHS) should notify their respective housing estate offices if they intend to terminate their water accounts. The owners of the sold domestic premises of HKHA or HKHS should submit their applications through the above channels directly to WSD.
Upon receipt of an application for closure of account, WSD will arrange for taking of final reading if the registered consumer has given 14 days’ advance notice. The final bill will be issued within 3 working days after the account closure date. Any outstanding water, sewage charges or related charges will be deducted from the deposit. In general, the deposit balance, if any, will be refunded by crossed cheque to the registered consumer (if a forwarding address is provided) within 9 working days after the issue of the final bill. In case there is overpayment in the closed account, the ex-registered consumer may apply for refund by calling our Enquiry Hotline or in writing with relevant payment proof.
If the registered consumer of a domestic account registered in personal capacity will soon leave Hong Kong for good and is unable to await the refund of the deposit balance (not exceeding $500), he/she may visit our Wan Chai Customer Enquiry Centre with his/her Hong Kong Identity Card or passport, the deposit receipt (if any) and any relevant documents in support of his/her departure. Special arrangements will be made to refund the deposit balance to him/her as soon as possible. Please note that the cash refund will not be made unless the effective date of closing the account is on or before the date of application for the refund of the deposit balance.
If the registered consumer has never applied for the closure of account but the account for the premise is taken up by a new registered consumer, his /her account will be closed. We will also separately issue a written notification and then a final bill to the closed account's mailing address with a bill message advising the ex-registered consumer that his/her consumership has been terminated and he/she may contact us if he/she has any enquiries. If there is deposit balance and/or overpayment, if any, in the closed account, the ex-registered consumer should apply for refund by calling our Enquiry Hotline or completing Form WWO 243.