Updating water data upon property transfer: Protecting rights and preventing billing issues
The Saudi Water Authority has urged all beneficiaries across the Kingdom to promptly update their personal information with their service provider, particularly when completing property ownership transfer procedures. This call comes as part of the Authority's commitment to protecting beneficiaries' financial rights, ensuring the accuracy of issued bills, and preventing the accumulation of any debts that may arise from discrepancies between the registered data and the actual service user.
The context of digital transformation and service quality
This regulatory measure aligns with the transformative shift underway in Saudi Arabia's water sector, aimed at automating services and enhancing performance efficiency in accordance with the goals of Vision 2030. Previously, property ownership transfers could present challenges related to billing continuing under the previous owner's name, leading to financial and administrative disputes. Today, with technological advancements, data updates have become essential to ensuring service sustainability and transparency in financial transactions between service providers and beneficiaries.
The importance of updating data: protecting both parties
The authority explained that updating the data is not just a routine procedure, but a proactive and legal step that guarantees the rights of all parties:
- For the seller (previous owner): It ensures that he is completely relieved of his financial responsibility for the property once it is sold, thus protecting him from being required to pay consumption bills that he did not make.
- For the buyer (new owner): It ensures that consumption is calculated in his name from the date he owns the property, allowing him to monitor his actual consumption, receive bills and alerts instantly, and avoid service interruption due to previous debts.
Technical controls for meter transfer
In a related technical matter, the authority noted that relocating meters within property boundaries is subject to strict engineering regulations. It clarified that the cost of relocation is borne by the customer if the move is based on their personal preferences and aesthetic or architectural needs, provided they obtain the service provider's approval. Conversely, the service provider is obligated to bear all costs associated with repairing or relocating the meter if the move is a technical necessity or results from malfunctions beyond the customer's control, thus upholding the principles of fairness and equity.
Impact of compliance on the water sector
The commitment of citizens and residents to updating their data directly contributes to improving the quality of national data for the water sector, helping planners and decision-makers to enhance distribution networks and manage water resources more efficiently. Furthermore, accurate data significantly reduces the number of complaints and disputes regarding bills, saving time and effort for both consumers and service providers.
In conclusion, the Authority stressed that laxity in this procedure may lead to difficulties in benefiting from digital services and delays in processing requests, calling on everyone to take advantage of the approved digital channels to complete the update processes with ease and convenience, as part of its ongoing awareness campaigns to inform beneficiaries of their rights and duties.
