Second-home owners discover little-known stopcock rule in France

A British couple were billed more than €300 for water at their second home, even though they were in the UK at the time and say they had turned off the mains.

While trying to resolve the issue, Denise and Phil Codali also discovered rules about water stopcock use that they had been unaware of.

In 2025, the couple received a bill for 122m³ of water for the property in Verdille, Charente, relating to the period while they were away.

Months of disputes with the water firm Saur followed.

Water meter continued turning while couple were away

They say that, as they usually did, they purged their home water system before leaving their second home for an extended period.

They say they left a blue mains water valve upstream of their meter turned off before going to the UK on May 25, 2025.

However, in June 2025, a French neighbour told them their meter was turning, a sign that water was flowing.

The couple, who are in their 70s and from Chislehurst, south-east London, told Saur.

When they were next in France, on August 4, repairs were carried out by workmen sent by Saur, including replacing the blue shut-off valve (vanne d’arrêt).

The couple said that when they left the house on May 25, the meter was on 0162.

By June 10, it was on 0195, and by the time of repair on August 4, it read 0280.

After the repair, they say that the number was more stable – 0281 on August 28 – which Mrs Codali said “shows that there was no leak or issue inside the house”.

Water company offers 50% discount

Saur initially alleged that there must have been a leak somewhere on their property, and billed the couple €337.21.

It employed Veraltis, a debt collection company, to pursue the couple for the sum, plus charges for their services.

When contacted by The Connexion, Saur said: “Following a meter reading carried out in summer 2025, Saur’s services detected abnormally high consumption and notified Mr Codali by letter.

“After investigation, no leak was found on the installation.

“The overconsumption had resulted from the subscriber leaving the stopcock open upstream of the meter while purging his private network.

“This valve must not be operated by users.

“Although the law does not require any bill reduction in such cases, Saur exceptionally granted a 50% discount.”

The couple dispute having left the valve open.

Can homeowners turn off the water before the meter?

However, after speaking to a Saur employee in a branch of the water company in July, Mrs Codali also learned that the blue stopcock upstream of the meter is Saur’s and should not be used by anyone but Saur.

The rule is detailed on Saur’s website, but it came as a surprise to Mrs Codali, who said it appeared they had been operating the valve against Saur’s rules every time they had visited their house since 2001.

“The blue stopcock is theirs and it must never be touched by anyone else.

“I am sure, like us, many of your readers are totally unaware of this.

“Saur never told us and neither did the French plumber who installed our new plumbing system and connected us.”

Saur did not respond to questions about whether the meter was faulty.

Couple contact water ombudsman

Mr and Mrs Codali ended up settling the amount with the 50% discount, in July.

They sold their house in August.

The couple have contacted the Médiateur de l’eau in the hope it might be able to intervene.

As a general rule, homeowners should not assume they can touch stopcocks upstream of their meter (ie. before the meter), as local water rules often reserve these valves for water company workers.