The company will compare the amount of water passing through the meter against the number of people declared as residing in the property.
If Irish Water deems the water usage to be disproportionately high in comparison to the amount of people declared, it would mean either a water leak, or a misrepresentation of facts.
The company would check for leaks, and if none are found, it would carry out an audit to determine how many people live there.
According to Irish Water, it is an offence to provide false information to the company.
If false declarations are found, the household would then be landed with a ‘revised bill.’