UK Hosepipe Ban Postcode Checker 2026
Published: June 24, 2026 · Updated:
UK hosepipe bans (Temporary Use Bans, or TUBs) are declared by individual water companies, not by councils or the national government. The rules that apply to you depend entirely on which company supplies your water. Enter your postcode below to find your supplier and check whether a hosepipe ban is currently in force in your area.
We use the first part of your postcode only to identify your water company. We do not store full postcodes.
How to Check If There Is a Hosepipe Ban in Your Area
Enter your postcode in the box above and the checker returns your water company plus that company’s current hosepipe ban status. UK hosepipe bans are not set by councils or central government, so two neighbouring areas can have different rules depending on which company supplies the water. Use this tool to find your supplier first, then click through for the full hosepipe ban detail page on that company.
You can enter a full postcode (e.g. SW1A 1AA), an outward code (RH10), or just the postcode area letters (LS). The checker uses the area portion to identify your water company.
Why Your Postcode Matters
The UK water industry is divided into regional supply areas that follow historical infrastructure rather than county or council boundaries. Two neighbours on the same street can occasionally be served by different companies, and a hosepipe ban declared by one company does not automatically apply to the area next door. Some postcodes sit on the boundary between two or three companies, which is why this checker sometimes returns more than one possible supplier. When that happens, your water bill is the definitive source: it names your supplier.
What a Hosepipe Ban (TUB) Covers
A Temporary Use Ban is declared under Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991. It prohibits domestic hosepipe and sprinkler use for activities like watering gardens, washing cars, filling paddling pools, and cleaning patios with a hosepipe. Watering with a watering can or bucket remains allowed, and drip irrigation and soaker hoses are typically exempt. The maximum fine for breaching a TUB is £1,000 per violation, though water companies usually issue a warning first. See the full UK hosepipe ban hub for the complete legal framework, exemptions, and per-company rules.
Current UK Hosepipe Ban Status (Summer 2026)
As of 7 August 2026, nine water companies have declared formal Temporary Use Bans. Because bans follow the water company, not the postcode or council, the checker above is the way to confirm yours. Each ban:
- South East Water: in force in Kent since 3 July (about 850,000 customers), extending to the rest of its area (Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire) from 00:01 on Saturday 25 July.
- Cambridge Water: in place since 9 July, enforceable from 01:00 on Friday 17 July (about 350,000 households). It is part of the South Staffs group but supplies a separate region; the South Staffs area is not affected.
- Southern Water: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight only, from 00:01 on Friday 10 July (about 1 million customers). It does NOT apply to Sussex.
- Anglian Water: its first ban since 2012, in place from 10 July and enforceable from 01:01 on Saturday 11 July, more than 5 million customers across the East of England except Hartlepool.
- South West Water: the whole supply area from 00:01 on Saturday 8 August 2026, being all of Devon and Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and the parts of Dorset and Somerset it supplies. This replaced a narrower ban that ran from 14 July in named Mid and East Devon towns only.
- Affinity Water: its Central region (Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey and parts of Essex and London, around 3.8 million people), enforceable from 00:01 on Friday 17 July. Affinity supplies water only, so its ban does not follow postcode boundaries.
- Welsh Water: parts of west Wales only (around 33,000 properties in Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire), from 10:00 on Sunday 19 July. Not a Wales-wide ban.
- Thames Water: around 10.1 million drinking-water customers across London, the Thames Valley and the home counties, in force from 00:01 on Thursday 23 July. Wastewater-only customers are not affected.
There is no Yorkshire Water hosepipe ban in 2026, and any Thames ban with an August start or a 16 million figure is recycled coverage. All other major water companies are operating normally.
Use the checker above for your specific area, or see the full UK hosepipe ban status page for every company.
Some postcode areas are split between companies and the checker returns every candidate rather than guessing. CB and PE are split between Cambridge Water and Anglian Water: Cambridge Water's supply area is defined by civil parishes and water quality zones, not by postcode, so no CB postcode can be assigned to one company with certainty. Both are under a ban, but their dates differ. In TS, Hartlepool (TS24 to TS27) is supplied by Hartlepool Water and is explicitly excluded from Anglian Water's ban. Where more than one company is returned, confirm your supplier on your water bill.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know which water company supplies my area?
Use the postcode checker above. It returns the water company (or companies) that supply your postcode area, with each company's current hosepipe ban status. The definitive source for your specific address is your water bill, which names your supplier directly.
Can two houses on the same street have different water companies?
Yes, occasionally. UK water company boundaries follow historical supply infrastructure rather than postcode geography. Some streets sit on the boundary between two companies. If your checker result shows multiple candidate companies, the deciding factor is which company's pipes physically supply your property, which your water bill names.
My postcode shows two companies, which one applies to me?
When a postcode area is split, the checker returns all candidate companies in order of coverage majority. Check your water bill for the definitive supplier name. The hosepipe rules that apply to you are set by whichever company supplies your specific property, regardless of which company supplies your immediate neighbours.
Does this checker show council water restrictions too?
No. UK hosepipe bans are declared by water companies, not councils, under Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991. Councils have no statutory power to declare a Temporary Use Ban. This checker covers only water company restrictions.
Why isn't my postcode recognised?
The checker covers all ~120 UK postcode areas (the 1-2 letter prefix like SW, RH, LS). If your area returns 'not recognised', you may have entered a non-UK postcode, or you may be in Northern Ireland (NI Water, separate regime), the Isle of Man (Manx Utilities), or the Channel Islands (separate utilities). Check your water bill for your supplier.
Is there a hosepipe ban in my area right now?
It depends on your water company. As of 7 August 2026, Anglian Water has a Temporary Use Ban across the East of England except Hartlepool (in place 10 July, enforceable 01:01 on 11 July); Southern Water has an active TUB across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight only, not Sussex; South East Water's TUB has been in force in Kent since 3 July and extends to the rest of its supply area (Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire) from 25 July; Cambridge Water has a ban in place from 9 July, enforceable 01:00 on 17 July; and Affinity Water has a ban across its Central region, enforceable from 00:01 on 17 July. Thames Water declared a formal ban on 21 July, in force from 00:01 on Thursday 23 July for the roughly 10.1 million customers it supplies with drinking water. There is no Yorkshire Water ban in 2026. Most other companies are operating normally. Use the checker above for your specific area.
Does my water company's hosepipe ban apply to my whole postcode?
Not always. A water company can declare a Temporary Use Ban that covers only part of its service area (for example, Southern Water's June 2026 TUB covers Hampshire and the Isle of Wight but not all Southern Water postcodes). The company's formal notice on its website specifies the exact covered postcodes or areas.
How accurate is this postcode checker?
The v1 release covers all ~120 UK postcode areas at the area-prefix level (SW, RH, LS, etc.). For postcodes that sit cleanly inside a single company's territory, the checker is accurate. For postcodes on company boundaries (RH, TN, GU, BR, CR, KT and others), it returns all candidate companies with a note recommending you check your water bill for the definitive supplier. Outward-code refinement (RH10, RH11, etc.) is queued for a follow-up release.
Prefer a visual overview? See the UK hosepipe ban map for a colour-coded view of every region, or start at is there a hosepipe ban in my area? for the national picture and your county. For the reverse-chronological log of every recent change see the UK hosepipe ban updates.
← Back to UK water restrictions overview
Last verified: 2026-08-07. Coverage at the postcode-area level (v1); outward-code refinement queued.