The new law, which comes into force on 1 September this year, targets situations deemed "abusive" where an initial reminder had already been sent less than two weeks after the bill was issued, with very high administrative costs.
It now requires the first reminder to be free of charge, and stipulates that the second reminder can only be issued a minimum of two weeks after the first reminder, with a maximum administrative charge of €7.50.
The new law only applies where no rules previously existed. It does not therefore affect water bills, which have long followed the constraints dictated by regional law, better known as the "Walloon Water Code".
Under this regional legislation, the first reminder for the water bill is chargeable, but only after one month, with administrative costs limited to €6.02.