Abstract: This paper explores the extent to which attitudes to conservation and reduced water use in and around the home may affect the water saving behaviour of households in different kinds of housing in Sydney in a period when restrictions and price rises have become the principle methods to reduce consumption in the city. The research uses a household survey and focus groups to identify the attitudes of consumers to water consumption. The former involved a telephone interview survey that generated information about the consumption behaviour of a sample of households across Sydney, their dwellings, their socio-economic profile, and the range of equipment and facilities they use. The latter involved conducting five focus groups drawn from the areas included in the survey and explored attitudes and behavioural aspects in more depth. The paper argues that water conservation policy needs to understand the complexity of water demand, stemming from the different socio-demographic profiles of households living in different housing forms (high and low rise). Dwelling form in turn structures a range of physical and institutional barriers to better water use, as well as conditioning the cultural, behavioural and attitudinal aspects of water consumption that affect and shape individual and community responses to public initiatives to reduce consumption or to provide alternative water supplies.