Does the council have to provide a downpipe?

[yumcha888]

Hi all,

We moved into a new house a couple of months ago and quickly discovered that both our house and the one next door share one downpipe for both properties. The downpipe was also tiny so the guttering was flooding causing damp in our property. As the surveyor should have picked up on this they have agreed to partly pay to have it fixed. We've put in a bigger downpipe on our property and another one at the back of the house but the neighbour's water is still using our downpipe. The surveyor and roofers said they should get their own due to building regulations but the council (who own the neighbour's property) say they don't need one because we've fixed it and have refused to contribute to the cost.

Is that right? Surely every house needs their own downpipe?

[minibmw2010]

Can you find a way to restrict their access to the down pipe as it's your pipe anyway and on your house? Then surely they'll have to fix/supply one?

[peggyundercrackers]

i would show them building regulations and tell them they are breaking the rules, if they didnt do anything after that id cut off their access to downpipe.

[lalalonglegs]

If you try to block the flow of water from your neighbour's house, the council could get an injunction against you and, further, sue you for compensation if there is damage to its house as a consequence. Is it a Victorian property - quite often older houses do share downpipes in this way.

As your surveyor has paid part of the cost and the problem seems to be solved, I would leave it. You cannot apply building regulations retrospectively so if the guttering was done when a shared downpipe was considered fine, you cannot demand it is now upgraded. If the council does need to replace the guttering on its property, you would then be able to insist that the new arrangement met regulations.

[yumcha888]

Thanks lalalonglegs. I guess we'll just leave it. I really wanted to find a reason to fight back as the guy from Mitie was so condescending!