To expect Flat Occupiers to deal with blocked sewer?

[nannynick]

I live in a road which comprises flats and maisonettes, total 30. The manhole by one of the blocks is overflowing with sewage.

I have been on holiday and go home to find that situation, though my own flats drainage is not affected.

I have called Thames Water, who just needed to know location of the manhole.

Is it unreasonable to expect other Occupiers to have noticed a problem and report it? Maybe I am being unreasonable as I expect 90% of them rent, rather than own, but even so would tenants not report such things to their managing agent or landlord?

Maybe they've all been on holiday as well?

Maybe, though I doubt everyone has been away.

Neighbours round here do not seem to talk to each other, keep to themselves a lot, though some do say hello if you meet them in the street. We need to get to know our community better, in some ways when the snow comes that will happen as then quite a lot of people do help with clearing the road of the ice/snow.

IABU as there are management fees, so a management company does deal with things like gardening, group insurance but I suspect people may think the management company deals with everything, which they don't, especially if no one tells them of a problem.

I am an owner occupier so I take more concern over these things.

Done my good neighbour part and have sorted out a Sewer Technician (or whatever they are called) to attend - my feeble attempt at rodding the drain did nothing. With luck it is just a blockage and not a collapsed sewer.

Ah well, was just looking for a positive reason they hadn't sorted it.

This will be why they didn't sort it -

This is a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry with that because it was Everybody?s job.

Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn?t do it.

It ended that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

To this date these four people are still arguing why Nobody did the job.

Meant to finish by saying that it's an odd thing about people that the more people COULD do something, the more likely it is that nobody will do anything at all.

you see it even with accidents, or people needing help. The more people there are around - the more likely none of them will step forward. If there's only one or two - they'll rush over.

Well, firstly, are you sure they haven't?

Second, how bad is it?

I have to admit - being one of those evil people who rent - that I wouldn't realize a drain problem out on the road wasn't something the council would deal with. And I'd tell them. My tenancy deeds say I'm meant to keep drains within the property clear, but don't even tell me which manhole cover is over 'my' drains.

If there were a problem at my end I'm sure I would get in touch, though.

I think perhaps you're just expecting everyone to be as clued-up as you obviously are.

perhaps you're just expecting everyone to be as clued-up as you obviously are.

Yes, you could well be right.

Good point HP, it's called crowd mentality or something like that I think.

What Hecate said

Ring the flat management co yourself?
I'm an evil renter and our drains got blocked (4 houses into 1 drain) the drain overflowed and shit got spread across our entire garden. Although the 4 houses caused the problem as the only ones 'affected' we paid for the drain to be unblocked and we also dealt with 4 house worthy of shit. Only one house helped and offered money.
The others were 'I'm all right'

Moral of the story, unless it affects people they don't care. Especially if it 'may' cost them money.

nick - never underestimate how clueless you can be if you rent! If you've never done anything else all sorts of things can pass you by because you've never had to deal with them.

(I'll watch out for drains now though.)

Managing agents etc are not exactly famed for their speedy response to stuff. Someone could have well reported it to the agents or LL and they haven't done anything about it.

Uggghhhh tenants, we are all feckless scum, who are clearly inferior to you homeowners...

I don't think it's that (and I certainly didn't mean it when I said 'evil tenants', I was joking). It's just we don't actually have the same responsibilities as a home owner - if we get in touch with the LL and do everything we're required to do on tenancy deeds, we will still end up doing less than someone who owns their own home and has a long-term stake in what happens to the area around it.

Maybe other people haven't noticed the problem yet, because not been out yet, out before started overflowing, not evident in their home yet.

Yes tennents may well report things to letting agent, who reports to owner who may report to flats management who then may report to water company. So many people involved chances of it being dealt with not that high in my view.

Maybe tennents should be supplied with more info by letting agents about how to deal with issues.

I've rented, I would not have known who to contact but if there was sewage flowing over the garden I would find out who to contact.

Ah, sorry, for some reason I'd assumed it was in the street outside, not over the garden.

If that's the case, yes, tenants would know who to contact and you'd hope they've done it.

gardens are communal, so I can appreciate that no one else did anything about it.

Suppose thats one thing about being an owner who lives in the property, things like this are more for me to deal with, though not sure why I feel that. The owners are the management company in effect, so down to me I guess.

You're being quite passive agressive about this.

This thread has reminded me to report some fly-tipping (HUGE pile of tyres!!) opposite my RENTED flat but the Local Authority website won't load properly.

"You're being quite passive agressive about this." - is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Have been out today, got home to find that the drain has been cleared an no invoice put in my postbox, so with luck Thames Water has considered it to be part of the public sewer and are not charging. If they had charged, I would have passed that to the management company (well the management agency which deals with the paperwork on behalf of the flat owners... no owners have ever wanted to run the company, so it's contracted out) - have done that in the past and it was paid promptly.

So no more sewage to be seen in the communal garden, least for now. The drains have blocked 4 times in the past 13 years, so it does not happen often but does certainly happen. I wonder what causes it... wet wipes I suspect - are flushable wipes really flushable? I can't imagine they break down immediately they hit water.

Fly-tipping must be very annoying... good to hear it's reminded you to report it, pity the LA website is not working.

no. flushable wipes are not flushable. At all.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone had reported it to the water board and nothing had been done.

We waited three months for Thames Water to help us with a leak.

I reported it to Thames Water this morning, they did not already know about it, and it has now been cleared. Had a similar issue a year or so ago and Thames Water sorted it out the same day, so I can't fault Thames Water. Mind you it was their sewage/drainage department, not water supply department.

When I report issues it goes like this

Estate agents (they are the ones I have to call re drains and any other problems its in the contract)
They call the management agency (I don't have a number, and don't even know their name as no-onne will/can tell me)
the management company ring me.
They then sort it out.

The last time I reported the drains, the EA cantacted the LL who cantacted the tenant above me who has drain rods and he sorted it.

Took about a week.

HTH