I was unsure whether to create 2 separate posts for this so bear with me. 2 separate issues - same property.
I have a small flat that I no longer live in and is now rented out (relevant as it's taken me longer to identify the issues due to not being there). The freeholder is a Local Authority (council). It's 2 Victorian houses that have been joined and split into flats (8 in total). At least 5 privately owned and the remainder belong to the council and are tenanted.
When last visiting it came to my attention that the main stack pipe in the building is leaking (pouring raw sewage!) everytime the top flat in the building uses their toilet or bathroom sink. There are 3 flats below this leak and all of this is splashing into / onto windows and down to the bottom flat (mine) and garden.
I have raised this with the freeholder as an emergency and have been told that this doesn't qualify for an emergency repair and I am looking at least 2-4 weeks for the council to come in and erect scaffolding and then another week or so for the works to be done. My kitchen stinks of stale urine if I open windows / door and I can't step outside the back door into the garden, if the toilet has recently been flushed, without stepping in urine / feces.
My AIBU is, doesn't leaking raw sewage qualify as an emergency? What I can do to push matters along. I've been calling an emailing daily to no avail. Nothing is being actioned and none of the other residents have been informed nor asked to keep windows closed, etc...
On to my second point. The property has been suffering from damp on one back wall. After going back and forth with the freeholder to rectify this (internal works are my responsibility but external walls and external works in general are theirs) I have taken it upon myself to get my own surveys done. I have paid £4000 out of pocket to tank the wall on the inside and have been told the damp is being caused by improper drainage from the path that runs behind this wall (external, communal garden, their responsibility). I have been told a French drain will need putting in and the slope needs to be rectified so any rainwater drains away from the wall, not towards it as it currently is. As it stands puddles form just outside this wall, don't drain away and seep down into the group and up the wall. Said wall is soaked and all the brick is crumbling. I have emailed multiple times over the last 2 months with no response other than, "I will chase the drainage team again for a reply".
Again, AIBU that this isn't being dealt with appropriately and that they have a duty of care? What can I do to put some pressure on them?
If you've got this far, thank you so much for reading my post. Any help would be much appreciated