Down pipe - whose responsibility?

[sunnydaleslayer]

I live in a semi detached house. Both down pipes from the gutters are on the neighbour's side, but one is right next to the boundary, but their side of the fence. The pipe has become detached from the wall and the gutter water is now flooding our garden.

As the pipe drains both roofs I think it's probably a shared responsibility. I'm happy to organise the repair and pay half but would need the neighbour's consent to enter the property to fix it (though it could probably be done from our side as it's that close)

DH thinks it's the neighbours' responsibility and they should organise and pay for it. Whether he is right or wrong, the fact that it's wrecking our new decking and flooding the garden is enough for me to offer to sort it.

Can anyone enlighten me as to who is right here?

It's for the benefit of both of you so get on with it. I don't understand this 'it's their responsibility' - it may be technically (I obviously couldn't say) but it's not a huge expense and it's damaging your wall and deck so share the cost.

I've recently been involved in a similar discussion and took some definitive advice on this (part of a wider situation for me) which was that downpipes are a shared responsibility regardless of which house they are on.

Thanks @Spanglelights ! Hopefully DH will listen to reason.