Hi there! Hope someone can help. We love in a semi and the non adjoining house has had some new drain pipes fitted for 2 bathrooms and a new kitchen. They have dug up their path and joined their sewage pipe to ours instead of digging up their front path and joining to the main sewage pipe under the pavement. They didn't ask our permission and if anything leaked at their house and backs up into our house who is liable for damages? And do they need our permission? Thanks
neighbour dispute about sewage pipes
- Thread starter hazelcc1973
- Start date
Sponsored Links
All depends whether the pipe in question is private or public. If it's private (to you) then they have no right to connect to it without your permission. If it is public they are entitled to connect subject to the approval of the owner - which is the sewer authority. Since the pipe runs across their property it is almost certainly public. But you won't know for sure without a sewer search.
Has the new connection been made on their own property or on your property?
So not the OP's problem, or business really.
What I'd do is ask the neighbour.
If that failed I'd go on the council website and see whether there is a building control record of work next door. If there is then end of story. If not then escalate
Sponsored Links
The pipes which are on our property are ours and they have connected their new pipe work to ours instead of channeling down their path to the public sewage pipe. This is without asking us and the surveyor has now not passed it and they'll need to disconnect it all.
So your pipe goes directly from your house to the main sewer in the street without anyone else joining into it up-stream of the new connection?
Well you cannot expect much help if you don't answer the simple questions above but if there is a surveyor involved then it sounds like it should all get done properly in the end. However if a neighbour/builder came across the boundary into my land and started digging holes I'd be mighty annoyed and they would at minimum be putting everything back to the same condition it was before they started. In theory if they come over and start to damage your property you can get the cops to lock them up. Assuming that is what happened of course, but you won't answer the questions to allow people to work that out.
I'm baffled.
Has a connection been made within their property boundary or not?
Has a connection been made within their property boundary or not?
I was slightly confused about which side of the boundary it was as well. But the OP said they dug up THEIR path. Which I take it to mean the pipe is on the neighbours side. Beside's, the alternative would be that they hopped over the fence, dug up the OPs path and connected a pipe. Which seems unlikely.
The connection is directly under the wall that separates our paths. Our pipes go directly to the main sewer pipe in the road. So they have gone under their path n under their wall to get to our pipes without digging up our path.
I can't imagine how a drain solely serving your property would be on the boundary in such a location as to allow the neighbour to connect to it.
Either the neighbour has committed a trespass by working on your side of the boundary (ie digging under your land), or the drain does in fact serve the neighbour too and the connection was done within their boundary
You can ask the councils building inspector to confirm what was done.
The neighbour would not normally be expected to lay a new drain and connect to the sewer under the highway. Presumably they have an existing drain to use within their property?
Either the neighbour has committed a trespass by working on your side of the boundary (ie digging under your land), or the drain does in fact serve the neighbour too and the connection was done within their boundary
You can ask the councils building inspector to confirm what was done.
The neighbour would not normally be expected to lay a new drain and connect to the sewer under the highway. Presumably they have an existing drain to use within their property?
Here's what I'm envisioning.....
It could be that all the houses in the street have the drains down one side, say the left side of the houses and this neighbour perhaps built an extension on the right side and has decided that rather than connect all the way round to his left hand side of his own house he has connected to the closer neighbours... mebbe... perhaps....
I still find it difficult to believe that the neighbour has dug a tunnel from his own path, and has tunnelled under the boundary and under hazels land, and while sitting in his tunnel has managed to cut into the pipes and connect to them.
I do however find it easy to believe that there is a common sewer running behind the houses, to which both hazel's and the neighbours drains are connected.
I have a feeling we are not going to see a photo or a plan.
I do however find it easy to believe that there is a common sewer running behind the houses, to which both hazel's and the neighbours drains are connected.
I have a feeling we are not going to see a photo or a plan.
DIYnot Local
Staff member
If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.
Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.
Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local
Sponsored Links
Similar threads
