Co I have to let neighbour use soak away

[Water issues]

We have a semi detached garage and the rain water for ours and the attached garage runs off in to down pipe on my side, which runs in to a soak away drain.

The property is 60 years old and the soak-away has now failed, water backs up the drain pipe and floods my garden. I would add that their end of the gutter has no end stop on it but the guttering is slightly angled so the bulk of the water comes our way.


Our neighbour doesn’t maintain their side of the guttering or anything for that matter. I’m obviously going to have to pay for a new soak away to be installed but can I just install new guttering at my end and refuse to let the rain water from their roof run in to the new soak away that will be on my property. Our neighbours are not the type who will help with costs of any work.

 

[Mottie]

How will you stop their water emptying on to your property though?

 

[Water issues]

If when we install a new soak away we install new guttering on our the
water from theirs will just run off their guttering on to their garden at the back of their garage as it will have no where else to go.

 

[Alec_t]

If when we install a new soak away we install new guttering on our the
water from theirs will just run off their guttering on to their garden

Not if their guttering is still sloped down towards your garden.

 

[Tigercubrider]

I don't know the law but my estate was built in the mid 50's and the water from the front roof is sent around both semi's sides, to individual downpipes.
But the back uses one central downpipe, only just on "my" side, and was obviously designed to work that way

I'd presume some kind of established right can exist.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

If the Neighbours guttering has been discharging in this manner for long enough, they'll have a Legal right to drain into 'your' soakaway. Trying to remove this right is probably only going to land you a hefty Legal bill I'm afraid.