Neighbours garage roof slopes the wrong way.

[suzie653]

My next door neighbour and myself both have garages. His is a slightly raised flat roof, whilst mine is an Apex type.

Due to the nature of the layout, part of the back of his garage the roof encroaches into my back garden. This is how it has been for generations.

However, with all the rain that we have had in the past weeks, our garage is getting internally flooded, and we have discovered today that the reason for it is, that my neighbours roof slopes towards my property, and when the rain drains off of his garage, it funnels to the corner nearest to my garage and misses his guttering and drops behind it. This is causing my garage to get soaked and for water to build up between the two garages, plus my patio constantly flooded.

Has anyone any idea of how to address this problem. Sadly, nothing is helped by the very unfriendliness of my neighbours who have no wish to speak to us or anyone in the vicinity at all.

I know that if either I or my husband approach him, he will have not want to know, but I am sure that I have a legal right to keep my property protected and he has a legal right to ensure my property is not flooded from what is effectively his 'rainwater'.

Please can someone advise me?

 

[Blagard]

I know that if either I or my husband approach him, he will have not want to know, but I am sure that I have a legal right to keep my property protected and he has a legal right to ensure my property is not flooded from what is effectively his 'rainwater'.

Please can someone advise me?

I think you have to try and speak to your neighbour, even though you feel sure he won't want to know. It really comes down to what damage is being done and how much are you prepared to accept, before you actually take some action.

Most of what you do initially is common sense however, the government has some advice
https://www.gov.uk/how-to-resolve-neighbour-disputes

For what it is worth I would be inclined to say that getting flooded out because of the neighbours lack of maintenance is a nuisance. So bringing some weight to bear using the local authority without involving your own legal expense is something to consider.

There are other websites out there that might help you take the right steps in the right order. One being some home insurance policies include for legal fees so check that first if you consider taking any legal action as you may need to notify your insurers first.