Neighbours Telephone Cable

[blah123]

I have just bought a first floor flat requiring alot of renovation.

I have made it all open plan and found that in one of my internal walls there is a 20mm plastic pipe containing the flat above or belows telephone cable aswell as my own which all needs to be moved.

I know i can easily move my own cable into another wall but can i cut the other flats cable and reroute it into one of my walls?

 

[bernardgreen]

I know i can easily move my own cable into another wall but can i cut the other flats cable and reroute it into one of my walls?

If the cable use a wayleave to cross your property then you need to find out the terms of that wayleave before you do any more.

If the cabling that you wish to move is the property of the service provider then you must tell the service provider ( probably OpenReach ) and explain why they will need to re-route the cables if the wayleave terms permit the wall to be removed.

If the cable is internal wiring then with permission from the other people you may be able to move the cables.

The problem is that when you move the cable you then assume responsibilty for the up keep of the cables you install. If the lines you move are used for alarms or similar your disconnecting of the line may initiate a monitor alarm and response. The cost of that would be down to you and could be a lot of money.

 

[blah123]

Thanks for your quick reply

The cable is just a 4 pair BT cable running up to the flat above.
I just thought id ask before i went in head first and re routed it.

 

[JOHNBOY42]

I would speak to your SP who will probably ask openreach to get involved...all wiring belonging to openreach should be accessable in case of a fault or for security reasons.............lets say you move out of your flat them some low life move in--whats to stop them tapping into the telephone line belonging to upstairs...wayleave is for wires going across your land or openrach poles/cables on your land but not internal wiring...if you do tamper it and it goes pear shape you could get a hefty bill.....ask for a FOC shift

 

[ianat24]

Openreach will charge for a shift of equipment / cable.
A few questions...
Where is the NTE or external cable termination point ?.
Is it external duct feed or overhead ?.
Is the cable you wish to shift white or black ?.

 

[blah123]

Yeah i thought there would be a charge involved with getting Openreach involved

i had a look at it last night and it is a white cable and it seems to be running to the loft so i presume the cable going straight through will be my neighbour downstairs.

I will try to find out where the Termination point is at the weekend.

thanks.

 

[bernardgreen]

I accept that "wayleave" is strictly speaking the right to have a way across land to reach cables, equipment, poles and ducts where the land is not owned by the owner / user of the cables, equipment, poles and ducts.

There is a similar "arrangment for access" that can be applied for BT owned cables that pass through a part of a building owned by Mr Smith in order to provide service to Mr Brown who owns another part of the same building.

 

[Atilla]

are you sure its phone and not an intercomm?

 

[ianat24]

If the Cable is white as you say i wouldn't have thought it will have any "Wayleave" via BT. The builder would have provided a route for BT and the engineers would have used it to run the cable never expecting you to do what your doing with your flat.

Check the route, find how the building is connected (Overhead or Underground) and it may be possible to re-route the cable as you wish to.

 

[plugwash]

This may seem like a stupid question but are you even allowed to remove that wall? have you checked the terms of your agreement with whoever owns the freehold?

 

[bernardgreen]

This may seem like a stupid question but are you even allowed to remove that wall? have you checked the terms of your agreement with whoever owns the freehold?

Don't complicate things. Wait until the upstairs neighbours suddenly drop in to look at the changes made.

 

[Paul_C]

There is a similar "arrangment for access" that can be applied for BT owned cables that pass through a part of a building owned by Mr Smith in order to provide service to Mr Brown who owns another part of the same building.

Indeed, and in some places that happens extensively. In a small shopping arcade in my nearest town most of the DPs are now inside individual units due to changes in ownership, walls between units being moved, walkways which were formerly open spaces being enclosed to provide extra storage spaces, etc.

 

[blah123]

yeah it is definatley a phone cable but the intercom is a similar situation lol!!

all planning applications have been approved by local authorities. and there is no going back as the wall is down

i think i am just going to cut the pipe join the cable and reroute it in another wall.
i was thinking i will go up to the top floor and have a look in the attic to see if there is any spare length i could pull down to save having two joins in the cable!

any other ideas would be much appreciated cheers

 

[plugwash]

are you on good terms with the neighbours and if so have you spoken to them about this?

 

[bernardgreen]

Since you insist on doing this then do it properly,

Consult with your neighbours as to when they are happy with an interruption in their telephone service. If any have monitored alarms on their telephone notifying the alarm company will avoid later expense.

Install and connect new cable (or cables) along the new route(s) from existing junction boxes before removing the old cable. Do not introduce any new junction boxes on the route.

If while working you find draw cords in conduits make sure they are back in place after you finish the work.

UPDATE
If you are fitting new conduit make sure it is possible for new cables to be drawn in without the need for you to give access to the conduit passing through your flat. So use large bore conduit, no sharp bends and leave a draw cord even if there wasn't one before.