Shared rainwater drainage problem

[Claireasol]

My semi detached house shares the rain water guttering and downpipes at both the front and back with my nextdoor neighbour. The downpipes are on my property. It is apparent that there is a blockage at the back which we have investigated, (the damage is due to roots!), is fixable and my insurance will pay half of the cost. However my neighbours insurance are saying they will not pay the other half as the problem was existing when they bought the house - they only moved in a month ago.

Does anyone know if my neighbour has to pay if his insurance won't? Is there any law to say so? My neighbour is talking about the previous owner paying (or their insurance!). We only realised there was a problem after they moved in but the problem could have been there for 10 years or more meaning it was there before even I moved in. Surely my neighbour has inherited this problem when they moved into the house?

 

[Tuck1]

How much is the repair cost then??????! I take it the underground drain pipes are blocked by roots? The downpipe is the vertical pipe that runs down the wall from the roof gutter. I initially thought i'd have to agree with the neighbours insurance co, but what if the blockage occured in a years time? Would they say thay are not responsible then because the problem could have started 10 years ago so they are only responsible for 1 years worth?!

 

[Claireasol]

Yes, sorry it is the underground pipe that is the problem. At the minute we are unsure of the cost of repair...we currently have investigational work bing done to try and get a figure to give to the neighbour. At the end of the day he shares the guttering and therefore the underground pipes so he should pay half surely?