shared guttering

[Claireasol]

Hi

Does anyone know if I am allowed to cut the guttering from my neighbours (we have a semi detached house and the gutters cross both houses with the down pipes on my house!) therefore making the two houses have seperate rainwater gutters rather than one? Obviously next door would need to install down pipes on their house.

thanks in advance

 

[noseall]

History suggests that a soakaway system, in particular the pipework leading to it, does have a lifespan.

Suggest to your neighbour that the current system is both dated and knackered and that it would be in both your interests to construct a new soakaway on each property.

Regulations state that all storm water be collected and drained on the owners' property. Inform him that you are going to modernise and suggest he does the same or end up with water running down his walls.

 

[Claireasol]

Unfortunately the question has arisen due to the under ground rain water pipes being blocked or similar. My house insurance will pay half due to it being shared guttering, but next doors insurance will not pay therefore making it the neighbours responsabilty to pay their half. However they won't pay although I believe they have to by law?

There are no soak aways due to the houses being built on clay.

So, with all this in mind I want to make my house have its own rain water guttering...next door would have to sort something out for themselves....however I don't know if I'm allowed by law or regulations to do this and whether my neighbours could take it further if I was to leave water running down the side of his house once I'd blocked my end?

 

[^woody^]

Where a shared roof/gutter has a single downpipe, it is implied that adjacent owners have a right to use that downpipe to discharge their water, and can expect the property owner to maintain and allow passage of water to the downpipe.

If you cut off the neighbours use of the downpipe, then you may be contravening the Building Act and environmental health legislation and could be required to reinstate the gutters, and could face a civil claim from the neighbour for reinstatement or his costs in forming alternative drainage arrangements

However, you could sort out your drainage problem and sue the neighbour for his half of the costs.

TBH though, your insurance should be paying the full cost of the drainage repairs as they are your responsibility as the drains are on your pproperty, and that is what you are insured for. It would then be up to the insurance company to chase a contribution from your neighbour.

You need to insist that your insurers pay for the necessary repairs

 

[Tuck1]

How many threads do you want to start on the same subject?

 

[Claireasol]

I wasn't aware that the drains were solely my responsibilty even though they are shared....seems very unfair!! I will obviously be repairing the problem at the bottom of the down pipe as it is in my garden and is chucking water out everywhere, and has made my patio and pathway drop over the years but there are further, more serious issues about 5 metres further down the underground pipe which lie in someone elses garden. Is this still my resonsibility? It could be that there are potentially 3 houses involved - myself and neighbour who share the guttering and then another house who's garden has the underground pipe and the problem running through it.

Tuck 1 - As I am new to this web site and unsure on how to get the quickest answers which I need sooner rather than later, I started another thread asking a different question, although regarding the same issue I have as I wanted as many people to see it as possible and wasn't sure they would carry on reading down my 1st thread once they had first looked at it and couldn't help. Sorry if this is wrong. -note to self....must try harder!!