Not sure if this is in the right place......

Lucyxx

Basically we bought this house just over a year ago, the man we purchased from had built a "granny flat" on to the back of our garage which backed onto our garden, then sold it all off to somebody (inc garage). This is going back a good few years. The person he sold it to has since sold it to somebody else and about 6 months ago they discovered that basically they had a slow leak in the bathroom and kitchen as the plumbing was not sealed and the whole underneath of their house/flat was damp and was full of mould. They have not been living there for 6 months while it has all been going through the insurance/renovating etc. They have just moved back in. Their house is approx 15 m away from our bedroom, on land that was the end of our garden and in the corner of the car park/garages at the back of the houses.

Now we have noticed every time they turn the tap on in their kitchen we can hear it loudly in our pipes in our bedroom. Surely this is not right???? When we first moved here we were getting used to the noises of our pipes etc, so didn't notice the connection from them turning their tap on,to us hearing it. It's just since they've been away for so long and now moved back in that we've noticed. (our bedroom looks down onto their kitchen so we can see they are at the sink)

Not only is it rather annoying hearing them turn their tap on but especially if they are getting a drink late at night and we hear it (it's pretty loud!) but it also worries me that somewhere the plumbing has not been done properly (esp with the history of whoever did the plumbing originally not sealing it and causing them the problems mentioned above!) and if we go to a water meter we'll also be paying for them!!!

Now when my OH lived in a flat he did not hear other people in the block turning on their water through the pipes in his flat, so I can't see why we should in a house where the other one isn't even attached to us!!!

Now am I right that something is wrong here??? I don't even know how you'd go about checking, neither do we have the money to do anything really. But this is just niggling away at me!! especially after seeing how people are benefitting from having water meters fitted and considering that option our selves, but not at the cost of paying for both houses usage!

They are also really nice people, so don't want to cause aminosity between us!!!!

Any advice???

Thank you in advance xxxxxxxx

littlemissjojo

I presume you are not on a meter at the moment, but are on RV? Do you know how the people in the other flat are paying? Because if the conversion was done after 1989, then the chap should have applied for a new separate supply and the property should have been metered. As there was some dodgy plumbing though, it sounds very much like it was done on the cheap, and you are on a shared supply.

If you were to apply to your water company for a meter, they would carry out a survey and be able to advise if you are on a shared supply or not. (This would be free.) Obviously if you are, then they wont fit a meter because it would serve more than just your property.

As to rectifying the situation - I'm not sure, but I think the newer flat would have to apply for a new supply direct from the main, as this is the one with the illegal connection to your supply.

Lucyxx

um... i'm a teensy bit embarrassed to admit I don't know what RV stands for, but seeing as we are not on a meter yet then I guess we are on RV!! I'm pretty sure he built it mid to late 90's. Wish I'd paid more attention at the solicitors when we bought this house and he was going through the change of use of our garden and garage. It was definitely after 1989 though I'm sure.

It might be worth us then enquiring with Thames Water for a survey then, and that would get the ball rolling so to speak, a bit nicer than me turning up and saying I know you've only just moved back in after having it renovated but you might need to dig it up (and ours come to think of it!) again! I'll be really peed off if our chance of reducing our bill has been ruined by the previous owner doing this illegally!!!

Annoyingly he has also somehow managed to take our house off the map when he registered the new flat, they have the same number followed by A and I'm sick of explaining to companies that we do exist as no ones system recognises us!! AAGH!

It definitely isn't right though is it, that I can hear them turning on their tap through the pipes in my bedroom in the upstairs of this house, when they are 15m away in a downstairs granny flat/annexe thing?? he changed the usage of it from a granny flat to a residential flat or something along those lines, as it was all registered with the solicitors when we went. I wonder if the solicitor knew and told us about being on a shared supply at the time of purchase, but we just didn't realise what that meant??!

It is so loud it almost sounds as though a bucket is being filled up with water, that sort of noise. At first we blamed our 5 year old for climbing up to the sink and messing around with the taps, until we realised she was nowhere near it :rotfl: poor thing!!!

Thank you ever so much for your help ( a fellow comper from the comps forum I see!)!

Lucy x

littlemissjojo

Hi Lucy,

Have just sent you a pm hun x

Comping - sadly never enough time these days, those were all from last year!!!

Degenerate

If they are indeed connected to your supply, you should check your property deeds for any legal obligation you have regarding water supply to that property. If the guy who did the conversion was as slapdash as he seems, there probably isn't one and you would be well within your rights to cut them off inside the boundaries of your property. It wouldn't be very neighbourly to actually do it, but that fact that you could serves as a good negotiation position for sorting the situation out and getting independent supplies.

Ms_Chocaholic

RV = rateable value

If you turned off your water at the stopcock when they were at the sink filling the kettle, then you might find out if the supply is shared

Alternatively, go away for a few days and turn the water off before you go, you'll soon find out whether it's shared or not :eek: