Shared Water Leak Question

nickbaker66

Hi guys,

Hope you can help....i am on a shared water supply and the mains comes into my kitchen then t's off into next doors kitchen, at the weekend we had a major leak which flooded our kitchen, so we called out Dino Rod who put a flow switch in which has switched the water supply off to there house as the leak was from there's and not ours .....

now my question is - as it connected to my pipe inside my house and not in the front garden do i HAVE to get it fixed ??? i dont know where the leak is, it could be anywhere in there kitchen and i dont think Dino Rod will fix next doors issues as he only has a contract with us or do i say i am not switching it back on at all, you can contact Thames Water and get your own supply installed now
??

they are renting next door so ATM they are not fussed

any help will be gladly received

Gothicfairy

Sorry but I am struggling slightly with this one.

you are on a joint supply with your neighbours and they had a leak in their property which flooded yours ?

Was the supply capped after your pipe, so you have water and your neighbours have none ? you really should not cut off your neighbours as there is a human right issue with access to water in this country and they "could" take it further depending on the situation.

They might not be able to have their own supply installed and as such that is not something you can force either. I am on a joint supply ( 1930's terraced property) and I have rights to my pipe work etc and I can ask and pay for my own supply but I can not force anyone else to do that. To be honest nor should you.

Is there any way the supply can be isolated so that you have water and no flood and they have water and the leak ?
Are you even sure the leak is coming from next door as I am struggling to see why that should flood your kitchen ?

nickbaker66

you are on a joint supply with your neighbours and they had a leak in their property which flooded yours ? - Yes i am guessing its the pipe that runs between the 2

Was the supply capped after your pipe, so you have water and your neighbours have none ? you really should not cut off your neighbours as there is a human right issue with access to water in this country and they "could" take it further depending on the situation. - If i had not capped there water off it would of continued to flood my house and as the pipe starts in my house i thought that was fine

They might not be able to have their own supply installed and as such that is not something you can force either. I am on a joint supply ( 1930's terraced property) and I have rights to my pipe work etc and I can ask and pay for my own supply but I can not force anyone else to do that. To be honest nor should you.

Is there any way the supply can be isolated so that you have water and no flood and they have water and the leak ?
Are you even sure the leak is coming from next door as I am struggling to see why that should flood your kitchen ? - the only way to stop the leak and have water myself is putting a flow switch on and the minute we give them water if floods our house i think its the pipe that runs between the two propertys but funnily next door did say there garden tap is cracked i cat see that flooding our house

Gothicfairy

The problem is, you can not leave someone without water and just say " get your own supply". Do they have children in the property ? Is someone living there with no water ?
I am still not sure about the leak though as if the leak was their side it would be in their property ? ? Was there any water in their property at all ? I can see why a flow switch would work if it was placed in your property after your direct supply but the pipe running from it would still be your responsibility until it enters their property through the wall if terraced.
If the pipe is between the houses in an entry or something like that then who fixes it would be down to who's land it is on. what does your deeds say ? Do you own your property ?

Am I correct in thinking the property is rented out and the owners are not bothered about their tenants and as such are not going to fix any problems ?

If you can prove that the leak is on their side then call the owners and ask them to deal with it or you might find you have to work out a way to turn the water supply back on and deal with the problem yourselves as I am sure you can understand that you can not just remove water from someone who may have had nothing to do with this situation and might require it for medical grounds, or have a child etc

Have you tried asking Thames for advice or asked if they can come out and find the location of the leak so that you are 100% sure where it is

nickbaker66

They have 1 child about 13-15 years old, at the minute they are living there but they said they are leaving in 2 weeks time as the house is in a bad state, there was water in both kitchens, when the pipe leaves our house and goes into there house that's where the leak comes from through the terraced wall, i do own my property but i would have to check my deeds for details.

there landlord is not being very helpful in helping they just sent a guy from the office to have a look and blamed a crack in the garden outside tap saying that came from our house which is impossible.

i might have to ask Thames but ill see what Dino Rod are gonna say when they come out on Thursday

Freddie_Snowbits

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Was the supply capped after your pipe, so you have water and your neighbours have none ? you really should not cut off your neighbours as there is a human right issue with access to water in this country and they "could" take it further depending on the situation.

Bullocks answer of the year that, if my neighbours water came from mine and it leaked at their end, then I would cut off their supply until it was fixed.

Human Right or not.

Gothicfairy

Freddie_Snowbits wrote: »

Bullocks answer of the year that, if my neighbours water came from mine and it leaked at their end, then I would cut off their supply until it was fixed.

Human Right or not.

That might well be what you would do but it does not make it right.

If you think that cutting someone's water off because of a problem that might not even be their fault ( seeing as no one seems to be sure where the leak actually is) is OK then that is down to you but why do you think water companies do not disconnect domestic customers ? Is it because they are nice and kind and don't want to upset people or is it that there might be a bigger issue ?
I am glad however that you felt the need to be rude though as it is always nice to see that an open forum is respected and that people can have their own views.