water leak on shared supply pipe: updated

silvercar

A row of 4 terraces share a supply pipe. The pipe runs from the pavement, down the side of the end house and across the back gardens about 2metres from the houses with spurs off to serve each house. It ends at the terrace at the other end.

Three valleys water write to say there is a leak in the shared pipe, they have decided they can't effect the repair and require the 4 houses to sort out the leak within 28 days. According to their booklet, where pipes are shared, the properties at and further up from the leak should share the repair costs.

A year ago there was a leak on our property (no. 2 of the 4) and the previous owners of our house paid for the repair as the deeds state that each house is responsible for the repairs on their land.

To make matters worse, the 2 properties furthest away from the start of the pipe are owned by a housing association, so negotiation is difficult.

Apparently, previously the housing association has offered to replace the whole pipe but the price their contractors quote is extremely high.

If the deeds state that each property pays for repairs on their land and then the water company come along and say that costs should be divided up according to the position of the leak, who is right? I would have thought that the deeds take precedence, especially as the water people won't even do the repair.

Thanks for reading, any advice gratefully received.

Cardew

I would agree with you about the deeds; although it is often difficult to pinpoint exactly where the leak is until the pipe is exposed. The whole pipe could need replacing.

Similarly a common scenario is for a sewer to run under the gardens of rows of houses; with the drains from the houses running into that sewer.

I had a situation some years ago where some tree roots on a neighbour's property blocked this sewer and caused it to back up on my property. It didn't affect this neighbour as his drain joined the sewer 'downstream' from the blockage. Despite this, he readily accepted that it was his responsibility; albeit he had insurance to cover blockages.

I would get the local council involved. Tell them Three Valleys will cut off the water and it will become their problem if they do.

lapat

the cost of the reapir should be shared by the propertys in front of the leak i.e if its on the 3rd hous on the row then 1 & 2 aswell as three should share the cost.

but good luck as it can cause war with your neighbours when they find out its on your property

Cardew

lapat wrote: »

the cost of the reapir should be shared by the propertys in front of the leak i.e if its on the 3rd hous on the row then 1 & 2 aswell as three should share the cost.

What grounds do you have for that statement?

silvercar

the cost of the reapir should be shared by the propertys in front of the leak i.e if its on the 3rd hous on the row then 1 & 2 aswell as three should share the cost.

The water board leaflet say the exact opposite, those past the leak should share ie those affected by the leak.

I contend both those cost distributions on the grounds that the deeds, which must surely be the reference, state that I only have to maintain the section of pipe within my boundary. It's all very well the water board saying its not their problem, but what then gives them the right to say how the costs should be distributed?

silvercar

An update: apparently there are some laws which over-rule the deeds and I am liable. The water board say they will serve enforcement notices if we don't comply and do the work themselves and bill us + legal costs. They won't do the work on request, only if they have to enforce action!

I found someone really helpful in the housing association who said they will sort out the work and let us know the cost of our share. I said that's like me signing a blank cheque, but she said they have procedures to ensure the costs are divided fairly. The only other option I have is to sort out the work myself, pay for it and then get everyone to pay their share - but I can't afford to do that. When I got back to the housing assoc lady she said they were going to do the work, as they were the majority interest, so I've had to leave it with them.