Dispute with neighbour

wildheart83

I live in a block of 8 flats, rent my flat privately, and unsure if there's a factor for our block.
My neighbour upstairs has, due to a burst pipe switched off the water supply to all flats in the block until the pipe has been fixed.

According to another neighbour, he has taken a hammer to the bathroom causing a substantial hole in the wall, and then ripped the pipework completely off the wall so that any water coming from upstairs will flood him, and possibly in turn flood me.

He called a plumber out yesterday, who made a comment about the work involved and the neighbour told him to leave.
It's now 3 days of no water to the property and we're all starting to suffer.

Can he legally just switch the water off to all flats for days? What can I do, and what can I ask my landlord to do? Accidents happen, I appreciate that, but we've all spoken to him and what's infuriating us all is the fact he finds it hilarious and keeps laughing at the rest of us.

Any advice is gratefully appreciated.

RAS

factor???

Are you in Scotland?

wildheart83

Yes, sorry I'm in Scotland

WestonDave

Legality and practicality are two different issues! Legally he probably can't cut off your water supply, and your landlord needs to get it sorted asap otherwise a call to the environmental health people at the council may be in order. However in practical terms until the neighbour has his leaks capped off (as a minimum) turning the water back on is going to result in a worse situation than having no water. Forcing the neighbour to take action would probably require legal action which will take days if not weeks. Whether the landlord has a responsibility to provide a replacement water supply (e.g. bottle water) I don't know - speaking to Shelter or the council housing advice people might be a good first port of call.

Gordon_Hose

Aren't there separate stop cocks in each flat?

wildheart83

Thanks, you're right about the legal and practical aspects! I'll give the council housing a ring and see if they can help.

ripplyuk

I would definitely ring your council. They can put pressure on the landlord to get the problems fixed quickly.

I would have thought that if it isn't fixed very soon, the flat is really uninhabitable and the landlord should pay for alternative accommodation. I'm not sure of the legalities of it but surely no one can be expected to pay rent when you can't even have a shower or flush the loo!

Maybe the citizens advice could also help?

wildheart83

Yes there are separate stopcocks but what he's saying is that if they put the water back on and just isolate his property the water will run in from the 2 flats above him into his flat and flood him out, thanks to the big hole in the wall.

Gordon_Hose

I'm not sure I'm understanding this, where is the leak exactly?

wildheart83

He has ripped off the pipework coming from outside into his bathroom, and knocked a huge hole (4ft) in the bathroom wall to the exterior of the property.
I am led to believe that the pipe running down the height of the building outside has been damaged and water from the flats above hole will run straight into his flat.
My other neighbour asked the plumber if the water couldn't be switched back on and he said absolutely not, it'll flood the flat as soon as anyone uses any water.

Gordon_Hose

Waste water?