Pipes from neighbour's new extension into our loft

MisterBaxter

AlanCarter wrote: »

How would that endanger life?

All the op needs to say is I thought they were redundant pipes from my home so I removed them.

I was looking at Part 1 be relevant as criminal damage not part 2 which relates to endangerment and also covers damage to your own property.

Part 1 deals with damage or destruction to property belonging to another and doesn't require there to be any endangerment for it to be an offence.

The OP can see and reasonably anticiptate that the pipes come from next door as they clearly come through the wall, add to that they know the neighbour has had building work done and I think it would be difficult to use your suggestion as a defense.

I still agree with the sentiment but in the bigger picture it's not worth the risk.

J_B

dominoman wrote: »

This is still your neighbour. Cutting and capping the pipes is not going to do much for your neighbourly relations!

phil24_7 wrote: »

Please speak to the neighbour before deciding the next course of action. They may be mortified to learn their waste goes through your loft space.

I suppose there's a chance that they don't even know where the pipes are.
Employed a 'reputable' builder and trusted him to do the job properly perhaps???

phil24_7

I have found that most people do indeed trust their builder, but that shoddy work arounds often happen!

MisterBaxter

phil24_7 wrote: »

I have found that most people do indeed trust their builder, but that shoddy work arounds often happen!

Sadly, all too true and the starting point for many of the threads in the forum. Add that to neighbours not talking before, during and after works and you have the perfect recipie for failure.

AlanCarter

MisterBaxter wrote: »

I was looking at Part 1 be relevant as criminal damage not part 2 which relates to endangerment and also covers damage to your own property.

Part 1 deals with damage or destruction to property belonging to another and doesn't require there to be any endangerment for it to be an offence.

The OP can see and reasonably anticiptate that the pipes come from next door as they clearly come through the wall, add to that they know the neighbour has had building work done and I think it would be difficult to use your suggestion as a defense.

I still agree with the sentiment but in the bigger picture it's not worth the risk.

So your point about it being an offence to damage your own property isn't relevant then?

MisterBaxter

AlanCarter wrote: »

So your point about it being an offence to damage your own property isn't relevant then?

No, and I did say in a previous post that I'd mentioned it more for effect and that my real point was about criminal damage to the neighbours property which still stands.

AlanCarter

MisterBaxter wrote: »

No, and I did say in a previous post that I'd mentioned it more for effect and that my real point was about criminal damage to the neighbours property which still stands.

For effect? Aka not relevant to the situation under discussion.

MisterBaxter

AlanCarter wrote: »

For effect? Aka not relevant to the situation under discussion.

I feel that my key point about criminal damage was pertinent and relevant to the discussion, if my inclusion of a tidbit of irrelevant and tenuously linked information has offended you or anyone else I apologise. I'll say no more on the matter.

thebigossu

Thank you all for your replies.

Interesting points raised.

They are definitely not my pipes as my pipes run externally on the other side of the shower room.

To close a 'sub-thread' that seems to have arisen, I have no intention of cutting the pipes. The correct (and law abiding) response to someone placing something on your land is to ask them to move it, threatening legal action if they don't.

The complication that I have is that the pipes are placed in what could best be described as 'joint space' above a party wall 20 cm thick (a party wall is jointly owned which is why a Party Wall Agreement is required if any work is to be carried out on it).

I suspect that the vast majority of the work was accessed from a space underneath the RSJ on which their new wall is built (on their property). Because of the unusual arrangement of the party wall between these rear kitchens (because they were previously outbuildings) their new extension has left access to the space above a small section of the lowest part of the party wall. Some of the new pipes have been drilled through their new wall.

The reason for the thread was (a) to gain opinion on who owned the space above a party wall (I guess 'jointly owned' is the answer) and what people are allowed to do with it and (b) to see if anyone had come across the same problem.

My opinion is that a jointly owned space requires joint owners agreement but if I want to pursue this further I need to get legal advice.

I also need to talk to my neighbour if I want to pursue this further but there is already bad feeling between us. I would be extremely surprised if they did not know the position of these pipes.

The final point that I need to consider is the current or future problems that could occur with the pipes being where they are and, therefore, what I want done about them.

Any opinions regarding the above, as usual, are welcome.

chappers

You definitely don't want their pipes on your side of the wall, not to mention the problems they will have themselves if they ever have a problem which needs access