waste pipes

georgieboythewonderdog

Hi everybody, I wondered if anyone could help me with this.
I have just realised that a recent housing development adjacent to me, has run its waste pipes (for 3 houses) into my neighbours waste pipe, which in turn then feeds into mine on my property before heading out to the main sewer.
Is this legal for them to do this without my consent or knowledge, as if there is a blockage (as there was this weekend) from the additional "traffic" so to speak, it is me that has to sort it out on my property.

many thanks
Ed

Strider590

The concern would be nappies and sanitary products mixing with cooking fats, and being new builds the likelihood of young families and first timer owners is quite high. Most young adults these days have NO idea about this stuff.

As far as legality, there would have been an application for this, possibly to the water company.
Also you would have been, or should have been given the opportunity to view the plans in case there were any objections. Unfortunately this is often announced in the local paper planning section which nobody ever reads.

georgieboythewonderdog

True, Im more wondering about the legalities of it.
surely my consent should have been sought??

martinsurrey

georgieboythewonderdog wrote: »

True, Im more wondering about the legalities of it.
surely my consent should have been sought??

As the pipe is shared by you and a neighbor it is not "your pipe" it is owned and maintained by the utility company.

Your consent is not required.

the developer should/would have got consent from the utility company

georgieboythewonderdog

martinsurrey wrote: »

As the pipe is shared by you and a neighbor it is not "your pipe" it is owned and maintained by the utility company.

Your consent is not required.

the developer should/would have got consent from the utility company

Thank you for your message, is this still the case as it is a privately owned sewer system? it hasnt been adopted by the utility company.

EachPenny

martinsurrey wrote: »

As the pipe is shared by you and a neighbor it is not "your pipe" it is owned and maintained by the utility company.

Your consent is not required.

the developer should/would have got consent from the utility company

But if the new development discharges into the neighbour's pipe upstream of the boundary with the OP then the new development is discharging to a private sewer, not a public one. That would mean the neighbour's consent was required, if not the OP's.

It is also the case that some (but relatively few) shared sewers are still not transferred to the relevant sewerage undertaker.

Regardless of all else, the consent of the water company would have been required for the new development to discharge water which ends up entering the public system.

ic

Responsibility for shared sewers transferred to the water companies in 2011. You are only responsible for any pipes that serve only your own property. So if the sewer blocks, whilst it'll be smelly, frustrating and inconvenient, it should be resolved by your local water board.

https://www.thameswater.co.uk/Help-and-Advice/Drains-and-Sewers/Transfer-of-Private-Sewers