Is this a communal repair?

akira181

I stay in an old 3.5 storey building that used to be one property but was converted into 3 flats a long time ago (way before I bought the place). I own the Ground Floor flat, which includes the lower ground floor, and the 2nd and 3rd floors are two seperate flats.

The mains water enters in my flat at the front of the building, runs to the back, and rises to above to serve the 2nd and 3rd floor flats. Once it rises to above, I take no further supplies off this mains.

This branch rising above sprung a leak in December, which I paid to get repaired, and now it needs changed as it's still made of lead and likely to be corroded inside.

As this pipe does not serve anything in my flat, is it still considered a communal repair for the 3 of us?

The water damage from the leak has already left me out of pocket, now do I have to pay more to fix a pipe that I don't even want in my flat?

southcoastrgi

Responsiblity becomes the householders when it crosses the boundary outside therefore both the repair & replacement should be split between the 3 flats, lead is not going to be corroded because lead doesn’t corrode hence why it’s still used for roof flashing, the supply really should have been split when the flats were converted because if you haven’t already then sooner or later a meter will be fitted outside & then you could be arguing who is using more water

stator

It depends what it says in your Lease. Building repairs may be the responsibility of the freeholders, which are probably the owners of the three flats. But you need to read the lease to find out for certain.

Jenniefour

It's a communal repair - the water serves all flats. Yes, poor set up when flats were converted but that doesn't change the fact that it is the mains supply to all the flats. Normal now to get rid of lead water pipes and get them replaced.

Was the need for repair caused by something you did? If not that should have been paid for out of communal funds as well.

akira181

The plumber told me that the leak was due to the age of the lead pipe and more pinhole leaks will probably happen in the future as internally the pipe will be worn away / corroded.

My understanding of the supply mains was that once the pipe enters private property, then it becomes the responsibility of whomever is taking a supply off it. For example, if your mains water feed runs through your neighbours land to get to your house but your neighbour doesn't take a supply from it, your responsibility begins from where the pipe enters your neighbours land and has nothing to do with said neighbour as he doesn't use it.

With that logic, flats 2 and 3 are taking a supply of my feed but I don't take any supply off the part that leaked, just flats 2 and 3. So I was wondering if I was free from responsibility.

I know it's most likely to be communal and even if it wasn't, it's a hard one to argue with the neighbours. It's just annoying that I have to spend a lot of money after Christmas to repair water damage and a pipe that I don't even use or want in my house.

Not sure if I should also get the supplies properly split though. Water meters are not mandatory in Scotland and my fees are bundled into the council tax. Would there be any benefit to taking the time to split the supplies now that half my floorboards are up?

missile

Lead is valuable and perhaps this plumber has suggested extra work which may not be necessary so he can pocket the scrap value.

In any event, I would not have thought it would be expensive to replace the section of water pipe in your flat. Did you ask for an estimate and is the cost worth arguing with your neighbours over?

PS: If you live in Scotland, why do you have that avatar?

akira181

I think that avatar was just a forum default. I never got round to changing it.

I think I was quoted £750 to replace the lead with PVC, which is part of the reason why I'm querying if it's communal or not. The water damage my home suffered isn't going to be communal so I'm already out of pocket and now I need to pay to replace a pipe who's sole purpose is to supply the neighbours with water. It doesn't serve a single outlet in my home, just feels like I'm getting the short end of the stick here.

missile

£750 seems an extortionate amount to pay to replace say 5 metres(?) of water pipe. I would guess it would be not more than 4 hours work + £10 worth of materials, minus the current scrap value for lead is £1.40/Kg
Do you really think it needs to be replaced? I would suggest you ask for a quote from a.n.other plumber.
Repairs are not, but consequential damage will be covered by your insurance policy.

akira181

currently drafting a letter to the neighbors to get the communal repairs and bills sorted. Got a gutter and blocked downpipe cleared before finding the actual source of the leak as well.

Actual quote was £720 to replace the lead pipe from my ground floor property to the 3rd floor including stopcocks on each floor. So 10m to 15m of pipe but still pretty expensive considering. I figure that if the pipe is old enough to get one pinhole leak out of the blue, then more will be on the way. I'll state in the letter it may be worth getting a few more quotes.

Also, while the gutter was being cleared, he showed me pictures of the shared chimney stack between my building and next doors and there's shrubs and a tree growing out it. So that'll need done at some point. No point arguing over the minor details when there's more communal work to be done I guess.

Marktheshark

Who owns the freehold ?
And is there a service charge.
Services which are shred should be covered under the service charge.

akira181

The three flats (mine included) are owned outright by the people living in them, so I guess the 3 of us are the freeholders?