Shared Manhole Problems

Ola_Olaniyi

Dear All,

I am hoping someone can please help me with advice and pointers out of this terrible nightmare.

My neighbour and I share waste pipe out of our houses with the manhole right inside his own house. Once in 2 years, we would experience blockage that will require Thameswater who is our water provider come round to clear the waste pipe through the manhole in the neighbours’ house till my neighbour moved and sold to the new guys. New guys come in and built right over the manhole so that we no longer get access to clear any blocked drain thus waste over flows straight through my ground floor toilet.

I have tried reasoning with the chap but I have had no positive response so far. He doesn’t get flooded because he inserted valves down the waste pipes while he was building his extension.

I have had several exchanges with Thameswater who basically say well, he shouldn’t have built over it without our permission and there is nothing they can do to help me. Asking the council for advice, they came back and said his building application has not yet been approved and he had used an independent building contractor to get the job done thus there is nothing they can do.

Is there truly no hope for me to get my peace back? I would please like advice about;
1. Possibly creating a manhole for my own property and separating any share waste resources
2. Any legal angles to compel this chap for a mutual discussion where I do not have to cough out all the cost
3. Does he have the right to build over a share manhole? Now that the water company has said they can not do anything same as the council, where can I go for a redress?

I imagine option 1 above is the apsolute worst case scenario for me and I dred the cost implications of the project if that is the route I will be taking depending on the advice I get from you guys.

Look forward to reading from you.

Best.

Davesnave

To clarify does this problem only affect your downstairs toilet and is the main bathroom unaffected?

If you have no foul drainage at all, your house would be deemed uninhabitable.

Ola_Olaniyi

Hello Davesnave. Thanks for contributing. Yes, the overflow into the house only affects the downstairs toilet. Its a town house and my understanding is that this will always come in through the lowest point. Bathroom upstairs unaffected as they all go down anyway... so comes out of the ground floor toilet.

anselld

If there is a blockage in a shared drain then it is Thameswater responsibility to clear it. How they achieve that is their problem. They do have enforcement powers to access the manhole if they choose to.

Ola_Olaniyi

Yes Anselld... I have been round that route for months now but at a loss on how to get this enforced! Everyone is saying there is nothing I can do... Thameswater have always cleared it and they have years of history on it. I raised a formal complaint in February, they sent a team out who went round and round just to send me a report saying it is not their responsibility because the shared stacked pipe is right under the house.

unforeseen

Why does it keep blocking?

If it is still doing it with new neighbours with new habits then that points toward your house as the cause of the blockage. What are you putting down the toilets to cause this?

Ola_Olaniyi

Thanks for the question. As I stated in my intro, we would have this blockage once in 2 years and same with others in the neighborhood actually. Since the chap next door took over, I have experienced this once in two months... In the past, they have found fat and things held over the months but more recently, it has been wipes. So if there is any changes, it was when this guys moved in... since the experiences of the past, oil fats etc have always been managed separately... this was well understood amongst us as it is a very unpleasant experience.

moneyistooshorttomention

There must be some regulatory body that all water authorities have to belong to that OP could complain to about Thames Water not doing their job properly. It;s always been my understanding that water boards are entitled to do whatever they have to (yep...including busting their way in if it's been illicitly blocked) to keep things working. I've certainly called in the Water Board (South West Water) back in my last house when a neighbour was causing problems due to their thoughtlessness - and they were darn soon on the case.

Water Boards do vary in my experience - and Welsh Water have proven pretty awful - they do things, but cheapie cheapie repairs that soon break back down again (but they do do them) and they try to get out of paying compensation due to householders for water problems.

So - yeah...Water Boards are very variable - left to themselves. Hence one has to go higher with some of them.

Does anyone know what that body is? How to contact them?

moneyistooshorttomention

I've had a check and found:

https://www.ccwater.org.uk

Looks like they are the people one complains to if a Water Board isnt dealing with its responsibilities properly.

angelin77

Go to the Consumer Council for Water website and fill in the online complaint form. We used them when we found out that a landlord had built new properties on a secluded site and had connected them all to one water pipe. The water company initially took no action until the Consumer Council got involved. They ended up installing SIX water meters to the carious properties and therefore six separate bills. When the council/valuation office found out they applied separate council tax bills and ordered demolition of the properties built without permission.
You just have to be persistent..

anselld

Ola_Olaniyi wrote: »

Thameswater have always cleared it and they have years of history on it.

Always cleared it in the past but not now? Or still managing to clear it without access to the manhole?

If they have managed to clear it that is sufficient, they are not obliged to modify.