Neighbours soil pipe connecting to mine

cessna

We bought our house from the same guy that owns next door. That house was rented but now he!!!8217;s doing it up to sell. It originally had a soil pipe from an upstairs loo connecting to the down pipe from our loo. He then decided to take the loo out and he said we!!!8217;d be glad as he knew we were never really happy. Today I have come home and he has reinstalled the bathroom and connected his soil pipe to my downpipe. My issue is that if people living next door block the loo then it will potentially affect us. I feel a bit weird having their waste going to our man hole in the garden. It!!!8217;s unfortunate as he has allowed us to run a cat containment wire on top of his roof and he might start a tit for tat. Any ideas?

Norman_Castle

I don't understand the question.

cessna

Good point. I!!!8217;ve come home and he reinstalled the bathroom and connected his waste to our downpipe again.

martinthebandit

What's the difference (practically) between the arrangement you describe (if I understand it correctly) and waste pipes connecting underground, as they all do unless you have your own septic tank?

Norman_Castle

My issue is that if people living next door block the loo then it will potentially affect us.

If you block it it will affect them. Isn't the question, who is responsible if the pipe gets blocked?

cessna

I suppose it!!!8217;s the fact that the soil pipe comes out of the back of his house over his extension and then cuts across to my property to join my soil pipe (on the second floor). My soil pipe then continues down the back of my house and runs to the man hole in my garden. Rather than (somehow) exiting his house and running to his man hole. Perhaps I should post a picture.

stator

How long was it disconnected from your pipe?

Davesnave

You bought the house while this arrangement was in place. From a legal perspective, if it has been that way for 20 years, it's likely that a prescriptive easement for the neighbour now exists.

Your difficulty could be proving that the pipes have not been joined that way for 20 years.


It sounds ugly, but apart from that, there isn't necessarily a problem. I suspect he people who buy next door won't want to have their loo blocked any more than you will and, who knows, maybe they'll want to end the arrangement too.

cessna

stator wrote: »

How long was it disconnected from your pipe?

About 6 months.

cessna

Davesnave wrote: »

You bought the house while this arrangement was in place. From a legal perspective, if it has been that way for 20 years, it's likely that a prescriptive easement for the neighbour now exists.

Your difficulty could be proving that the pipes have not been joined that way for 20 years.


It sounds ugly, but apart from that, there isn't necessarily a problem. I suspect he people who buy next door won't want to have their loo blocked any more than you will and, who knows, maybe they'll want to end the arrangement too.

Do you think the planning department would have a thought in this? The thing is with a little more effort he could direct the pipe to his manhole in his garden.

molerat

cessna wrote: »

Do you think the planning department would have a thought in this?

Nope. And as long as it conforms with building regs that dept won't be interested either. Loads of houses will have a shared downpipe, what if you were to live in a flat.