Shutting off neighbours water

rtho782

jonnygee2 wrote: »

threatened to call the police and the council if i tried to shut off their water for any length of time at all, which they said is a 'human right!' :mad: . They even knocked on my door again several hours later just to remind me how they would react if their water got shut off and that I would be violating their 'human rights'.

I'm afraid they are right. Even the water company cannot shut off a supply for non-payment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_right_to_water_and_sanitation

If you wanted to shut off my water for "several days" I would also tell you to do one, and would take you to court for damages (the cost of hotels, and all incidental costs such as travel and meals) for the time you had illegally turned my water off.

Edit: somehow I read "few hours" as "few days". I probably would agree a time but it would be at my convenience not yours.

Mojisola

rtho782 wrote: »

I probably would agree a time but it would be at my convenience not yours.

Be realistic - for both the OP and the neighbour, it will be done when a plumber is available whether that's the best time for them or not.

Rosemary7391

I think you were nice in asking when would be convenient, but really I'd just expect notification, especially for hot water only. They're gonna have to get over it!


My neighbours cut off our water just before I was planning to shower and head to work. A little confused I knocked, figured out what was happening, said okay, went back into my flat and grumped about while the kettle was boiling (lucky it was full). End of problem!


rtho782 - I think you're being a bit unrealistic. As long as you know in advance for a few hours you can shower ahead of time etc. A few days would be more annoying, but if that's the only way to do it that's life. OP will also have no water for this time! Better to schedule it now than have it done in the middle of winter (inevitably when these things break...)

usefulmale

rtho782 wrote: »

I'm afraid they are right. Even the water company cannot shut off a supply for non-payment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_right_to_water_and_sanitation

If you wanted to shut off my water for "several days" I would also tell you to do one, and would take you to court for damages (the cost of hotels, and all incidental costs such as travel and meals) for the time you had illegally turned my water off.

Edit: somehow I read "few hours" as "few days". I probably would agree a time but it would be at my convenience not yours.

Nothing in that link refers to UK law.


If you were my neighbour and you had a leak, I would insist on upholding your 'human right' and refuse to 'illegally' turn your supply off.


Fact is, for maintenance work, the OPs neighbour (and you) would be given advance notice of work being carried out and the water would be shut off at that time. If you failed to plan ahead then that would be your problem.


The world does not revolve around you.

davidmcn

rtho782 wrote: »

I'm afraid they are right.

No they're not. Only public authorities can breach human rights.

And there's no human right to have a constant supply of hot water anyway.

Alter_ego

Why not ask the plumber to freeze the pipe to yours and fit the new valve. Job done!

The human right referred to is to water, not hot water. Neighbours cold should no be affected!

ProDave

jonnygee2 wrote: »

Sorry, it's a bit of a complex system, but the tank is in my flat. There's a communal boiler that feeds the flats, but each flat also has a hot water tank inside it fed by the main boiler. The pipework in question comes from the boiler, and on my bottom floor (it's two storeys) it splits out - two pipes run to my neighbours and one runs to my hot water tank.

The valve currently sits just below where the pipes split out.

Ah, it's the heating loop from the boiler to their tank that passes through your flat. Just do it , turn it off. ALL that will mean is while it's off their tank won't heat up, but they will still have hot water in the tank and will almost certainly not even notice.

It is possible the plumber might need access to their flat to bleed the pipes after re connection.

Marvel1

rtho782 wrote: »

I probably would agree a time but it would be at my convenience not yours.

It's not exactly hard to fill up water in saucepans if needed when the plumber gives a time.

jonnygee2

Edit: somehow I read "few hours" as "few days". I probably would agree a time but it would be at my convenience not yours.

If they would agree a time there wouldn't be a problem.

trevormax

Just get your plumber around and do the work. If they notice, or if there is any need for the plumber to access their flat, then tell them that, as feared, the water tank in your flat sprung a leak and the plumber had to attend for an emergency repair.

The police will not attend if they call unless there is a potential for a breach of the peace, and even then, they will have a lot more important calls to go to instead, and it is likely the most you will see is a PCSO walking past the block. If you tell the council before doing it, they will also not bother to attend as this is vital work needed to prevent a water leak which may damage the building if not carried out.

Ultimately, you tried to do it the nice way and the neighbours decided to be awkward. There is nothing they can do (legally) to stop it, so "sucks to be them".