Freeholder/Neighbour refusing us access to a shared drain

sylvgjh

We bought a purpose built maisonette 2years ago.
June this year what we thought was just a broken floor board turned out to be a broken shared drain on my neighbour/freeholders property.

Unfortunately our insurance declined our claim to help repair the drain and the damage this drain water had caused to our property, saying that the drain has been broken long before they took on insuring our property.

We asked our neighbour to contact his insurance too as our insurer also said the drain was beyond the boundaries of our property. To date our neighbour refused to contact his insurer.

We have been advised to get a CCTV survey of the drain to see how badly broken it is, our neighbour has refused this. We have to beg and plead with him to give us access to the drain. Majority of the properties on our road have this drain out in the open, my neighbour has it concealed on his porch.

Originally he was saying that the drain is not shared so we poured dye down his bath tub and proved to him that drain serves both our bathrooms. He has still refused this evidence.

Mean while every time we shower water from the broken drain is causing even more damage, the significant mould and rot to the timber and Steele joists that support our property.

He has had a specialist advise him that the problem is with a tank housed in the loft in our property, even though we have showed him video evidence of water coming from both our bathrooms is going down this drain, his specialist is still insisting the water tank is the issue. We have told him if that’s the case, then we are going to stop water flowing from the tank. Are we being unreasonable?

I have 2 very young children and am scared the healthy risks this mould will have on us and them.

What else can we do?

We have solicitor acting on our behalf but so far he has ignored her emails.

anselld

AFAIK all shared drains are the responsibility of the local waste water company. They should repair and they have the ability to enforce access if necessary for that purpose.

Having said that you have not really explained the nature of the problem and how the broken drain causes issues and damage for you but not for your neighbour. How is the water coming back up from the drain and reaching the structural elements of your property?

Are you sure the overflow from the said tank is not leaking from time to time due to a faulty ball valve?

AnotherJoe

sylvgjh wrote: »

He has had a specialist advise him that the problem is with a tank housed in the loft in our property, even though we have showed him video evidence of water coming from both our bathrooms is going down this drain, his specialist is still insisting the water tank is the issue. We have told him if that’s the case, then we are going to stop water flowing from the tank. Are we being unreasonable?
.

Possibly you are being illogical.
Why does the fact theres a damaged drain mean that's causing the problem, especially when a specialist has said it isn't ?
It could well be there is a shared and damaged drain, but the problem with rot and mould coudl still be caused something else, eg by a leak from a tank.
Have you had a plumber look at your shower and the tank to see if that's the issue?
I'm not trying to be argumentative but if, as appears from your post, you are upstairs and neighbour is downstairs, it's not clear to me how problems in the upstairs of a property to do with a water leak are being caused by a damaged drain downstairs ona neighbours porch.
Why do you discount it's a problem with the tank in the loft when that is closer to your property (you say it's your loft) and doesn't require water to travel upstairs to damage your ?bathroom? (You don't say exactly where the damage is) and a specialist has said that's where the issue is ?

I may well be wrong, I'm just going from your description which obviously is all there is to go on so I've assumed you are upstairs, neighbour downstairs broken drain downstairs signs of damage / rot are in bathroom. Is any of that wrong ?

G_M

I too am confused about where the shared drain is, and where the damage is.

But assuming you are right and this shared drain on his property IS the problem, and IS somehow causing damage in you property, then ultimately legal action will be needed given that he is denying responsibility or access.

I'm sure your solicitor can advise better than me, but an action could presumably be based on either

* the terms of the lease (read them?) and his responsibility as freeholder or
* a common law claim for damage or
* enforced access based on the The Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992

hazyjo

Actually hoping the OP can give me some more info re the floorboard issue as I have an ongoing drain prob (discovered a week or so ago) and have noticed a 'clicky' sort of floorboard noise like it's split, and have noticed three other cracks which we didn't notice before.


OP, can you elaborate on what is actually wrong with the floorboard as I'm now worried the prob we have has extended itself to beneath our house.


Thanks!

xylophone

I just can't visualise what is happening here.

Are the maisonettes adjoining rather than one on top of the other?

The OP's bathroom adjoins the neighbour's porch under which lies the broken drain?

Water from the drain is settling under the floorboards of the OP's bathroom which has caused his floorboard to rot?