Responsibility for shared water pipes repairs?

RG_Toad

Hi all,
Our Victorian semi-detached has a shared water supply with our neighbour's house. The water supply for both houses comes from the road up the side of our house to the main stop !!!!!! in our kitchen, then another pipe tee's off from there, goes under our kitchen floor, up the party wall, then elbows straight through the wall and into next door's kitchen.
I had the kick boards in our kitchen off for the first time in a while today and saw that a section of copper pipe coming out of our floor and heading up the wall to next door is seriously badly corroded and needs to be replaced before it leaks.

Unfortunately replacing it, or even accessing it to just replace that section, probably means ripping out big parts our fitted kitchen, removing the plaster from the wall to expose the pipe (which is half buried in the wall) and maybe even digging up our kitchen floor to access the whole length of pipe.

Obviously the best option for us to avoid a future leak would be to simply disconnect and cap off that pipe near the stop !!!!!! but we cant just cut off our neighbour's water supply. On the other hand, it seems a bit unfair for us to have to bear the expense and hassle of ripping out our fitted kitchen and digging up our floor to repair a pipe that supplies someone else's house. 

Does anyone know the rules around shared water supplies in an instance like this? Can we ask the neighbours to get their own mains water supply fitted so we can cap this pipe off permanently at minimum cost to ourselves?

If they won't/can't, who is legally liable for the cost of repairs to their supply pipe even though it's technically (by the width of a brick or two) on our property? And does that liability extend to both the pipe and the cost of putting our kitchen back together after getting the work done?
And finally, does the fact that it's not actually leaking - yet - change anything?

Am hoping the neighbours landlord will be amenable to paying some or all of the cost, but it'd be helpful to know the legal position before having that conversation.

Thanks.

tacpot12

The Water company's responsibility ends at your property boundary, so you and your neighbour would normally be jointly responsible for the pipes that are on your property up to the point where they branch off to supply just the neighbour's property. After this branching point, they are your neighbour's responsibility. I would check your deeds though in case they say anything else. (You can get a copy from the Land Registry for £3 if your property is registered). 
This diagram may help: https://www.south-staffs-water.co.uk/household/my-water-supply/water-supply-pipes/shared-water-supply-pipes

You can't just cut them off, but if the pipe is a shared pipe you can make them pay half the reasonable costs to undertake essential work. This would include reinstating your kitchen (and wall) if anything has to be removed to gain access to a shared pipe, or all the costs to gain access to "their" pipe. if it is a shared pipe, I would get a expert opinion on whether the pipe is so corroded that it needs replacing. Sometimes copper can look very corroded, but this can just be on the surface. It would be worth engaging them immediately and if it is their pipe that needs replacing, they are to ones who need to decide if they want to work doing now, or when the bill is much larger as it has ruined your kitchen!  You should tell them that you will let their insurance company know that they decided NOT to have it repaired before the disaster, and this might well leave them uninsured. Hopefully, this will worry them enough to pay to have the work done now, if their expert says it is necessary. (They should engage the expert if the corrosion in in a pipe that only supplies their property).  

I think it would be reasonable to ask them to contribute to any work to re-route their water supply pipe so that access is much easier in future, but if they won't do this, I would just all the cost myself. 

If you are concerned that the pipe may fail at any moment, get hold of one of these asap: https://www.wickes.co.uk/Rothenberger-Kibosh-Pipe-Repair---15mm/p/118712  (They also come in 22mm size if required). 

You can't force the neighbours to have their own supply fitted, but they can ask the water company to provide a metered supply to them, and then pay a plumber to install the pipe into their house, but I doubt they will want to go to the expense of this.

Finally, don't forget that this will be coming as a bit of shock to the landlord. You need to lead them through your discover slowly, and explain the legal situation as you understand it. Commit to providing safe access to your home to allow repairs. I would probably hold off suggesting that they take their own legal advice, in case they are happy with your explanation of the legal situation.    

RG_Toad

Thanks very much for the excellent advice. The pipe in question is definitely the supply to their house only so I'll go check the deeds first to see if there's any mention of the shared service then break the news to the neighbours and see if they are willing to help. 
Thanks again. 

greyteam1959

A step back.
Copper pipes don't tend to corrode.
What makes you think it is ??
Post a picture.

Belenus

greyteam1959 said:

A step back.
Copper pipes don't tend to corrode.
What makes you think it is ??
Post a picture.

Copper pipes can corrode if buried unprotected in concrete as the high alkinility attacks the copper.

Over the years I have had two burst pipes due to that.

OP, can a new supply be easily run to your neighbours bypassing your house? Perhaps in a trench around your walls.

You could then cap the internal supply.

greyteam1959

The OP said the pipes were visible not buried in concrete ??

FreeBear

Belenus said: Copper pipes can corrode if buried unprotected in concrete as the high alkinility attacks the copper.

Plaster will also attack copper over time. Another source of corrosion is the acid flux used by plumbers. If it is not cleaned off and nuetralised, it can cause small holes to appear.

If possible, I'd recommend using plastic pipe (the heavy duty blue stuff) - It is then obvious to all that it is a drinking water pipe.

tacpot12

FreeBear said:

... If possible, I'd recommend using plastic pipe (the heavy duty blue stuff) - It is then obvious to all that it is a drinking water pipe.

The heavy duty blue plastic pipe is made of MDPE and is designed for drinking water. If the landlord wants to get his own supply, it will come into the property in MDPE.