Neighbour Bathroom Shower Pipe Leak

tony6547

Hi,

I've recently purchased an old property with an offshot rear extension. During the purchase some cracking was noted in the join between the house and the offshot, which was investigated by a surveyor who said it was likely to be historic settlement and not any ongoing subsidence etc. They did state that drainage was in good condition but should be checked to ensure there is no leaking that could be weakening the foundations.

Since moving in, we've noticed that the neighbour's waste pipe from their (assumed) shower is disconnected halfway up their house, causing the entire contents to spill onto their garden paving whenever they shower. Is there any risk that this is a potential cause of the movement the surveys noted or potentially worsening the problem? If so, what would our best course of action be, as it's a multi-occupancy rental. We're slightly worried that if this is the actual cause of any cracking, we'll struggle to claim on insurance due to being aware of the cracking before taking out the policy.

Cheers,
Tony

ThisIsWeird

Your extension founds might be undermined by the neighb's leaky shower? Not likely.

But is it causing any other issues to you? Does it run on to your land? This is 'grey' water, so - whilst not sewage - still isn't nice.

It just ain't good that they allow this to continue.

Are the neighbs aware of it? 

If it isn't causing any actual nuisance or damage to you, then there's little you can do. If it's annoying, then perhaps a quiet word from the angle that you are concerned about their house, and the potential damage from penetrating damp it could cause to them, might prompt them to act. 

Your surveyor's reference to drains is almost certainly about the 4" underground pipe, which ultimately carries all your waste away, and often also rainwater. That's a far greater amount of liquid, and - being underground - can possibly wash away soil. Even then....