Shared gutter problems

carrieanna001

We moved in 4 years ago. The gutter is located in our lean-to which we believed was for our property. But it breaches our property and is attached to our neighbours lean-to, but the run off water empties into this shared gutter.

There is no access to clear gutter as both roofs overlap. There is a constant leaking in our lean-to and flooding with a heavy downpour. At one end we can partially clear any sludge.

Clearly something has to change but our neighbour refuses to accept any responsibility as they consider it our problem as it’s on our property, despite it being attached to theirs.

we need to change our roofing which is a good time to try to sort this problem. We would prefer our own guttering but this looks impossible to achieve. Altho the gutter is our side the Dow pipes are next doors.

Any advice welcomed.

thank you

ThisIsWeird

Hi Carrie.
First, we need a proper description of what the setup is. Ideally pictures. Possibly also sketches. Please do this comprehensively, so we are not having to guess about any detail.
You moved in 4 years ago? How old are the houses? Are they semis or terraced? When were the lean-tos added? 
We need all this info before folk can properly advise.

Do you have Legal Protection on your house insurance?

carrieanna001

Hi,
I will take pictures and ask hubby to sketch.  Here is additional information tho.

Semi-detached Bungalows 1930’s
We are not attached to the neighbour in question. 

What we believe has happened: the neighbour built a lean-to but guttering breached our property. Previous owner of our property built a lean-to, that completely boxed in the guttering. But the run-off from this property now shared the neighbours guttering. Further guttering fitted below the original was added we guess to catch the overflow as apart from one end of approx 25-30ft run where you can clear a small amount of sludge. 

I have taken photos but don’t know how to upload! 

carrieanna001

Update: the only way to access the guttering is by removing our lean-to roof! 

Does anyone know how I can upload photo’s please? 

ThisIsWeird

Thanks for the additional info - quite a different scenario than expected!
Can you see a series of icons at the top of your 'leave a comment' box?  They should include a picture one - a rectangle with 'mountains' in it. Click on there and select from your album. Not sure what the max pic size is, but worth in any case reducing them to 1mp or so as it'll also be faster to upload. 
An easy way to reduce MP size is to crop them. 

carrieanna001

Did photos upload?

Did message that removal of our lean-to roof is the only way to access guttering?

Jonboy_1984

What happens with the gutters on the far side of the property(if any)?

It is very common for attached/terraced housing to share down pipes with the opposing sides alternating properties(e.g, on our terraced block we have a downpipe in the back garden, both neighbours have one on the front). Each neighbour then maintains the downpipe on their property**, which likely feeds into a soak away or drain somewhere on your land.

Did you have a survey before you bought and did the surveyor make any comment on this arrangement?

**your deeds may specify that the cost of maintenance to shared pipes and services is to be split amongst the properties it serves, but the cost of forcing payment will likely Match the cost of the works


It might be worth calling a drain company and asking if they can carry out a CCTV survey from the roof down the downpipe. The move advanced cameras track their movement and would show where the pipe goes, as well clear any light blockages/reveal any damage.

ThisIsWeird

carrieanna001 said:

Did photos upload?

Did message that removal of our lean-to roof is the only way to access guttering?

No photos yet.

Do you have that 'Attach image' icon (yellow arrow) available to you? What size are your photos in MP?

ThisIsWeird

Yes, you mentioned that the roof is the only way to access the guttering, but that would imply that the guttering was installed before the roof, which seems unlikely. Anyhoo, pointless trying to second-guess what's going on here

You moved in 4 years ago? Your current neighbours - how long have they been there, and are they the ones responsible for their lean-to?