Neighour's extension on my land

guppy

VictorMeldew wrote: »

Could anyone please give me some advice on this latest update. I have refused my neighbour access to my land so that he can join his soil pipe from his new bathroom to my drain. He is now saying that there is an old pipe from my drain that goes onto his land, and he wants to connect his soil pipe to this on his land. He wants to pour water down my end of the pipe to check that this pipe is still open.

I am not happy about this, because on top of everything else it will mean that we will then have a shared drain, and will have joint responsibility for any blockages etc.

Can I legally stop him from connecting his soil pipe to this pipe (and therefore my drain), and how would I do this? All the work would be carried out on his land. There was no mention of where the drains are meant to go on his planning application.

I have phoned the council again for their advice on this but as usual they were no help.

Thanks again in advance for any help.

ps - I have no legal cover on my home insurance Hethmar. For some reason, for the first time ever, I must have declined the home legal protection bit - great!!

Hello,

This bit sounds like another legal issue.

In sorting it out, the first thing to find out is whether he is even telling the truth about the drainage arrangements in the first place. How does he know about this old drain anyway?

Have you checked your deeds for any information about drainage rights that his property enjoys over yours?

I'm no drainage expert, but if this old pipe goes in to your drain from his land, then surely any water you pour in your end would drain away and not end up on his land? Does he mean he wants to pour water in his side and see if it ends up on your side?

I would ask the surveyor for advice on this, if you can afford to, You might be able to get some free advice from building control at the local council however. Don't go in to details, they won't want to get involved in a land dispute, but they might be well familiar with the arrangements for houses such as yours, in your area.

Good luck.

P.S. I generally disagree with rugged about letting it go, I do tend to treat these things as a matter of principle, but on the other hand, he or she is talking some sense. Do what you can to stop this guy taking the p*ss but don't let it get take over your life, either financially or emotionally. It may not be worth it.

VictorMeldew

Nice one guppy. I'd already thought of the way that the water would drain - what he's said seems strange doesn't it? I'm sure that when my neighbour first asked me about using my drain, he said that there was an old drain connected to mine on his land but it was blocked up. I think they might now be trying to unblock it.

I tried to get to talk to building control yesterday, but all the chap I spoke to would do was to arrange a call back from the planning officer in charge of the case, the same bloke who I'm complaining about! I'm supposed to get a call within 24 hours, I'm not holding my breath though. I will try phoning citizens adviec today as well.

Out of interest, I asked the chap at the council yesterday how normal it was for there to be a planning application without a site plan, and he said it was unheard of! I then told him that this application has no site plan and he started back-tracking big time! He suggested writing to my MP about the situation though which I think I will.

clutton_2

ask your local water/sewage company about drains and shared access etc - your neighbour will need their permission to add to the sewage system, i think ....

hethmar

Im not a builder - but why cant he join his new drains into his own drainage system?

Vic, cover definitely not on your house contents insurance? Credit card got it?

Like mentioned, these things do end up taking over your life Im afraid - weve had the NFH for over 3 years now - BUT whilst I can understand the" let it go theory", people may not themselves have been in the same situation. To let the NFH get away with it leads to him thinking you can be walked over and I cant see how we could live with ourselves letting him treat us like that.(Ours actually told us right at the beginning "I always win")

I hope you can sort your situation amicably Vic.

VictorMeldew

Thanks for the advice again hethmar and clutton. I had a look through the deeds to my house last night and it says in there that I can't let any new drains enter the property.

So today I phoned the council and was put through to someone in
the ?estate department and he said that my neighbour would have to obtain permission from the council to build the drain. He was also very interested that the extension was on what is technically the council's land and said that if it is, then the council would either charge him for building on their land or make him take it off.

This all sounds too good to be true to me. I asked someone at the council in the past about the possiblity of the council defending what is technically their land and they said that they it isn't their problem.

So I now have to write to this council department explaining about the drains and also the boundary trespass and go from there.

I went round to my neighbour's and explained this to him (only the bit about the drains) and he said he will delay doing the drains until this is sorted. He said that if the council don't grant permission, then the drain would have to go round the outside of the back of his house and would look unsightly. My heart bleeds!

I will also phone United Utilities tomorrow and see what they say. The more people involved the better!!

planning_officer

VictorMeldew wrote: »

Out of interest, I asked the chap at the council yesterday how normal it was for there to be a planning application without a site plan, and he said it was unheard of! I then told him that this application has no site plan and he started back-tracking big time!

Hi Victor - that says it all! Still can't believe the application was even validated without a site plan!

Anyway, planning has nothing to do with drains, so it's not worth hassling them about it as you won't get anywhere. It's more of a building control issue.

hethmar

The best of luck Vict, Lets hope you may get somewhere with this new person you have spoken to.

VictorMeldew

It took an escalated call back and two days for the council to tell me that this is a building control issue not a planning one! I should have asked on here first! I'm now waiting for the building control officer to phone me back on Monday.

I spoke to the water company today. They said that it would actually be to my benefit if the drain became shared. Apparently houses with shared drains built before Oct 1937 are their responsibilty ( ie to clear blockages etc). As it is at the moment, the responsibilty would be mine.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up about the bloke from the estate department saying that the council would defend their land in the event of a trespass. I can't see how an expensive court case for what is to their eyes only a small piece of land would be to their benefit. On the other hand I've ended up with a house 90cm away from mine, so it means a bit more to me!

guppy

VictorMeldew wrote: »

I'm trying not to get my hopes up about the bloke from the estate department saying that the council would defend their land in the event of a trespass. I can't see how an expensive court case for what is to their eyes only a small piece of land would be to their benefit. On the other hand I've ended up with a house 90cm away from mine, so it means a bit more to me!

I fear you're right to be cynical. Its one thing for (a possibly junior) guy to make a chance remark about the legalities of it, but another for that to actually turn in to any action, especially since its going to involve time and money for the council.

Have you written to your MP or Councillor yet? They can't get involved in the boundary dispute so play that down, but the absence of the site plan suggests incompetence or maladministration. Sadly the council may treat you differently once they know that the politicians are watching.

hethmar

Id also treble check on what they said about the drains. May be if the drain was originally shared I could understand that but to add one on now? But if it is so at least you will have that card up your sleeve if you wish to use it.