Q2A

Got an enquiry ........

hi, wonder if you can help - the house i live in was split into 2 and the drainage/sewerage
system is shared between 3 houses, mine, the other half and a third house. There is a
known problem with the drains whereby raw sewage comes up in my garden. I am
prepared to pay for the repair, my third neighbour is too, but the person who owns the
other half of my house refuses even though the problem may be caused in his section of
the drains and the problem really affects all three of us.

Can you tell me please if there is anyway of forcing this person to contribute to the costs
of investigation and repair? I am not able to fund more than my fair share and I and my
other neighbour do not see why we should have to pay the sharefor the our tight fisted
neighbour. As you can maybe guess we are not on good terms but I do not have the
money to go to the expense of solicitors especially when my neighbour would probably
ignore this.

This is our reply.......

Hi and thank you for your enquiry to q2a.

We understand you are having problems with a neighbour over carrying out repairs to the
shared drainage/ sewage system. We understand you are able to only fund your share of
costs but are having difficulty getting your neighbour to contribute their share.

Every property has underground pipes called drains which take sewage or rainwater from
one property only, they are the responsibility of the owner or occupier of the building or
land that has exclusive use of it. A pipe that drains more than one premises is called a
sewer.

If your property was built in 1937 or later the drain is your property and responsibility.
Sections of drain serving more than one property are in shared ownership of those
properties. If your property was built before 1937 drains serving only your property are also
your property and responsibility, but sections serving more than one property are owned
and maintained by United Utilities.

The owner or occupier is responsible for maintaining or unblocking the pipes when there
are problems, because legally they belong to the owner.

All the people whose properties are connected to it jointly own it. The legal responsibility
for the maintenance of a private sewer rests with those people who use it, that is to say if
it is blocked or broken it is only the people whose property drains into it before the defect
who are responsible for solving the problem.

As you live in the Blackburn area to resolve disputes you can contact Blackburn with
Darwen Council's neighbourhood health team who will always send an officer to give advice
on any problems and what actions need to be taken to resolve the problem. The officer will
be able to speak with your neighbour about resolving this issue.

Minor blockages or damage may or may not be covered by your insurance policy. It is
therefore very important that you contact your insurance company or check your policy
before committing yourself to any expense as policies do vary in what they cover.

The Council's neighbourhood health team will do a thorough investigation to the cause of
any drainage/sewer problems. They will also be able to advise on what action to take to
solve the problem and the most suitable type of contractor to engage e.g. specialist
drainage contractors.

They will also help to ascertain who is responsible for any repairs. So before you commit
yourself financially or worsen your relationship with your neighbour speak with your
neighbourhood health team who can be contacted at:

Neighbourhood Health Team
Environment Department,
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Davyfield Road
Blackburn
BB1 2LX
tel: (01254) 588888
fax: (01254) 585865
e-mail: neighbourhood.health@blackburn.gov.uk

United Utilities Tel: 0845 746 2200

We hope this information has been useful.

Best Wishes

Q2A

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