Before you start winding each other up. Just go and talk to him, tell him you are going to repair the hole and that it was not a suitable solution. If you have the time offer to help him build a soak away to solve the issue and deal with it properly.
Neighbour being a bit unreasonable?
- Thread starter Showboat
- Start date
don't do this,
having reread the thread and realized its a 10cm hole not 10mm I fully suggest going round and punching him in the throat inconsiderate *******
Associate
- Joined
- 6 Aug 2014
- Posts
- 11
Fill a jar with spiders and corkroaches, let them go though the hole, block the hole, profit!
Man of Honour
there are a few sites about it dotted around but the first parragraph here is pretty helpful: http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/article/3656/Land-Drainage
or here: http://www.tandridge.gov.uk/faq/faq.htm?mode=20&pk_faq=191
Might be worth pointing him at the land drainage act: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/59/contents
or here: http://www.tandridge.gov.uk/faq/faq.htm?mode=20&pk_faq=191
Might be worth pointing him at the land drainage act: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/59/contents
Water is allowed to flow freely following the natural lay of the land but you can't modify water flow to direct onto neighboring property. This typically means runoff from your garden is allowed to flow on to your neighbors (you don't have to build a containing wall, rain water an naturally flow through the fence or whatever), but rainwater that collects on your house roof/patio/parking that is collected in drain pipes etc can't be aimed at the neighbors property for discharge.
The wall is a complicating factor here. If there was no wall the water would likely naturally run through to the OP's property and this wold be perfectly legal. The wall is containing this flow preventing the natural course. It may be legal to modify the wall so that the natural curse of the water is maintained (e.g. hypothetically replace wall with fence) IF the neighbor has permission to modify the wall. that permission highly depends on who owns the wall or is it some common property etc.
Likely he had no right to modify the wall, and secondly making a small hole is probably construed as directing water at a neighboring property (funnily enough, if he made a whole sries of holes it is probably considered as letting the water flow naturally).
The neighbour has some series issues with drainage and appears to be trying hard to fix it but the council are being lazy. Unless the water is now causing damage to your house I wouldn't worry in the short term. The council need to get their backside in gear and sort out the road flooding issues. In the meantime the neighbor should build a french drain at the low points of his garden to act as a soak away.
Hopefully once that is sorted then the hole in the wall can be fixed(or left as a future safety measure).
I've dealt with this kid of issue twice now. At my parents place in Scotland they live on a hill and water flows naturally from high to low. They have a wooden fence in their back garden and when it is really wet in winter quite a stream start flowing and collects against the fence. We modified the fence so the water flows through. neighbor got a bit annoyed because it flowed onto their patio. We worked together, made a french drain and made some other slightly changes to the grading so the water now flows on to the neighbours lawn. We have several lawyers in our clique and they all pointed out that water is allowed to flow where it naturally flows. If a neighbour's house is lower then water will naturally flow to their property and there is nothing they can do , just don't channel water purposely onto the neighbour. One lawyer suggested raising the wodden fence by 1inches and putting chicken mesh on the bottom so the water will just flow uninhibited to the neighbour.
The wall is a complicating factor here. If there was no wall the water would likely naturally run through to the OP's property and this wold be perfectly legal. The wall is containing this flow preventing the natural course. It may be legal to modify the wall so that the natural curse of the water is maintained (e.g. hypothetically replace wall with fence) IF the neighbor has permission to modify the wall. that permission highly depends on who owns the wall or is it some common property etc.
Likely he had no right to modify the wall, and secondly making a small hole is probably construed as directing water at a neighboring property (funnily enough, if he made a whole sries of holes it is probably considered as letting the water flow naturally).
The neighbour has some series issues with drainage and appears to be trying hard to fix it but the council are being lazy. Unless the water is now causing damage to your house I wouldn't worry in the short term. The council need to get their backside in gear and sort out the road flooding issues. In the meantime the neighbor should build a french drain at the low points of his garden to act as a soak away.
Hopefully once that is sorted then the hole in the wall can be fixed(or left as a future safety measure).
I've dealt with this kid of issue twice now. At my parents place in Scotland they live on a hill and water flows naturally from high to low. They have a wooden fence in their back garden and when it is really wet in winter quite a stream start flowing and collects against the fence. We modified the fence so the water flows through. neighbor got a bit annoyed because it flowed onto their patio. We worked together, made a french drain and made some other slightly changes to the grading so the water now flows on to the neighbours lawn. We have several lawyers in our clique and they all pointed out that water is allowed to flow where it naturally flows. If a neighbour's house is lower then water will naturally flow to their property and there is nothing they can do , just don't channel water purposely onto the neighbour. One lawyer suggested raising the wodden fence by 1inches and putting chicken mesh on the bottom so the water will just flow uninhibited to the neighbour.
Soldato
Whilst I agree with the posts condemning the neighbour as a cheeky ****, in the interest of maintaining a civil relationship with him for the sake of selling your house, it's probably best to try and sort something out =/
Soldato
Presumably, the wall is what's causing the water to fail to drain naturally (?)
I don't know if that's relevant in a legal sense, but it seems to me, sensibly speaking, that removing the obstruction is the correct course of action.
I'd be annoyed if I was OP, but I would want rid of the wall if I was the neighbour.
I don't know if that's relevant in a legal sense, but it seems to me, sensibly speaking, that removing the obstruction is the correct course of action.
I'd be annoyed if I was OP, but I would want rid of the wall if I was the neighbour.
Associate
So now it goes into his garage, would it be sensible to remove that as an obstruction too? where do you stop? there are loads of ways to sort his problem without affecting his neighbours.
Soldato
I suppose my point was this;
The wall was artificially preventing drainage from the neighbour's land. Equally, it was artificially preventing flooding on OP's land.
Once the wall is removed, the water is now draining naturally, without obstacle and without encouragement, onto OP's land. It's now OP's issue to sort appropriate drainage from his property.
I'm not clued up on the legal issues. Those are just my thoughts on the moral state of affairs.
(I'd still be ****ed off if I was OP, though)
Associate
my thinking is the neighbour is having all these problems because his land has been waterproofed and should have had a soak away incorporated not a soak away hole in the wall 
Caporegime
Soldato
If the wall was built as part of the estate then the problem lies solely with the neighbour. If the wall was built afterwards i.e. one of the homeowners put a wall up then this might be diff.
Either way, I would not be happy to having my garage getting wet due to a neighbour reaching the end of his temper with someone else i.e. the council.... its nothing to do with the OP that the neighbour is having issues.
If it was me, I would just block the hole up and be done with it without saying anything.
Soldato
has anybody suggested pooing in his letterbox yet?
Soldato
So what if it was the OP's house that was "artificially preventing drainage from the neighbour's land" do you feel he would be entitled to drill a hole into the OP's living room and leave the OP to sort appropriate drainage?
Soldato
That's not a very sensible question
Soldato
Neighbour should install a soakaway or a drain in corner of his garden to drain water into sewer. Drilling hole into OPs wall is just absurd. He is probably one of those people whose house is full of dodgy bodged DIY.
Who said it is the OP's wall?
And it is no absurd. Normally when you build a wall you have to take care of the water flow which may mean adding draining holes to the bottom.