# Guttering



## Rozza1980 (7 Nov 2019)

Good evening. I wanted to see what people’s thoughts are regarding downpipe responsibilities.
I have today received a letter from my (extremely unfriendly) neighbour stating that they have had an issue with overflowing gutters since March. They are constantly sending us letters telling us to clear our gutters, despite us having this done each autumn. 
They are now asking us to pay £80 as they have discovered their issue is related to the downpipe being blocked. They have never approached us with regards to this issue. It’s not something we’d know there is an issue with, as the Osaka way is on their land and we’ve never had an issue ourselves. They’ve decided to have the works carried out whilst we were away as obviously it couldn’t wait another week, having already been a problem for 8 months!! They’re now stating that we are fully responsible for the downpipe - even though it is the only downpipe serving both properties - and that we are fully responsible for the £80 cost. 
their conclusion seems to be that we are responsive as the downpipe is on our property (it isn’t!). I’ve attached a photo showing the properties (ours is the left in the picture) and so the downpipe is clearly on their property! 
I want to know if legally there’s anything they can do, as if anything, we should only be liable for half the cost


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## Slick (7 Nov 2019)

Is that plastic running into cast?


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## Slick (7 Nov 2019)

Looking at it again it's all plastic which should mean joint responsibility.


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## Drago (7 Nov 2019)

It looks to me like its attached to their house, not yours. I'd give them the ritual Japanese response of sodu offu. Had they asked nicely I would have gone halves seeing as your rainwater goes down it too, but your not responsible for maintenance of any part of their property...unless there is some legal covenant stating otherwise.

BtW, who charges 80 quid to unbung a drainpipe? Even Jeremy Vine doesn't charge that for less than a minutes work.


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## Phaeton (7 Nov 2019)

Consult your deeds, either way even if you are 50% responsible it was their decision to go ahead without asking you. If you want the proper answer try https://legalbeagles.info/forums/


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## tom73 (7 Nov 2019)

I say check deeds too we have one joint one and one that next doors problem.


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## raleighnut (7 Nov 2019)

I'd say it is bolted to their house therefore their responsibility, I do note they were too tight to have it done in black when they had the gutters done though.


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## midlife (7 Nov 2019)

Yup, it's a deeds thing, you should have a reduction in your water charges as the waste goes into a soakaway. Check with the water people. They are responsible for the downpipe as its on their property and the deeds will reflect this.


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## Levo-Lon (8 Nov 2019)

It looks like the pipe is on their property going by the air bricks.
Does the downpipe feed into their side of the fence, boundary? So the pipe in the ground is on their land?

Same set up at my house with me having the drains and pipes.
I clean them out.

Tell him to crack on.

To solve the problem get some gutter guards fitted to your side then he cant blame you for leaf and moss blockage.
The headghog type is what id use.. If i was to fit them.


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## I like Skol (8 Nov 2019)

I would ask to see the receipt for the £80 expense, and then laugh at him and say he has been ripped off!


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## Cycleops (8 Nov 2019)

If the downpipe goes into a soakaway it could be it is not working properly and backing up, in which case no amount of cleaning will help. Are you having any problems or is it just him? 
You could try offering him forty quid to settle it stating while you accept no responsibility etc. The trouble with these sort of people they will always insist they are right no matter how wrong they are.
By the way welcome to the forum.


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## Drago (8 Nov 2019)

Reroute thr drainpipe through his letterbox. When he complains about the wet carpet you can advise him that the drainpipe clearly isn't blocked then.


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## sheddy (8 Nov 2019)

On the other hand is the wall stained in the photo ? Is it recent ?


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## sleuthey (8 Nov 2019)

The approach I would take is whilst the pipe may be on Thier side it is serving both houses so from a moral point of view the maintenance burden should be shared. 

However they had no right to self authorise the £80 worth of work if they expect you to contribute.

I would just just be extra smiley and say face to face "I'll do it next time in return , as you didn't ask upfront this time round I won't be contributing".


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## Phaeton (8 Nov 2019)

I like Skol said:


> I would ask to see the receipt for the £80 expense, and then laugh at him and say he has been ripped off!


I actually don't think that's a bad price, it would not have come with any guarantee & was a cash in hand price.


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## snorri (8 Nov 2019)

I'm just trying to work out why a thread titled 'Cyclists belong in the gutter' should be listed at bottom of the page as a Similar thread.


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## Spiderweb (8 Nov 2019)

Your neighbours may be fully aware that the down pipe is on their property and belongs to them, the issue sounds like they are blaming you for the blockage in their pipe due to lack of cleaning in your section of gutter?
Having said that they can’t hit you with an £80 bill without discussing it with you before commencement of work, you haven’t agreed anything, there is no verbal contract.


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## Levo-Lon (8 Nov 2019)

Phaeton said:


> I actually don't think that's a bad price, it would not have come with any guarantee & was a cash in hand price.



A window cleaner usually offer the service. 
So in that respect its rather a lot to remove some leaves from the elbow. 

But if it was a maintenance firm them there ya go...


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## Phaeton (8 Nov 2019)

meta lon said:


> A window cleaner usually offer the service.
> So in that respect its rather a lot to remove some leaves from the elbow.
> But if it was a maintenance firm them there ya go...


Oops I read it as they had had the down pipe replaced, not just cleaned out, in which case they were bent over the table with no Vaseline.


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## OldShep (8 Nov 2019)

looks like a cowboy job there’s got to be more than a metre between those two support brackets?


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## Drago (8 Nov 2019)

snorri said:


> I'm just trying to work out why a thread titled 'Cyclists belong in the gutter' should be listed at bottom of the page as a Similar thread.


Perhaps there's a dead cyclist wedged in the drainpipe?


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## gbb (8 Nov 2019)

I'm a tad confused. Rozzas house is on the left, with white guttering. The white downpipe is seemingly on the neighbours wall.
I assume Rozza or a previous house owner paid for the guttering ....and downpipe even though its mounted on the neighbours house. Does that change anything ?, did the neighbour agree to have the downpipe replaced on his property...why didnt the contractors just put up guttering UP TO the property boundary and not bother with the downpipe.
It seems a problem's been created by going beyond the property's boundary.


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## Rozza1980 (9 Nov 2019)

Hi everyone. Thank you for your responses, and warm welcomes. The neighbour had their guttering replaced a couple of years ago from the white we have to the black they now have. I’m debating sending them a letter, as I really can’t fathom how they can possibly think it’s on my property and my responsibility!! As legally there’s nothing they can do to force me to pay, maybe I’ll just ignore it!
We haven’t had any issues with our gutters, so can only assume the problem is with theirs


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## PaulSB (9 Nov 2019)

The question of whose down pipe and therefore responsibility looks pretty marginal to me. The distance between the two windows is five brick widths. The down pipe is just covering the right hand end of the middle brick. This can only be inches from the centre point. The staining on the wall suggests a problem with wetting which could effect both properties.

For the sake of trying to keep neighbourly relations as good as possible I'd pay half. I do agree there should have been a prior conversation.

I'd then get a ladder, make sure my gutter is clear and fit a guard to prevent leaves entering the down pipe.

We had a similar problem with our neighbour. Both his gutters and down pipe overflowed on to our porch roof and in very heavy rain would come through the roof - I've replaced the porch, it was in a very poor state, my fault. Regarding the gutters I'd reached the point of ranting every time this happened about getting the job done and presenting the neighbour with the bill. My wife stopped me, she was right.


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## Beebo (9 Nov 2019)

The down pipe is removing water from both roofs. It’s a shared down pipe, so a shared responsibility. 
The fact that it’s on one side or the other seems irrelevant really. 
You can’t prove where the blockage came from. 
I would pay £40 and be done with it, life’s too short. 

This is just my common sense opinion, not a legal opinion.


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