Garden Issue - Drainage ?

Question

Hi, I’m seem to be having a problem with my next door neighbour well basically I have a alley at the back of my garden, this alley is used by my neighbours, the problem is I have is that vie noticed that they has been an area which floods up when it rains, this has never happened before, because before there was a drain were the water used to go thought now there is no drain the reason to this is that my next door neighbour have fixed there garden and covered up the drain with cement so the water can’t go down... is there anything I can do ? As I don’t really speak to my next door neighbours and the water smells really bad and it’s flooding my garden up as well.

Thanks

Answer 1

Next time it floods contact your local environmental health dept and the water company as they are responsibly for the drains.

Answer 2

This is a civilian matter that the police cannot help with.

My advise would be to visit your local CAB office or visit a local solicitor. Only do this after you have spoken to the neighbor and given them the opportunity to rectify the problem.

Answer 3

This is not a police issue, but a Housing issue.  Contact your city inspectors and let them know.

Answer 4

Next time it rains and starts to flood knock on your neighbour's door and ask them to come outside and have a look. It could be that they don't realize it's happening. If they refuse to do anything about it then make sure you take some photographs of the flooding (for evidence) and go and talk to your local council about it so they can sort it out. If your garden is always getting flooded it could damage your property - which will cost even more to fix. So don't leave it for too long. :-)

Answer 5

It would help if you said what country you were living in. If your living in the UK there are so many different ways to deal with this and how to go about it.

For instance, who owns the properties, landlords, covenents, what's in the deeds about it, who put the drain in originally and what are the covenents covering it regarding it's usage, maintenance, is he authorised by the bylaws to block it? Does it go into a soakaway or the sewers?

I do seriously suggest you see a solicitor as soon as possible.

Answer 6

If this is not a private alley then you need to contact either Building & Safety or Department of Public Works Code Enforcement.  Every city calls their dept. different names but basically it would be these two.  If you are not sure about your alley you can contact Engineering to determine the ownnership of the alley.  Those departments will send an investigator out to do an inspection and issue a citation to the owner to remove the obstruction or repair it.  You can also check with Engineering to see if a permit was issued for the work done in the alley.  If a permit was given  then you can file a complaint with Engineering.   Some cities also have a Neighbor dispute program where they bring the two parties together to resolve conflicts but in this case I would go with the city Departments especially since he poured cement that could damage city storm drains.

Answer 7

You would be best to draw your neighbours attention to what he has done and the damage it is causing in a friendly way and see what he says if you're not happy call the department of enviornment at the council offices.

Answer 8

If you have a neighborhood association, they can be called.  If not, you can call your city hall for zoning violations.