Apartment block sharing my home's mains water connection

I mean, any semi-detached property is a "property with a large extension attached to it owned by a third party".

I'm not looking to unilaterally cut off supply, which is why I sought to speak to the landlord. I'm more concerned about his tenants than he is.

Unfortunately, the landlord is not playing ball so yes, it looks like I will have to foot the bill for some legal process. My concern is that the landlord is volatile with deeper pockets, and could probably make my life hell.

I did buy with my eyes open, and frankly even knowing this issue probably still would have purchased. I can understand why the inspector did not spot this due to how the property is set up, it's hard to describe but all I'll say is that I don't even blame the inspector. The house is extremely unusual and its structure/layout presents certain challenges.
 
In terms of its relationship to the property next to it, it's basically a semi-detached property. The unusual element in the relationship is the water connection.

i.e. The internal structure of the house itself is weird, but there's no reason this should affect the property next to it.

Anyway yes, I will update all on this glorious misadventure!
 
Noodler said:
In terms of its relationship to the property next to it, it's basically a semi-detached property. The unusual element in the relationship is the water connection.
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As NRC was suggesting, it would be extremely rare for semi-ds to share a water supply.

Noodler said:
Unfortunately, the landlord is not playing ball so yes, it looks like I will have to foot the bill for some legal process.
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You may need to pay more than the legal fees. You may need to pay some of all of the other party's costs to install a separate IW connection and the associated internal works to attach that to their existing plumbing.

The long usage condition used in the past to establish easements was to be abolished in the last few years, I think there was a delay on that legislation so I'm not sure if it has finally changed, but your solicitor will be able to advise on whether the other party has registered such an easement or whether it is recorded in your property title.
 
The landlord is not insane, he is a bully, and everything is working perfectly from his pov.

If he has this kind of attitude and he has been dealing with tenants for 20 years, he knows when to bully and when to compromise.

If not were me, I would cut off the water now and blank the landlord. When he approaches you tell him to write to your solicitor, if he does then you can respond to that.
 
cremeegg said:
The landlord is not insane, he is a bully, and everything is working perfectly from his pov.

If he has this kind of attitude and he has been dealing with tenants for 20 years, he knows when to bully and when to compromise.

If not were me, I would cut off the water now and blank the landlord. When he approaches you tell him to write to your solicitor, if he does then you can respond to that.
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Yes, the landlord is in my view, an abusive bully. And you are correct that he hasn't addressed this in over a decade. When I first asked him a question about it, I got the most ridiculous stream of waffle and deflection. He flipped out because I kept bringing it back to the central issue, which he did not want to discuss.

But his tenants are not at fault and I know them, I do not want to cause them problems. And I certainly don't want this to be a cover story for an illegitimate and opportunistic eviction. The property is in a flaming hot rent pressure zone. If the apartment was empty this would be a different story.

Interestingly, in addition to the DCC worker's statement that the connection is illegal, the property does not have permission to be a rental across both floors. One floor was deemed not habitable and suitable only for storage, yet I understand it is being rented out in spite of that. And in fact, this floor may be where the connection is established.

Before spending significant sums on this, I'm going to familiarise myself with all relevant historical DCC documents.

losttheplot said:
Did the previous owner build the apartments?
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No. An owner prior to that divided the property in the 90's and built the building mostly as offices. Then applied to convert the use from office to residential.

The problem of course is that regardless of what plans were submitted, at that time there was little in terms of inspection/enforcement upon construction.
 
Leo said:
Agreed, that could be very costly if the other party proves the existence of an agreement or an easement. .
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I'm reviewing a bunch of documents on this and will get to the bottom of it, with the help of a solicitor. But so far I think the existence of a formal agreement is highly unlikely. And the lack of one would certainly help explain the landlord's volatile reaction.
 
Noodler said:
But so far I think the existence of a formal agreement is highly unlikely. And the lack of one would certainly help explain the landlord's volatile reaction.
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Just because you don't have one doesn't mean the original owner didn't enter into an agreement, written or verbal. Without any evidence that no such agreement exists, you are likely in the weaker position. The landlord's reaction could mean he's just not a nice person, or he's annoyed you're trying to cut off a service that he is entitled to and thinks you're trying to pull a fast one.

Is whoever owned the property when the apartments were built still around? They might be the only ones who can confirm what the arrangement was.
 
`Would the starting point not be to go back to the original planning permission for the apartments to see if there is any reference in there to water and connections to the mains? Local council should be able to provide that
 
What baffles me is that, if an agreement exists, the landlord has not at any point articulated this - despite having obvious opportunity to do so. Instead I got avoidance, waffle, deflection, dishonesty, manipulation, threats...

But yes, he could just be nuts. At first he seemed to want me to write something that would help him lobby a local politician on something vague. It was bizarre and hard to follow.

I do have the details of previous owners so should be able to get to the bottom of this.
 
thedaddyman said:
`Would the starting point not be to go back to the original planning permission for the apartments to see if there is any reference in there to water and connections to the mains? Local council should be able to provide that
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Water supply is rarely detailed on planning docs.
 
Noodler said:
I've been having issues with variable water pressure and it turns out that although I am properly connected to the mains, these apartments have water pipes that are connected to my house and are tapping into the water supply.
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At it's simplest if you just want to resolve your variable water pressure volume in your property only you can have a cold water break tank installed + pump that would [1] isolate you from the variable pressure (presumably induced by apartment demand) & [2] give you consistent water pressure at all your taps all the time. I reckon you could do that for around EUR600. Take care not to over pressure your old pipes causing leaks, your plumber can advise on sight.

This ignores the fact that there is an illegal connection but do you actually care about that?
 
Noodler said:
Interestingly, in addition to the DCC worker's statement that the connection is illegal, the property does not have permission to be a rental across both floors. One floor was deemed not habitable and suitable only for storage, yet I understand it is being rented out in spite of that. And in fact, this floor may be where the connection is established.
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That could be the reason why the LL is so uptight, no planning permission.

Did you mention somewhere that they were originally offices then changed to residential? That would need planning permission

Anyway come back with more info so we can all settle our minds ! ;)
 
It sounds a bonkers set up for a mains supply into a multi unit development.

LL would be showing you it was perfectly fine and all agreed if they had such an agreement.

I look forward to the update on your further research into the history. Good luck.
 
Horatio said:
[1] isolate you from the variable pressure (presumably induced by apartment demand) & [2] give you consistent water pressure at all your taps all the time. I reckon you could do that for around EUR600.
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I think you would struggle to get a pump for €600 let alone fitting.
 
Old post, but I did promise I'd get back on this gripping saga.

I couldn't stomach dealing with the landlord again right now, I have to pick my battles. So I got a pump installed for €1000 and that solved the immediate problem. I will ask the current tenants to tell me when they move out, and I will then look into cutting the connection.

The way the pipe is set up is bizarre, it's actually a plastic pipe that is exposed on the outside of my roof. If anything happens to it while active, it could cause fairly serious damage. It has gotta go and it will, but for now my water pressure is thankfully operating at an acceptable level.
 
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