Drains

[horselady]

We live in a rented property and share a drain with the house behind us, which our landlord also owns. The drain blocks on a weekly basis and as the cover is in our garden, hubby has the smelly task of unblocking it. I spoke to the landlord last week, who I may add has the reputation of being "unco-operative" and he said to "read your tenancy agreement, the drains and gutters are your responsibility" and how he knew it was the stupid woman in the other house that keeps putting stuff down the sink (his words, not mine) I tried to explain that, although we can appreciate that it may be our responsibility but we're getting a bit fed up with the fact that she blocks-we clear all the time. Apart from dragging her out and making her do it (she lives alone so it would be a bit cruel) I thought his attitude was a bit rich. Surely the drain must be a bit dodgy to keep doing this? Any thoughts? I can see this being a reason for us to move early next year, do tenants really have to put up with this?

[tamborine]

Buy some drain rods & charge to landlord or neighbor. You could stuff drain up so her flow is blocked - wicked, I know ;)

[horselady]

We've already bought the rods, did that the first time it blocked last May, didn't realise it was going to keep doing it. Very tempting to stuff her side up! The last people to live here told us what the landlord was like, but I thought no, treat him with respect and he'll do the same-fool that I am!

[The Builder]

If you can stomach it Horselady, what do you find when you unblock it? Disposable nappies and J-cloths are the usual..................

[buildersmate]

Although a decent landlord would not operate this way, he is within his rights to exclude this sort of thing from his responsibility within the tenancy agreement. A landlord in general does have no control over what is put down there, and you can't jump to the conclusion that it is a design/layout fault - and certainly proving it would be hard.
You are going to have to shift the accountability to the lady causing the problem by making it clear it is a joint responsibility, you are willing to clear it but that the charge to the pair of houses of you doing that will be £80. Her share of that is therefore £40. (Invent your own numbers but make it expensive enough to disincentivise here from doing whatever she is doing). A decent landlord would not force a 'divide and rule' in the way he is doing.

[horselady]

Thanks for your answers. It seems to be very greasy food debris and the odd wet wipe that are the main culprits, I think she just doesn't think what she puts down the kitchen sink mostly. It's certainly a vile job and if I was on my own i couldn't do it, not because it's vile but because of the amount of force and the reach that hubby has to use, I would be forever calling out a company and can you imagine the cost of that?! The landlord said it's a recent problem but other neighbours (he owns a little group of houses round here) have said they all used to have to help the elderly couple who lived here before to clear the drain.

[The Builder]

It's quite difficult to get anything down a kitchen sink that would be enough to block a normally working drain. The WC pan is usually the place. A lot of grease would do it though. Do they eat a lot of meat???
Pubs and restaurants have this a lot, which is why they have grease interceptors in the drain.
A really good "power" flush by "Dynarod", or whoever is local to you, might clear it well enough for some time.
Otherwise, if this keeps happening, then Environmental Health would be interested (local council).
They would intervene and talk to everyone involved, saving you the confrontation.

[horselady]

Yes-unfortunately there is a lot of WC waste involved, loads of loo roll, as if she uses a whole roll at a time and other delightful stuff. I appreciate we all go to the loo, but it's getting a bit beyond a joke now. The landlord is a bully I think, this is the first time I've actually met him, as a letting agent did the initial letting and I can see why the other tenants, who are all lots older than us, seem a bit wary of him, telling us "oh he's not someone to mess with etc" He's a huge, shaven headed chap and I have the feeling he is rather used to thinking he can intimidate people a bit. That will not be happening with us.

[flyciderman]

Just move out at the end of the tenancy

[tezestwing]

could the trouble be further down the line how deep is the man hole chamber (invert levels) if it is only shallow then you could be on the start of the run but if it is very deep it could be on the end and all other soil waste for that area is to much for the system, any recent developments ? does it flow well after hubby has cleared the blockage?,it could well be a environment issue for the local water board as The Builder pointed out hth Tez

[Twenty20]

Although it's legally the tenant's problem, I feel a reasonable landlord would step in and help sort it out as he owns both properties. Maybe if he took the initiative and had an expert look at the problem and, if it was found to be caused by the other tenant, he should be charging her for clearing the drain each time or making a deduction from her deposit at the end of her tenancy.

Of course, this doesn't really help you and, personally, I'd be looking to move out if this continues.

[4getmenot]

but it could be these tissues etc are getting trapped because there is a misplaced joint or some other problem, I would contact you landlord and get him to contact his building insurance so a drainage survey can be carried out

[4getmenot]

just tell landlord you cannot use WC and cant clear it