What is a pipe?

[Segilla]

I live in an old people's flat with an interior bathroom, so there is only a fan for ventilation. The fumes go up a 6" diameter plastic pipe in the loft, to a slot at the apex of the roof.

Due to Winter condensation in the pipe's interior (the colder, the more there is), water finds its way down the pipe, out of the bottom of the fan housing and down the bathroom wall in surprisingly considerable quantities. A few years ago the landolord had this problem fixed by a very Heath Robinson job which has since fallen apart.

I asked for the work to be done again, and after a wait of nearly nine months I have been told that the lease excludes my pipe, as it defines the main structure as:-

... all pipes wires and drains serving more than one flat ..."

My downstairs neighbour also has a separate pipe which gives the same trouble from time to time.

If the position is clear I'll accept it, but have I any reasonable right to contest it on the grounds of precedent or that what we have is a ventilator stack and not a pipe in the usual meaning of the word?

[scotman]

I agree with reply above. I am not an expert but I believe that there are specific regulations relating to ventilation in internal rooms especially if they are bathrooms or kitchens. Check with your local council Planning or Building Control department.

[Segilla]

Thanks Scotman. Reply 1 has been removed so it's a bit perplexing.
Would you agree that whatever the Council regulations might say, the nub of this is about who is going to pay to fix the problem?

[scotman]

I don't know. There is(was) someone who posts here as BuildersMate although I haven't noticed anything recently. They would be more able to answer.

[themas]

If the pipe does just serve your flat I suspect the Landlord is right - assuming there is nothing else in a different part of the lease which could affect it.

6" pipe is pretty large for this - the largest I've come across are 4". You need someone who is competent to deal with ventilation to advise you & quote. If it is accessible, the outside of the pipe probably needs thoroughly lagging to protect it from the cold. Alternatively, it may be that the fan motor is not propelling the warm moist air up the pipe rapidly enough to expel it to the outside before it cools & condenses, in which case a more powerful fan might help.

You could ask the Council for advice on what is needed to comply with the regulations.

[Segilla]

A week ago I sent a pretty hard hitting letter to the landlord's surveyor maintaining that just because the the exhaust from the fan is cylindrical in section, it not a pipe within the usual meaning of the word but was a stack or duct. [Very shaky ground there!].
And because I was very cross about the long delay from these managers who have persistently underperformed in so many areas, copies also went to his Chief Exec and for what it was worth, to the Audit Commission who had recently undertaken an examination of their flawed organisation.

All this prompted a conciliatory call from another official.

An offer to repair the existing arrangement at their expense, effectively without admission of liability for any future problems. Initially this was refused, but I shall let them go ahead anyway.