Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 21, 2008 2:09 pm Hi All,
So my builder is on my property digging up the land to lay the sewerage etc etc. and discovered the shock of my life.. my neighbour behind me decided to put a huge stormwater pipe through my property without me even knowing it.... what can i do? any advice >>>>>updated title<<<<< ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- Re: ***Emergency*** Help...Illegal stormwater 2Oct 21, 2008 2:12 pm smeagol Hi All, So my builder is on my property digging up the land to lay the sewerage etc etc. and discovered the shock of my life.. my neighbour behind me decided to put a huge stormwater pipe through my property without me even knowing it.... what can i do? any advice? Block the end of his pipe, lay yours, put the dirt back and play stupid. Re: Implied easement discussions 3Oct 21, 2008 2:44 pm I'd notify council immediately. There may be various explanations or reasons for the pipe you're not aware of. Maybe your neighbour isn't to blame. Or if they are, better not to even talk to them - talk to council first. Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves. - Dale Carnegie Re: Implied easement discussions 4Oct 21, 2008 3:04 pm sigh thanks guys...
council had no idea that was there either so they are doing the research now..i'll post back once i get some details. does anybody know what legal rights i have? ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- Re: Implied easement discussions 5Oct 21, 2008 3:42 pm Unless your land title shows an easement, the pipe shouldn't be there.
Of course an easement may be forced onto you, but it should be to your satisfaction. First look at whether your neighbor can get their stormwater to the street without going through your property. If so, thet will need to do this. If they do need to go through your property, make sure it wherever you would prefer it to be. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Implied easement discussions 6Oct 21, 2008 4:11 pm Casa2 If they do need to go through your property, make sure it wherever you would prefer it to be. Id be a bit careful here. Who takes ownership?, Who accepts liability? If the pipe bursts, or gets broken or blocked... who access it and maintains it, and from whos property, and ultimately who pays?. These are the molehills that turn into mountains if its not all managed properly from the beginning. Pat. Re: Implied easement discussions 7Oct 21, 2008 6:00 pm + 1
Such an easement could have a big impact on insurance and devalue the property by thousands . . . Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves. - Dale Carnegie Re: Implied easement discussions 8Oct 22, 2008 7:41 am Thanks guys..
When i bought the property the easement was not on the plans or the titles.. i looked up common law on this and yes they are supposed to compensate me for it and update the titles accordingly. Furthermore, i asked my builder to assess if going through my property was the best move and they concluded 'NO'. They could of just gone through theirs but they took the easy way by going through mine. Hopefully the council will shred some light today and i'll post back ... man..i've must of done something bad in my previous life...sigh... ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- Re: Implied easement discussions 9Oct 22, 2008 7:51 am A friend of mine charged a neighbour $20k to have stormwater going through his property. That sounds a bit extreme to me (however I have no clue what the risks etc are) but if they keep you should definitely be asking for compensation. Re: Implied easement discussions 10Oct 22, 2008 9:15 am Hi smeags, where did you look up common law on it?
In my land, there is a stormware pipe running through it. It belongs to the council (they put it there) but it is not on my title. A condition of consent to build my house says I have to put an easement on my title. It would be nice if I could force the council to pay for the engineering and title change fees:) Greg Re: Implied easement discussions 11Oct 22, 2008 11:32 am [quote="smeagol"]Thanks guys..
Furthermore, i asked my builder to assess if going through my property was the best move and they concluded 'NO'. They could of just gone through theirs but they took the easy way by going through mine. [quote] WOW , now I really hope you come out on top big time! Based on their previous actions I would demand its removal to be reinstated over their land. Jeepers don't these things have to have Council and or Engineering approval?? Keep us posted of developments. Re: Implied easement discussions 12Oct 22, 2008 12:47 pm gpierce Hi smeags, where did you look up common law on it? In my land, there is a stormware pipe running through it. It belongs to the council (they put it there) but it is not on my title. A condition of consent to build my house says I have to put an easement on my title. It would be nice if I could force the council to pay for the engineering and title change fees:) Greg Greg, Here's an excerp from a paper i found by googling it. It was from a Victorian source. Creation of Drainage Easements 4.1 Rights and Obligations Common law obligations require that nothing be done on one property that would cause nuisance on another. Changing the natural pattern of stormwater runoff by increasing the amount or rate of runoff, or redirecting the runoff, has the potential to create this nuisance. Practically all property improvements will affect stormwater runoff to some extent and therefore provision must be made to ensure these site modifications do not adversely affect surrounding properties. Minimum standards regarding the treatment of stormwater runoff from properties improvements are outlined elsewher in this document Where it is necessary to convey collected stormwater runoff from one lot through another, an easement must exist on the downstream lot that confers rights to the upstream lot to drain water through it. Page 9 of 11 The standard easement used for this purpose is an Easement for drainage of water. The rights and obligations associated with an easement of this type are outlined below. 1 The body having the benefit of this easement may: (a) drain water from any natural source through each lot burdened, but only within the site of this easement, (b) do anything reasonably necessary for that purpose, including: entering the lot burdened, and taking anything on to the lot burdened, and using any existing line of pipes, and carrying out work, such as constructing, placing, repairing or maintaining pipes, channels, ditches and equipment. 2 In exercising those powers, the body having the benefit of this easement must: (a) ensure all work is done properly, and (b) cause as little inconvenience as is practicable to the owner and any occupier of the lot burdened, (c) cause as little damage as is practicable to the lot burdened and any improvement on it, and (d) restore the lot burdened as nearly as is practicable to its former condition, and (e) make good any collateral damage. Interallotment drainage easements should be described as an Easement for drainage of water. Describing an easement in this way on the instrument has the same affect as inserting the words given above. Interalloment drainage easements shall benefit individual lots only and not list Council as a beneficiary. Where an interallotment drainage easement must be created to facilitate a development, it is the responsibility of the applicant to negotiate with affected property owners to secure an easement. Property owners are under no legal obligation to burden their lots with an easement for interallotment drainage unless they have been required to do so by the Supreme Court exercising the powers available to it under section 88K of the Conveyancing Act 1919. as amended, or required to do so by way of a condition of development consent. See Section 2 Where an easement is required to allow suitable disposal of collected stormwater runoff from the property, a letter of agreement from the affected property owner(s) shall support the Local Development Application to demonstrate to Council that a suitable easement can be obtained. The Construction Certificate cannot be issued until the easement has been prepared by a registered surveyor and has been lodged with the Land Titles Office for registration. ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- Re: Implied easement discussions 13Oct 22, 2008 12:51 pm ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- Re: Implied easement discussions 14Oct 22, 2008 1:34 pm FYI.
Water Act 1989. 15 Civil liability for unauthorised taking or use of water or for unauthorised works7 (1) A person who— (a) takes water in an unauthorised manner or in unauthorised quantities; or (b) uses water in an unauthorised manner or for an unauthorised purpose; or (c) pollutes water, whether or not authorised to do so; or (d) constructs, maintains or operates any unauthorised works— and by that act causes injury to any other person or damage to the property (whether real or personal) of any other person or causes any other person to suffer economic loss is liable to pay damages to that other person in respect of that injury or damage. ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- Re: Implied easement discussions 15Oct 22, 2008 1:51 pm OK, not wanting to sound like a real girly girl, but I'm confused....
Does their storm water pipe run the entire length of your property and out to the drain on YOUR street? Couldn't they have just directed the pipe to the front of their property to go down the drain on THEIR street?? Re: Implied easement discussions 16Oct 22, 2008 2:27 pm Grace16 OK, not wanting to sound like a real girly girl, but I'm confused.... Does their storm water pipe run the entire length of your property and out to the drain on YOUR street? Couldn't they have just directed the pipe to the front of their property to go down the drain on THEIR street?? Not if there property is lower thna the street level and the property in question is loweer than their property. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Implied easement discussions 18Oct 22, 2008 2:45 pm Grace16 So if that is the case and this was known prior to the land release, why wouldn't they put an easement at the back of one of the blocks? Thats exactly my point Grace!!! Apparently there are 'implied' easements on land that does not appear on titles. **warning for new home buyers** s32 doesn't tell u everything about the land. ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- Re: Implied easement discussions 19Oct 22, 2008 2:51 pm No Way!!!! That stinks, surely it is not legal to do that! Why then do they go through the trouble of making easements and putting them on plans if they r just going to turn around and say " sorry, thought u would realise that we would imply that we might put an easement through your yard!
Don't stand for it! Fight for your land! What if you want to put in a pool or under ground H2O tanks or something one day? Where r u building? Do your neighbours on either side have any similar issues with their neighbours over the back fence??? Re: Implied easement discussions 20Oct 22, 2008 3:07 pm Grace16 No Way!!!! That stinks, surely it is not legal to do that! Why then do they go through the trouble of making easements and putting them on plans if they r just going to turn around and say " sorry, thought u would realise that we would imply that we might put an easement through your yard! Don't stand for it! Fight for your land! What if you want to put in a pool or under ground H2O tanks or something one day? Where r u building? Do your neighbours on either side have any similar issues with their neighbours over the back fence??? I'm building with the City of Boroondara in Melbourne. Regarding pool, i have squidly chance... Re my neighbour i'm not sure as i didn't get the diagram of their drawings. What cheese me off even more was that they used my land b/c it was cheaper and if the make it so the water flows over their land the legal point of discharge would be the city of monash. Lucky me the property behind mine is on the border between the two councils. Makes me think there's a bigger conspiracy going on here...SIGH! ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- You should be able to encase the sewer but you will need it designed and approved and access to lot 580 to do the work 2 17154 You might be able to apply to divert the sewer at your expense. In NSW you would contact a Water services co-ordinator and they would give you advice as to whether or not… 1 16145 Thanks - yea sounds like I need to submit build over easement application....ugh guess I better start finding someone who can do the engineering drawings 3 3356 |