Shared water supply with neighbour

[Lego Mum]

Hello, We live in a c.1900's semi detached. We have a shared water supply with our neighbour. The stop cock is on our side in our basement. About a year ago we noticed a leak on the partitioning wall in our kitchen behind some plyboard. We managed to pull the board away and could see that the pipe goes through / comes from next door. We asked if they could investigate on their side and they said they are unable to locate the pipe and that there is no leak on their side. Basically, we got the impression they didn't want anything to do with it. When they saw the water damage on our side, they just shrugged it off. We really want to keep this amicable but at the same time, if we need to split the supply I don't think we should pay for it all. Let alone the cost of this damage. My husband has put some plumbers paste on it for now, but this is just temporary until we know what our options are. Ideally we need some officially body to come in and assess the situation. I have asked the council, but they referred us back to United Utilities. United Utilities deal with the outside pipe work not the inside pipes. Please advise. Thank you for your time.

[slainte caragh]

are you on a meter or a rateable bill?

If you are on a meter there is a very simple test to prove shared supply. Get someone to turn all the water off in your property and see if the dial on the meter moves. Please note, there is a little dial like a clock which will move regardless. This is a pressure gauge on the pipe and it's totally normal.

If the meter moves, or you are uncertain about how to do this, call up United Utilities and tell them you need an MSUP (use that exact acronym), This means a meter supply test, explain that you are concerned that you have a shared supply and you want it investigated. If the supply is shared, the only difference will be you cannot be on a meter as you will be paying for 2 bills in essence. They will send off for you to go on an assessed household charge instead. I believe this can be backdated for up to 3 years, so it is worth pushing for!

If you are not on a shared supply the survey is free of charge, takes about an hour and at least puts your mind at rest.

[Lego Mum]

Hi Slainte, So sorry for not replying sooner. All e-mails went to my Junk...add Christmas to the mix. Thank you for your advice. The mains water pipe into the house is shared. I have the stopcock in my basement. We found out that it turned off their water when we needed to change a tap and they came knocking on the door! But we pay separate bills. I'm assuming they also pay United Utilities. ****Update since original post*** I did ask the council if they could step in and arrange an unbiased survey due to it being a Statutory Nuisance but they wanted exact dates of text messages / conversations / insurance reports. Basically they are not interested until we are at a point of aggression, which doesn't seem very helpful. I didn't think United Utilities would be interested because they only deal with the water pipes outside of the house. But I will certainly look into this option. I can just see us having to pay for the supply to be split and all their re-piping just because we have leak that isn't affecting them. Thank you again and Merry Christmas!

[slainte caragh]

Hi Slainte, So sorry for not replying sooner. All e-mails went to my Junk...add Christmas to the mix. Thank you for your advice. The mains water pipe into the house is shared. I have the stopcock in my basement. We found out that it turned off their water when we needed to change a tap and they came knocking on the door! But we pay separate bills. I'm assuming they also pay United Utilities. ****

Update since original post*** I did ask the council if they could step in and arrange an unbiased survey due to it being a Statutory Nuisance but they wanted exact dates of text messages / conversations / insurance reports. Basically they are not interested until we are at a point of aggression, which doesn't seem very helpful. I didn't think United Utilities would be interested because they only deal with the water pipes outside of the house. But I will certainly look into this option. I can just see us having to pay for the supply to be split and all their re-piping just because we have leak that isn't affecting them. Thank you again and Merry Christmas!

I am assuming that your bill is on a rateable value then (you pay one amount for the whole year)?
If this is the case, act NOW before metering comes in to your area, do you know for definate the leak was at your property?

from Ofwat's website

The majority of companies provide free leak detection for non-household customers and some also offer these customers a free repair. Most companies that offer it, restrict the free repair service to the first leak and for external leaks (not those from beneath the property). Some companies limit repairs to owner occupied properties. If your supply pipe is in poor condition some companies may replace it free of charge rather than repair it, or offer a grant towards the cost of this work. You need to contact your water company to find out whether they offer free or subsidised repairs.

If a leak is in your supply pipe and not covered by the water company’s free repair service, you will be responsible for repairing it. If the leak is not repaired within a certain time, the water company may carry out the repair and charge you for the work.


Get them out to survey and ask for a copy of the report, then forward this to the council saying "Ok, shared supply proved! Now, it's your turn!"