You must inform your new neighbors immediately. Introduce yourself and make them aware of the problem. Keep the conversation polite, positive, and friendly. Ask them if they would investigate on their own. You may be able to divert some of the water and reduce the impact on your property. It`s important to put the conversation in writing, so follow up with a letter repeating the discussion. Before you can make specific requests, you need more information about your home. Start with the form. Contact a licensed professional who can assess the extent of the damage and advise you on how to repair it. Have the home and land assessed by a waterproofing expert or civil engineer to determine the source of your water problems and recommend a mitigation plan.
Contact your community to find out if there is a major drainage problem in your area that needs to be addressed, such as clogged storm sewers. Generally, a neighbor is not responsible for damage to your property caused by runoff from natural rain and land conditions. However, if your neighbor planted their land or altered their property in other ways, causing more water to flow onto your property than would naturally happen, you may have a fallback solution to compensate for the damage. In general, there are three different types of laws that can allow you to hold your neighbor liable for surface water damage to your property. You have been living in your home for years without water problems. Suddenly, right after each storm, you face harmful water runoff caused by construction on your adjacent neighbor`s property. If your neighbor is having trouble draining water in your garden, or if you think draining your neighbor`s water in your yard is a problem, King Law can help. Call us at (888) 748-5464 and we would be happy to discuss this issue and possible remedies with you. Unfortunately, strict enforcement of each rule can lead to unfair results.
For example, strict application of the civil rule would essentially prevent any development or alteration of the natural state of the property. Similarly, strict enforcement of the common enemy rule would allow neighboring landowners to inappropriately injure each other by draining surface water without impact. So where does Alabama stand in terms of surface water runoff problems? The civil rule generally provides that a landowner must not disturb the natural flow of surface water in a way that harms his neighbour, since the lower landowner only needs to receive water that flows naturally from the upper landowner. This rule also recognizes that a lower landowner is prohibited from disturbing the flow of water that flows naturally from higher ground. What should a party do in each situation? Can a person be prevented from building the house of his dreams on his own land? Does a person have to stay up at night and worry about water damage from construction work next door every time it rains? In Alabama, the answer often depends on the facts of the case, such as: Q: For 21 years, rainwater runoff from my neighbor`s roof has been flowing to our property in Madison, New Jersey, where it floods our back patio and seeps into our basement, filling our sump pump (which runs almost every day) and soaking the basement walls. Create mold. The neighbor, a friendly elderly woman, always seemed unaware of the problem. She recently moved into an assisted living centre and sold the house to one of her children. I would like to talk to the new owner about the problem, but I am worried about alienating the family. What is the best way to do this? Common Enemy Rule – This rule is derived from English common law and treats rainwater and other natural water sources as a common enemy of all landowners.
Under this rule, which many states follow, each landowner is expected to protect their own land from surface water and runoff. Landowners can take any action they want, such as building or drainage ditches. If surface water flows from your neighbor`s land onto your land and causes more damage than natural, you should always protect your land from that water. If your neighbor`s drain is indeed a major cause of the problem, come back a second time and share what you`ve learned and ask them to make the necessary repairs. You might offer to share the costs – not because it`s your responsibility, but because it could help get the job done, and because neighbors sometimes do it for mutually beneficial repairs, like cutting down a diseased tree. Your city might also have drainage codes that could be enforced, so check those as well. Civil Law Rule – This rule can be seen as the opposite of the common enemy rule. The civil rule, also known as the natural flow rule, imposes liability on any landowner who alters their land in a way that alters the natural flow of surface water through the land. Maybe your neighbor has water from his yard running onto your property, and you`re wondering if he can do it. Or maybe you`re draining water from your garden into your neighbors and wondering if it`s allowed. Often we have plots of land that don`t drain well on their own, and we install drains and pipes to divert rainwater away from buildings and out of our yards.
Often this is never a problem, but sometimes a neighbor complains that someone else is draining water on their property. If you are the neighbor who drains water on your property, or if you are the one who drains, you may be wondering if this is allowed and what the remedies might be. Fair Use Policy. This rule states that landowners can use their property appropriately, even if it causes damage to another landowner.
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