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135 Comments

  1. Peter Nelson says:

    My Neighbour has been doing extensive building and paving etc to accommodate a B&B and a second dwelling. He has a sloped property and has obviously experienced water drainage problems with the Neighbour below his property. I say this because he has built structural supports to support that wall and it is downside from his property. He also appears t be diverting water from that boundary to my boundary.

    I now notice that he has punched two holes in my/our adjacent concrete wall to allow run off. We have never in 30 years ever been on the receiving side of any run off from his property as we are more adjacent than below his property. I contend that he cannot divert storm water onto my premises and that his building plans must deal with water drainage. Who do I approach?

  2. Yes Errol, the municipality is correct. I have recently added more information to this page – it may be helpful to you. If you need more detail, you can access SANS 10400: Part R Stormwater Disposal from an SABS library.

  3. I am not sure when you posted your comment Anton, but I recently updated this page. If you want more detail, you can access SANS 10400: Part R Stormwater Disposal from an SABS library.

  4. Viroshka I have added to the article on this page – and have recently answered several queries very similar to yours. They cannot simply allow stormwater to flow into your yard. While they did not need permission from the municipality or from you to pave their yard, it is their responsibility to ensure that stormwater is channeled to a suitable storm water drain.

  5. John, you cannot legally open up weep holes in the wall. Stormwater must be discharged into a drain approved by the local authority. If the pipe you are referring to was part of the storm water system the municipality approved, then your neighbour will have to unblock the pipe. Perhaps the storm water drainage issue was part of a dispute between previous property owners?
    I have added to the article on this page, and you will see that people cannot simply discharge water onto an adjacent site. Not knowing the exact layout of the properties to the road and so on, it’s difficult to know what to suggest. Your best bet is to ask your local authority for advice.

  6. That missing brick story is illegal for starters! And no you do not have to oblige. And yes they should have a proper drainage system. BTW the reason the wall is well into your side might be due to extensive foundations – which is a good thing. We have just done a piece on boundary walls that we will be posting in the next day or so – if SEACOM gets its act together. Check back for the new post.

  7. They absolutely are required to have adequate drainage. In fact the SANS for drainage are very strict and specific.
    I suggest that you call the local council and ask for a building inspector who deals with plumbing issues to come and assess the problem.

  8. Hi
    my neighbour’s property is higher than ours by approximately a metre and they had a brick missing in the boundary wall which allowed their storm water to pass from the front of their property into the front “verge” of our property.
    We recently built a new front road facing boundary wall and established that a portion of our property was on the “verge”. Basically the fence was previously built well inside our property. When we completed the new wall on our true road-facing boundary, the hole in the shared boundary wall was plastered in. They have asked us to reopen this hole. Are we required to do this and allow them to divert all their storm water into our front yard.
    Also the shared boundary wall is in a seriously bad condition due to a creeper that they have growing from their side. There is also evidence of water damage/erosion on the wall as the paint has peeled off and the wall is powdery on our side. We have kept the wall bare on our side.
    Are they supposed to have a proper drainage system in place?

  9. Please can you advise what is the legal distance for a dwelling (granny flat or garage ) to be from your neighbours boundry wall?

    Many Thanks
    Allan

  10. John Metcalf says:

    A stormwater drain has been blocked on our neighbour’s property which
    means that every time it rains, stormwater dams up on our side of the
    wall.
    Our neighbour says that the pipe was blocked by the previous owners
    and refuses to reopen it. He also says that as he is on a higher erf
    he does not have to take our water. This is absurd as we are on a hill
    and it is patently obvious that his property is lower than ours.
    Can I open weep holes in our wall in order to force him to take some
    action?

  11. Anton Erasmus says:

    Good morning, I hope you can help. I reside in Roodepoort. What can I
    do when my neighbour washes his driveway and paving down regularly and
    the waste water then runs onto my property via the opening for the
    drainage of storm water in the boundry wall. My property is lower than
    the neighbour’s, and I know that stormwater must have free flow,
    however can he just use the excuse that as water flow down, he has the
    right to dispose of his waste water onto my property. My plants and
    grass are now starting to die as a result of the excess water and
    chemicals/soap in the waste water.
    I have tried to reason with him, but to no avail.
    Hope you can help.
    Thanks

  12. Errol Arter says:

    I am a trustee of a sectional title complex in the E Cape. With all
    the recent heavy rain parts of the common property have been flooded
    by storm water emanating from the Municipal system which ends suddenly
    with an open pipe at the boundary of our land. The Municipality
    contends that it was the responsibility of the developer of our
    complex to have installed a storm water system to connect into the
    muncipal system which would dispose of “their” water (into the sea).
    Is the municipality correct ? This means running a 450 mm concrete
    pipe over a distance of 130 meters which is expensive and far in
    excess of the requirement to simply drain syrom water otherwise
    accumating on our property. Please advise. Thank you

  13. Hello

    My property is naturally lower than my neighbours. They recently paved
    their entire yard and made the lowest point at the back of their
    property where they allow all their stormwater to flow through a
    drainage panel in the boundary fence into my back yard. Is this legal
    and allowed? I now have to do some work to my levels to allow the
    water to drain away.

    Is this allowable? Should they have asked me or the municipality
    before they paved their yard?

    Regards
    Viroshka

  14. My neighbour, whose property level is above mine has no drainage for their rainwater downpipes, all the water from their roof runs over their driveway, down a once grassy bank and into my property. Their bank is being undermined and so is mine, to the point that there is a gap under the fencing where rocks and sand have been washed away. All this mud and water flows down my path and into my pool every time during our Spring rains and Storms. I have tried to dig trenches on my side of the fence to control the water but unfortunatly they get filled up with mud very quickly. Are they obliged to have some sort of drainage system in place or am I fighting a losing battle?