A blocked drain owned by the council has caused water to get into our property, who is responsible?

Question

The bedroom of our house is on the lower ground floor on a hill and the entire corner is soaked due to the council drain outside being blocked so all the water from the recent heavy rain had nowhere to go except to slam into the side of our house.  Can we insist the council keep the drain clear?

Answer 1

I'm afraid that is a very tricky question.  Responsibility for drains easily gets complicated, and you are also up against the fact that a land owner is not responsible for surface water that runs off their land.

The best possibility is to seek agreement with the council to get the problem resolved.  If that does not work, you will need to seek professional advice - perhaps from a local solicitor - if you want to pursue the matter further.