Neighbors Water From Roof Drain Pipe On My Property

Some owners property is burdened with a flow of water across his or her property which he cannot divert.
Neighbors water from roof drain pipe on my property. Generally neighbors are not held legally responsible for damage to a property that is caused by the natural runoff that occurs when rain or other precipitation meets the earth. I have standing water as this area does not drain well at all. If your neighbor s downspouts are draining water onto your property damaging your lawn you should first ask the neighbor to fix it. Every property owner has a right to drain water from his own land.
If surface water runs from your neighbor s land onto your land causing more damage than natural you are still expected to protect your land from this water. Landowners can take whatever steps they wish such as building dikes or drainage ditches. Diversion of water however if the runoff is caused by alterations of a neighbor s yard that causes more water to run down the land onto the neighbor s property legal recourse may be available. A landowner may build a building pave her land or alter the contour of the land in a way that increases the amount of surface water that drains onto neighboring property or changes where it flows thus damaging nearby property.
To answer your question the drain pipe on my neighbor s property ends two feet from our down slope property directly gushing water under a property line fence onto our property. The drain has contributed to water damage of two historic coast live oaks that are within 20 to 40 feet from it according to davey tree company. In property law one way that a landowner may interfere with another s use of her land is by altering how surface water such as rain or snow melt drains. I told the neighbor i wanted the drain pipe moved over but all they did was put an elbow on the pipe so now it drains onto their side of the property.
Many states that still follow the common enemy rule however have modified it to make it less strict. Every property owner may have a right to prevent his neighbor s land from draining onto or across his land if doing so does not cause harm to his neighbor.