OT: Neighbors water draining onto my property

[R1766U]

i know this was a topic a couple of months ago, can't seem to find it....

Neighbor directly behind my home built up his backyard about 5 years ago (before I owned my house) about 2 feet above my property (put in a cement block retaining wall). The back of my yard and the back of my side neighbors yard constantly is like a swamp because all of the water runs off his property into ours.

My side neighbor said he did the job without permits and he had previously gotten into heated arguments over it with him, but never called the town because he didn't think the town would really do anything about it.

Today, I noticed a for sale sign on the culprits house. Sure enough, the house is up for sale. I would think now is a prime time to put in a complaint with the town. Has anyone ever dealt with anything like this before?

-is it worth complaining?
-do you think the town will actually make him fix it?




I was going to install a drain/dry well myself this summer, just because I didn't want to have it out with the neighbor, but now that they are considering moving, it might be a perfect time. Thanks for the advice, there is always extremely valuable experiences/advice shared here.

This post was edited on 3/20 7:36 PM by R1766U

 

[vkj91]

Yes you could complain and yes they will probably make him fix it. Depending on where you live, towns have started doing pre sale inspections to make sure work hasn't been done without permits. They also use it as a chance to make sure people close out permits they hadn't in the past. 5 years ago I sold my house and the town made me have a final electrical inspection on a pool that was installed 5 years before I bought the house. I had to pay to have the pool opened(was the fall) and the electrician.

 

[ru109]

A couple of ways you can handle this.

1.--Have a friend call the town pretending to be interested in the house and ask about the retaining wall. Once he gets an answer have them go to an open house and ask the relator. Once it's disclosed the relator "has" to let people know.

2--You could plant a couple of trees in your yard. You would be amazed how much water they soak up and it could take care of your problem without any confrontations.

 

[CornerTavern]

Call the town zoning officer
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[newell138]

Originally posted by ru109:

A couple of ways you can handle this.

1.--Have a friend call the town pretending to be interested in the house and ask about the retaining wall. Once he gets an answer have them go to an open house and ask the relator. Once it's disclosed the relator "has" to let people know.

2--You could plant a couple of trees in your yard. You would be amazed how much water they soak up and it could take care of your problem without any confrontations.

I had a similiar problem when I lived in South Brunswick, there was one section of my yard that was always soggy as the water drained from my neighbors yard into mine. I planted a weeping willow and not only did it soak up the water but grew like crazy! They are all about soaking up water, just make sure you don't have any sewer pipes in that area since their roots could cause blockage.

 

[rutgersal]

I actually have the same issue, and was wondering how anyone rectified the situation. Neighbor in back of me, whom I've never spoken to, built a retaining wall which drains out to my property, which is a couple of feet lower than his. To be fair, water has always been draining out from his property to mine, but now it's more concentrated because of the drain in his retaining wall. I think what should happen is that a pipe or a drain should be built, so that his water will travel under my ground and then to the street in front of my house, where it ultimately travels to the sewer. But who pays for it?

Also I've been thinking about building a French drain around my house. Has anyone done this, and how much does it cost?

I get a flood in my basement about once a year, but thankfully the sump pump always takes care of it, with the exception of one year when the
electricity went out.

 

[brianoc]

Be careful with weeping willows the roots spread like crazy and our know to clog sewer lines. So if you have any pipes in that area be careful.

 

[Upstream]

R1766 --

Is the neighbor pumping water to the area (from a sump well, for example), or is the water that flows into your yard just runoff from rain and snow?

If it is just runoff, you might not solve the problem even if the town makes the neighbor remove the retaining wall and regrade his yard. Your yard will still be lower, and the regraded yard would still slope to your yard, so the rainwater will still flow to your yard.

 

[yesrutgers01]

I know that in my town, we have to get permits for every fracking thing that we do...there have been a few times that even contractors have told us that a lot of people will do things near us without the permits and if it was in the back of the yard or something they could get in and out in less then a day, that we could always take the chance of not paying for the permit. The downside would be if we or one of our adjoining neighbors ever wanted to sell, it could become an issue and cost us more in the long run.

so, depending on your town and if it is true he didn't get a permit(keep in mind, you can't believe everything you hear), then I would go to the town and find out if he did and if he needed one in the first place. If it was supposed to be permitted and he never attained one, the town will jump on him in an instant. It is instant $$$ for them.
If it were me...I would check on the permit and if the neighbor did get one or not and if he was required to. If he is in the wrong, I don't go to the town first, I go to the neighbor and try to do the right thing. Explain the situation and tell him that you will not make a big deal of it if he could fix the problem. If he ends up being dickish about it, then feel free with a clear conscious that you did try to be a good neighbor first and then go to the town.

If the neighbor did do everything he was supposed to do, then I would consider what others suggested, maybe create a small berm and do some plantings.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Originally posted by yesrutgers01:

I know that in my town, we have to get permits for every fracking thing that we do...there have been a few times that even contractors have told us that a lot of people will do things near us without the permits and if it was in the back of the yard or something they could get in and out in less then a day, that we could always take the chance of not paying for the permit. The downside would be if we or one of our adjoining neighbors ever wanted to sell, it could become an issue and cost us more in the long run.

Wayne has been like this for years. My dad, who was seriously old school in being able to fix or replace anything, replaced his hot water heater back around 91-92. He put the old one out and called waste disposal in the township to have it picked up: they cross-connected with another department, determined he didn't have a permit (he didn't even know that they required a permit for that type of work back then), and fined him in addition to the cost of paying for the permit.

 

[BigLou]

Absolutely contact the town - probably the engineering department or construction official;/ Do so in writing.

I had a similar situation in that a neighbor, whose property was on the side of the back of my property did some drainage and had a drain emptying onto my property in an area where I had drainage issues. hard to say how much was caused by this but this was a clear violation. I asked her to fix it and she did not. The day I noticed the for sale sign was the dayI contacted the town, the inspector came and issued a letter directing her to fix it, and also told her what to do.

Once that neighbor moves you will have little recourse. Give it your best shot now.

 

[Bagarocks]

I do have one question, Was this "clean Fill" this guy put in his backyard certified of no contaminates?? Is he now contaminating your property?
All Projects I've been on (not residential) require some sort of proof of non contamination documents.

Filling in a yard
You will need to file a Grading and Clearing Permit Application before disturbing or bringing in any soil to your property. This Application is available from the Engineering Division and has a fee of $50 per acre (the minimum fee is $50) 5000 Square feet (50' x 100' equivalent) of disturbed area. You will have to submit a survey of the property with the affected areas outlined and a topographic map showing existing and proposed contours. If there are no adverse effects to either your property or your neighbor's, and no restrictions on the property, such as: other reason to deny the application (easements, wetlands, stream encroachment, and or other issues), your request will be approved. If you are removing trees, please refer to the next question below for complete information on removing trees you may be required to replant some.

Buliding a retaining wall

Since you will likely be changing the grading of the land by installing a retaining wall, you will have to file a Grading and Clearing Permit application. This Application is available from the Engineering Division and has a fee of $50 per acre (the minimum fee is $50). The retaining wall location and size will have to be shown on the application documents. Walls which measure over thirty inches at its highest point require engineering drawings drawn by a licensed professional engineer or architect, material certification and a safety barrier

This is from Marboro Township you don't think they are the only Town in the state to require something like this do you?

 

[RutgersUnion]

Originally posted by ru109:

A couple of ways you can handle this.

1.--Have a friend call the town pretending to be interested in the house and ask about the retaining wall. Once he gets an answer have them go to an open house and ask the relator. Once it's disclosed the relator "has" to let people know.

2--You could plant a couple of trees in your yard. You would be amazed how much water they soak up and it could take care of your problem without any confrontations.

HA! Good luck with that.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Definitely call the township.

 

[R1766U]

Wow! Thanks to everyone who gave a suggestion..his property is now just higher than mine and no pumping is involved. I agree with some of you in regards to complaining to the town might not resolve the issue, as my neighbors all get some swampyness in thier yards....this guys yard just seems to increase the problem.

Gonna talk to my side neighbor and see what he thi ks, hes lived there for over 20 years and is very familiar with the town.


Like the 007 idea of infiltrating the open bouse! Not sure If I could pull that off.

Will keep gou posted! And keep the suggestions coming!

 

[KingHigh]

Don't LeAnn on your neighbor. Take action yourself. Contact the town with a copy to the culprit and the realtor. They will definitely do something because permits are need for the retaining wall, but not necessarily the grading. A lawsuit could be filed but tough for you since it was like that when you moved in.

Finally, you can consider installing drywells in the area to capture the surface water in an underground detention facility where it stays until it can percolate into the ground. They are not very expensive...maybe 1000. I'd bet you could pretty much out-drain the 25 year storm on your property for only a couple thousand. Maybe your neighbor will even agree to contribute.

 

[WhiteBus]

Originally posted by R1766U:
i know this was a topic a couple of months ago, can't seem to find it....

Neighbor directly behind my home built up his backyard about 5 years ago (before I owned my house) about 2 feet above my property (put in a cement block retaining wall). The back of my yard and the back of my side neighbors yard constantly is like a swamp because all of the water runs off his property into ours.

My side neighbor said he did the job without permits and he had previously gotten into heated arguments over it with him, but never called the town because he didn't think the town would really do anything about it.

Today, I noticed a for sale sign on the culprits house. Sure enough, the house is up for sale. I would think now is a prime time to put in a complaint with the town. Has anyone ever dealt with anything like this before?

-is it worth complaining?
-do you think the town will actually make him fix it?


I was going to install a drain/dry well myself this summer, just because I didn't want to have it out with the neighbor, but now that they are considering moving, it might be a perfect time. Thanks for the advice, there is always extremely valuable experiences/advice shared here.

This post was edited on 3/20 7:36 PM by R1766U

If he built a retaining wall sounds like it was done to keep the water from you and your neighbors from going into his lawn, not the other way around. Sounds like you all have a backyard that doesn't drain well.

Also check with the town first. Many towns do not require permits for landscaping projects.

 

[KingHigh]

Retaining walls are built to retain dirt and level off an area. They do not "retain" water. Water finds the low point, ie the OP's yard.

 

[WhiteBus]

Originally posted by KingHigh:
Retaining walls are built to retain dirt and level off an area. They do not "retain" water. Water finds the low point, ie the OP's yard.

I completely understand what a retaining wall is. The fact the neighbor built up his lawn is an indication that there is a problem with these folks backyards. Only one person did something about it.

 

[KingHigh]

Exactly. Without permits, engineering review or regard to how it will impact others.

 

[RU4Real]

I drain water onto my neighbor's property all the time. It beats the hell out of walking all the way back to the house.

 

[albanyknight]

Originally posted by rutgersal:
I actually have the same issue, and was wondering how anyone rectified the situation. Neighbor in back of me, whom I've never spoken to, built a retaining wall which drains out to my property, which is a couple of feet lower than his. To be fair, water has always been draining out from his property to mine, but now it's more concentrated because of the drain in his retaining wall. I think what should happen is that a pipe or a drain should be built, so that his water will travel under my ground and then to the street in front of my house, where it ultimately travels to the sewer. But who pays for it?

Also I've been thinking about building a French drain around my house. Has anyone done this, and how much does it cost?

I get a flood in my basement about once a year, but thankfully the sump pump always takes care of it, with the exception of one year when the
electricity went out.

Al - French drains can go $5,000 and up. However, they work great as we have a finished basement and only one instance of water damage in 17 years. That came as a result of our power being out for five days. We now have a battery back-up connected to the sump-pump.

 

[RutgersUnion]

They make a backup sump pump that works with water pressure instead of electric. Father in law installed it in his house and its been a life saver since hes always losing power durring storms.
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