Stopcock for upstairs flat located in property downstairs - legal?

Not exactly a DIY question, but kind of relevant to this group, so thought I would enquire here (excuse the lengthy description).

My sister lives in a terraced property, comprised of upstairs and downstairs flats (they were built that way, not houses that were converted). She lives in one of the upstairs ones.

Anyway, seems the water supply to the upstairs flats enters through the bathrooms of the flats directly below them.

I popped round the other day as her water had gone off, which coincided with some building work that was taking place below.

Seems the plumbers have altered the pipework and put new stopcocks in, on both the mains water for that flat and the supply to my sisters flat upstairs and hadn't bothered to put the water back on before packing up for the weekend. Which I soon rectified after managing to locate a keyholder.

Now, this gives me a number of concerns.

Should the person downstairs have a stopcock to the property upstairs? I know there is the issue of what happens in the event of a burst pipe, but also there's the issue of someone sabotaging the supply (which is kind-of what happened here)

Also, instead of the pipe entering the building and going straight up, they've run the pipework (theirs and hers) all the way round their bathroom and back so they could put these stopcocks in where they are "easily accessable". Which means, what is to stop someone at a later date tapping in to the wrong water supply if they decided to redo the bathroom again?

So, I guess my questions are, should the flat downstairs have a stopcock to the flat upstairs and shouldn't the supply to the flat upstairs go straight up and not be diverted round their property where it can be "tampered with"?

Thanks in advance.

Simon T

Well the downstairs person could still "sabotage" the upstairs one by turning off the stopcock in the road. I can see some logic in providing an extra tap downstairs for, as you say, plumbing disasters (although I don't think it is normally done). Best "fix" would be for stop taps to be in a communal area, for example a shared hallway.

Where is the water meter, one hopes it not in the flat below or that would be silly. As the c*ck was always downstairs, then making it easier to get at might be fine, but really unless they had liaised with the upstairs occupants prior to the work, surely they have acted illegally. Brian

No I don't, but I find that "time management" enables me to slot several tasks into a concurrent "program".

Sadly I have not yet managed to solve the overriding need to actually be present when attending to problems concerning fluid transmission. Hence the need for a plumber.

AB

The properties have seperate water meters and seperate turn offs outside. But, as I said in my OP, enters the flat from the property directly below, which is where they have tinkered about with it.

To answer Newshound's question, there is no communal area.

So, the water company may have to re-route?

As an aside, my sister's flat is rented and belongs to a housing assosiation. The flat downstairs currently belongs to a private landlord who is planning on letting it out.

So I guess in the event of any future problems, let the landlords sort out between them?

Outside the property, under an inspection cover in the path in front of the building, next to the neighbours.

Seems they had turned off the supply both outside and inside the flat. Though had turned the external supply to their flat back on.

Well it's done now.

The property my sister resides in is rented and owned by a housing assosiation, she is going to be having words with them on Monday about this.

The chap who owns the flat downstairs is renovating it with a view to letting it out. So I guess her landlord is going to have to have a word with him and lewt them sort it out between them.

The first property my daughter owned was a first floor flat which originall y was part of a large store and warehouse that was subsequently split into smaller units. The lounge had a fancy window seat along one wall with a cor ner TV stand built in. We later found out that this structure was nothing m ore than a pipe housing for a soil pipe from the next door shop to find its way out of the building to the down stack. I must say I could never sit in that lounge again without contemplating on the possibility that someone el se's s*it might be floating past me. The thought also occurred as to who wo uld be responsible if the pipe leaked at some point. Needless to say my dau ghter did not stay there long.

Richard

Cut the pipe where it enters the flat and put a stopcock there for your use and raise merry hell if the one downstairs gets turned off or better still. while the builders are there remove the downstairs c*ck and join the pipe straight through.

replying to Simon T, Lozano wrote: This is exactly my situation and following a dispute with the neighbors I have today come home to find my water turned off by them!! Did you get anywhere with this? She is selling her flat, wonder of she has declared this dispute!! This is causing me unnecessary stress! The previous neighbour fitted a stop c*ck in the flat so they could have a water meter, unbeknown to us that stop c*ck turned off our water!! Any advice would be gratefully received!!

You can inform every potential buyer that views of the new dispute.