What to do if your neighbour's gutter overhangs your property – 3 checks to make before you take the issue any further

Wondering what to do if your neighbour’s gutter overhangs your property?

An overhanging gutter alone might not be a strong case legally (with a few exceptions), but if you’re here, reading this article, it’s likely that the gutter is causing other problems – like excess rainwater damaging your property. Just like the rules around a neighbour building a shed against your fence, though, the answer isn’t straightforward – even if it crosses your property’s boundary.

‘A property owner generally owns not only the land itself but also the airspace immediately above it to the extent necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment of the property,’ says Andrew Boast, director of SAM Conveyancing. ‘A gutter physically projecting across the boundary may therefore amount to a trespass, but that is not necessarily the end of the story. Your neighbour may have an existing legal right which allows the guttering to remain.’

If your neighbour’s gutter is overhanging your property, you'll need to check these three things before taking further action.

1. Check the deeds

Your property deeds should be the thing you look at first if you’re concerned about a neighbour’s gutter overhanging your property. They often lay out any permissions or restrictions around objects crossing your home’s boundary, including rights relating to things like the passage of rainwater. According to Andrew, the exact wording matters.

‘The most straightforward situation is where the property deeds expressly allow the gutter, roof or another part of the building to project over neighbouring land,’ Andrew explains.

In this case, your neighbour isn’t legally breaking any rules – but if other problems arise as a result of the gutter, such as rainwater being directed onto your property, things change.

‘A right allowing a gutter to overhang does not necessarily give somebody a right to discharge water onto your property,’ says Andrew.

That’s when you can take legal action, in the same way that you can if your neighbour's tree damages your fence.

2. Consider how long the gutter has been there

You’ll also need to check how long the gutter has been in place for, which can sometimes give your neighbour more rights.

‘In some circumstances, a legal right can be acquired through long and uninterrupted use, known as prescriptive easement,’ Andrew explains. ‘The commonly cited period is 20 years, but simply showing that the gutter has existed for 20 years does not automatically establish a legal right.’

Andrew says questions like whether the gutter was there continuously and whether its presence was open and obvious can all arise, and older properties can be subject to other issues like implied easements and the interpretation of historic conveyancing documents.

You’ll also need to check previous permissions…

3. See if a previous owner agreed to the gutter

Things get even more complicated when you take previous owners’ permission into account. Just as it’s wise to check with a check with a neighbour before pruning their tree, your neighbour might have got the green light from the former owners of the property – but Andrew says there’s a crucial difference between informal permission and a properly created legal easement.

‘A previous neighbour may have informally said that they were happy for the gutter to remain,’ he explains. ‘That may explain why it was installed, but it does not necessarily create a permanent right binding every future owner.

‘Evidence can therefore be crucial. Deeds, transfers, old correspondence, building agreements and statutory declarations are usually much more useful than somebody simply remembering that the previous owners were fine with it.’

What are the next steps?

If you find that your neighbour’s overhanging gutter does breach any of the above permissions and restrictions – and if it’s causing damage to your property, especially – Andrew advises chatting to your neighbour about it first. It’s always the best initial step when it comes to garden features that cause neighbour disputes.

‘Once you understand the position, a conversation with the neighbour may resolve the issue without the cost and stress of formal legal proceedings,’ says Andrew.

‘Court proceedings over a very minor projection can become disproportionately expensive, particularly where there is little practical interference with the use of the property.’

If, however, your neighbour’s overhanging gutter is causing damage to your property, you’ll want to take similar legal steps to those involved with a neighbour’s tree roots damaging your garden.

Where to buy gutter kits

With those rules in mind, you can install your own gutter without breaking any rules!

Always make these three checks before taking action against a neighbour's gutter overhanging your property.