Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

Re: septic crossing property lines

Hello! Thank you for the question.

I have to ask an important initial question: Is it your neighbor's pipe that is crossing your property lines, or the water discharge from this pipe? I'll try to answer both scenarios below:

Water Discharge onto your Property

If it is simply a question of water naturally running downhill from an uphill property, there would probably not be any liability. However, if your neighbor has an actual pipe installed and has redirected water flow from his property onto yours, this he cannot do.

Your town may have ordinances governing this more specifically, but in general the prohibition on what your neighbor is doing is rooted in Pennsylvania common law. Common Law isn't necessarily statutory, but is rather the culmination of case decisions handed down by the courts over the years. What your neighbor is doing would be considered a trespass at common law.

Pipe Crossing your Property

This is a bit more complicated. First, do you know who installed the pipe...your neighbor or the town? In either event, there may be an easement in place which allowed them to install the pipe across your property. An easement is basically a property owner giving permission to someone else to cross the property owner's land (e.g. a roadway) or to place an object on the property owner's land (e.g. a sewer line connecting to a public sewer).

If an easement exists, then your neighbor probably can keep the pipe on your property. The easement will be recorded with your deed at the county courthouse, so you may want to check there. If no easement is recorded, then whether the pipe is permissible depends on a number of factors, including whether the pipe hooks in to a public sewer system and whether the town itself installed the pipe.

I hope this helps!