My Neighbour's Yard Drains Into Mine
They regraded, built a shed or put in a pool, and now every storm ends up on your side of the fence. What the rules actually say, what a swale along the line does, and why the fix is often on your side whatever the cause. Lumen Landscaping builds swales and drains along the line in Hamilton yards: call (905) 906-0671 or send the form for a free written quote.
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The problem
What you are seeing
It used to be fine. Then the neighbours put in a pool, or a shed, or had a load of topsoil spread and new sod laid, and the first big storm afterwards put a lake along your side of the fence. Now the strip beside the fence is soft all summer, the water crosses the line in a sheet when it rains hard, and the low corner of your yard, which was never wet before, is wet every week.
This is the awkward one, so this page stays practical. Water does not respect property lines, and most subdivisions were graded so that water from several lots runs together along shared swales to the street. When one lot changes its grade, blocks a swale or points a downspout at the fence, the water goes somewhere, and somewhere is usually the neighbour. Hamilton's own Lot Grading page names conflict between neighbours as one of the consequences of poor grading, which tells you how common this is.
The rules are on your side. The fix, though, is usually on your side of the line too, because you can only build on your own lot, and a yard that can shed water from next door is a yard that stays dry whatever the neighbour does next.
Our Work
Rock beds, walls and graded yards we have built
Where the neighbour's water comes from
When a yard that was dry becomes wet, something on one of the two lots changed. These are the usual suspects.
- A regrade or a load of fill: Topsoil spread for new sod, or a yard levelled for a play structure, raises the grade on their side. Water that used to run across their lot to the street now runs downhill to yours.
- A shed, pool deck or patio across the swale: Many lots share a swale along the property line that carries water from both backyards to the street. A shed, a pool deck or a patio built across it dams the water behind it, on whichever side is lower.
- A downspout pointed at the fence: A downspout extended to get water away from their foundation often ends at the property line. That is a whole roof section arriving in your side yard with every storm.
- A raised bed or wall along the line: A garden bed built up against the fence, or a low wall along the line, turns the fence line into a dam on one side and a spillway on the other.
- A fence with solid base boards: A privacy fence with boards tight to the ground, or a gravel board, can hold water back on the high side until it finds a gap, then release it all at once.
- The lots were designed that way: Sometimes nothing changed. The subdivision grading plan always ran the shared swale through your yard, and it has filled in or been blocked on your own side over the years.
Google reviews
What our customers say
“The team did an excellent job re-sodding our backyard. They were professional, careful working around our pool, and the finished result looks fantastic.”
“I recently had Lumen remove the surface of our weed-infested lawn and replace it with fresh sod on the larger of two areas, and river rock on the smaller area. It was a pleasure dealing with Jeff at Lumen.”
“Excellent experience with Lumen Landscaping. Efficient, knowledgeable, hardworking, and my lawn looks fantastic. Highly recommend! I had Lumen landscape a second project one year later. Same terrific experience.”
The fix
How we fix it on your side of the line
A swale along the line. The cleanest fix is the one the subdivision was designed with: a shallow, grassed swale along your side of the property line that catches water coming across and carries it to the street or the back of the lot. We shape it, sod it and keep it clear of beds and sheds, and we never fill or dam the shared swale in return, because that is the same mistake that started the problem. Our grading page covers how a regrade is finished.
A French drain along the line. On clay, or where there is no room for a swale, a trench with perforated pipe in clear stone along the line collects the water below the surface and carries it to a low point, a dry well or the street. It catches a sheet of water from next door before it reaches your lawn or your house. All the drainage fixes are on our yard drainage page.
Regrade the low corner. If the water collects in a corner of your yard with no outlet, we regrade it so it drains, and if it collects against your house, that is the most urgent kind: see our page on water draining toward the house. Where the puddle is just a puddle, our page on water pooling in the yard walks the ladder of fixes.
Within the rules. In Hamilton the homeowner is responsible for keeping the lot graded as it was approved when the subdivision was built, routine landscaping is limited to fill of 15 cm or less with no change to drainage onto a neighbour and no swale touched, and anything more is a site alteration permit. In Burlington the site alteration by-law regulates grade and drainage changes and asks about any work within half a metre of a lot line, which is exactly where this work happens. We plan the fix so your water still goes where the plan said, and so you are never the neighbour in someone else's version of this page. Before any trench, Ontario One Call gets a locate request, which the law requires.
Check this yourself first
Before the conversation with the neighbour, and before any quote, get the facts straight on a rainy day.
- Watch where the water crosses: Stand out in a hard rain and watch the line. Note exactly where water comes across, whether it comes in a sheet or from one point, and where it ends up on your side. That one observation settles most of the argument.
- Find the shared swale: Look for the shallow dip along the property line. On many Hamilton lots it is about a metre wide and centred on the line, half on each side. Then look at what is sitting in it, on both sides, including yours.
- Check your own downspouts first: Trace your downspouts before you raise theirs. A fair conversation starts with your own roof water going where it should, and it is the first thing a Lot Grading inspector would look at.
- Take dated photos: Photograph the water crossing the line and the standing water on your side, with the date. If the City or an insurer ever needs to see it, a photo from the day beats a description from memory.
- Know who to call: In Hamilton, the City's Lot Grading staff can be reached at 905-546-2489 for a lot grading or drainage concern. The property standards by-law also says stormwater, including roof discharge, must be drained so it does not cause recurring standing water, erosion or damage on an adjoining property.
- When to call us: Once you know where the water comes across and where it collects, call (905) 906-0671. We will look at your side of the line and tell you what would catch it and carry it off, whatever happens next door.
Planning
What a lasting fix includes, and what changes the price
A lasting fix always includes
- Watching where the water crosses and where it collects before anything is planned
- Your own downspouts carried to where they should go
- A swale along your side of the line, sodded and kept open
- A French drain where the ground is clay or there is no room for a swale
- The low corner regraded so it drains, and sod put back where we dug
- A locate before any trench, and a plan that keeps your water off the next lot too
What affects the price
- The length of the line that water comes across
- A swale, a drain, or both
- How far the water has to be carried to leave your lot
- Clay, which usually means a drain
- Beds, a fence or a shed on your side that have to be moved to open the swale
- Access to the property line for a small machine
A typical fix, in plain words. Picture a side yard where water comes across under the fence in a sheet after the neighbour’s regrade and collects in the back corner. We shape a swale along your side of the fence from the back corner to the street, carry your own downspout into it, regrade the corner so it falls into the swale, and re-sod. The next storm crosses the line, turns down the swale and leaves. In a newer subdivision in Waterdown, the swales from the grading plan are often still there under a few years of mulch and bins, and reopening them is most of the job.
Every quote is written and free, and materials are billed at what they cost us with no markup.
Related
Related pages
Services: yard drainage and grading. Related problems: water pooling in the yard and water draining toward the house. Areas: Hamilton and Waterdown. More answers on our FAQ page, and more problems we fix.
FAQs
Neighbour runoff questions
Hamilton's property standards by-law says stormwater, including roof discharge, must be drained so it does not cause recurring standing water, erosion or other damage on an adjoining property, and the homeowner is responsible for keeping the lot graded as it was approved. A regrade or a blocked swale that floods your yard is a lot grading concern the City will look at.
The City's Lot Grading staff, at 905-546-2489, for a lot grading or drainage concern. Take dated photos of the water crossing the line first, and check your own downspouts before you call, because that is the first thing an inspector looks at on both lots.
No. A berm along the line dams water back onto their side, which is the same thing you are complaining about, and in Hamilton changing drainage onto a neighbour takes you out of the routine landscaping exemption and into a site alteration permit. A swale or a drain that carries the water away is the fix that keeps everyone dry.
A shallow, grassed dip along the property line, often about a metre wide and centred on the line, that carries water from both backyards to the street. Most subdivisions were graded with them. On a pool or site plan review in Hamilton, swales along the property lines may not be obstructed or moved, and that rule exists because blocking one floods the neighbour.
Because you can only build on your own lot, and a yard that can shed water from next door stays dry whatever they do next. A swale or a drain along your side is a permanent fix in your control. The conversation and the City can run alongside it.
It carries water to where the grading plan always meant it to go, the street or the back of the lot, and never onto the next property. We build it that way on purpose, and in Burlington, where the site alteration by-law asks about any work within half a metre of a lot line, we check the rules before we quote.
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Get a Free Quote to Keep Their Water Off Your Lawn
Tell us where the water comes across and where it collects, and send a photo from a rainy day if you have one. We will look at your side of the line and get back to you fast with a free written quote.