No Water, One pipe for three flats

[BigProblemo]

Hi, I live in a tenement flat in Aberdeen. A pipe supplies three flats on my side of the building. There is only one stopcock for all three flats.

Recently a pipe broke in the lowest flat(first floor right). The police and a plumber were called to break into the flat and fix a leak that was flooding the Chinese restaurant below his property. They have twisted off the pipe which feeds the two flats above (second floor right, third floor right). I have been without water since Saturday.

So here comes the big problem. The guy who owns the flat is rarely in, I also talked with him but he does not seem to speak English(Chinese). When i talked to him he more or less just looked at me and said "yeah" all the time i was speaking (making me think he speaks no English). I have contacted the police, environmental health, the council, Scottish water and talked with citizens advice. They have not been helpful though the environmental health guy said "not much we can do apart from talk to the guy".

What i want to know is if there is anything i could do? The police/plumber have disconnected me and another flat(which no one lives in) from the water mains and there is no leak on my property.

I'm going a bit mad here with phoning everyone and trying to get anything done. Is it possible for me to get the police/plumber to fix it? Should i pay for it as it is the supply to my flat?. Just to clarify the pipe is IN the first floor right. Its been over a week now and i'm really not sure what to do.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. I can clarify anything if anything is unclear. Thanks

 

[HERTS P&D]

Open his flat door, get pipe fixed, deny everything.

Andy

 

[BigProblemo]

Hah its very tempting but it currently has a police padlock on the door from when they broke in. Don't want to mess with that!

 

[Ian H]

Do you know how the pipe is broken?

If it’s inside it’s probably a fitting which could have been as easy to fix as it was to cap off.

Would Scottish Water supply you bottled water? United Utilities would.

I’d go in with Andy and have a look, I can’t imagine the police are going to call round to check on their padlock.

 

[footprints]

I don't suppose the police realised they were cutting off your supply they thought it was for the problem flat and left it to the owner to repair.
I would feel inclined to contact the chief constable be polite and if that fails tell him if it ain't sorted soon you will be appearing with a sad face sitting in an empty bath with a bottle of water in the Daily Mail.
Headline "Coppers nicked my copper water pipe"

 

[Madrab]

Do you have a factor? There must be someone who manages the building?

If the pipe that feeds all the flats is cut then it's a communal issue which gives different rights as far as right to access and repair is concerned. Usually it would be down to whoever manages that side of things to sort it out.