Damp course - Freeholder or me?

dickie_engine

I have to get damp proofing on the back wall of my house, as it's bubbling up and damaging the wood.

Two things

1. Can anyone recommend anyone in the west london area?

2. DO you know whether the freeholder (who owns the flat upstairs) bears any responsibility for the work - should I only be paying half? Isn't it the case if say, the roof needed replacing, I'd be liable for half, so isn't this the same?

Cheers, R

cattie

When I owned a ground floor pb maisonette, with one other flat above, having damp proof work done was my responsibilty as the damage was being caused to my interior.

You raise a valid point though about the costs of the roof replacement being shared between both properties, but something like damp work affecting the ground floor perhaps not being so.

I think you need to look at the terms of your lease to try to determine from that what your are your sole responsibilities & what are shared.

If you are on good terms with the freeholder, then perhaps take a chance & ask him direct about getting the work done & sharing the cost.

Heath_Robinson

I'm not trying to patronise you in any way, but be as sure as you can that it is rising damp before you spend a lot of money on a DPC. Because most damp 'experts' will come round and say "oh yeah that's rising damp, a chemical DPC will sort you right out" when it's actually no such thing and even if it is a chemical DPC isn't exactly 100% effective and the 'guarentees' you recieve aren't normally worth the paper they're written on.

Condensation is a far more common cause of damp, due to UPVC double glazing and central heating etc.