dispute with neighbour over our builder -help!

yasj

We had a loft conversion done in September and all went well-until now.

we had a damp patch on the new wall and got the builder in to have a look. They explained the what needed to be done and one of the things were a few broken slates on next doors roof whilst they were up there.
They also suggested we tell our neighbour that at some stage she would need to get the cement fillets redone on her own roof.

Now, we have a fantastic relationship with her so I asked the builder if they would do it whilst they were up on the roof if my neighbour wanted. They agreed and said the cost would be £500.

I spoke to her and told her and suggested that she may want to get her own roofers to have a look as well as it was a lot of money. I forgot to tell her about the slates as the builder had mentioned it in passing.

she has since got two roofers in and they have both told her about the broken slates and that her cement fillets were fine. and that our builders had left debris in her gutters.

When she told my dh he apologized and promised to get it all fixed asap.

few days later we got a letter saying she wanted to use her own roofer as she did not trust our builder and that we would have to pay!

we asked to sit down over a cup of coffee and said that in the first instance we would like the opportunity to fix the work and if an assessment by her roofer showed that it was not to standard then we would agree to her using him and we would sort it.she finally agreed but has served us yet another letter!

At the end of the day, our builder has agreed to fix it at no cost as it was his problem, but she is not budging as she feels the builder should have told her about the broken slates.

I have said sorry to her so many times and tried to make her see that i cant speak on his behalf but as a working mum with a 4 and 5 year old, i simply forgot to tell her.

she is holding that against us and is now refusing access to her roof -which means our roof cant get repaired.

where do we stand?we have offered to fix everything in the first instance which would not cost us anything. we have offered to pay for her own roofer if she is not happy with the works and feel we have been very reasonable.
can anyone advise?

1984ReturnsForReal_2

I believe she cant refuse access for you to do repairs on your own property

yasj

so how would one carry out essential repairs that can cause damage to my property if left unheeded?

this is depressing:(

LJM

i would get advice from cab or such like then put it in writing and send her a letter, you have tried to be polite about the matter

yasj

She is only communicating via letter so have written back to her.

Plasterer

Sod her, it sounds like your relationship has gone sour (through her stupidity) tell here that you WILL repair the slates and if she does not agree simply let her pay someone else to fix it. When she comes knocking for payment tell her where to go. If she threathens any other action how can she prove the broken slates were your fault? they may equally have been broken before you had your work done.
Then headbutt her! (No sorry don't do this its just a sick joke)

yasj

Now Plasterer-that is exactly what we really want to do!! And would have if we had responded to her letter straight away.:beer:
however-once the hormones and testerone settled in our household we had to put our sensible hats on.
If only I had the luxury of exercising your solution....:j

Plasterer

yasj wrote: »

She is only communicating via letter so have written back to her.

What exactly did you write back to her? I probably wouldnt have done this as you have probably incriminated yourself - She now has the evidence when she comes knocking for the dough.

Just one more tactic...........................



Sorry I need to grow up

theonlywayisup

Plasterer wrote: »

Sorry I need to grow up

Life is too short to grow up sometimes!

To the OP, you can obtain a copy of your neighbours Deeds (I think it costs a couple of quid) and there will be any rights of access for people like water, gas, etc but also to specific neighbouring properties for repairs.

Make sure you use the Gov. website and not a dodgy one.

yasj

:think::think::think:Thanks all.

I wrote back as she is refusing any verbal communication and just answered all her accusations.

There's no deniability of the fact that the builder is doing the fix-its the fact that we have offered a very fair solution-ie get the repair done by us and get this assessed by someone independent so that she is happy.

it is obviou she is documenting everything so hopefully nothing incriminating :eek:

i thinkif we didnt respond then it could make us seem difficult and we are definetly trying to sort this asap.

you are right about the deeds-will check that out.

CouponWoman

You do have the right to go onto a neighbours property to do certain repairs, however if I am not mistaken you have to give written notice (if you have a difficult neighbour). Your neighbour cannot stop you if you need to do the repair to maintain your property.

I don't like my neighbour but when she needed some repairs to her extension the builders asked can they work from my side and I said yes as long as they cleaned up any mess.

If she is still difficult you might need to contact a solicitor, check your contents insurance as you might have legal expenses cover which will deal with it on your behalf.

If not you might find the local authority helpful.

Good luck