Is our neighbour liable for water damage?

Rdon

In recent heavy rain our roof leaked - water running down the bathroom wall damaging the ceiling, coving, wall and decoration (plaster has blown including wall tiles). We instantly made good as best we could (put plastic sheeting down, moved belongings) can but can't get on the roof to cover the leak.


Here's where it gets complicated....



It appears the leaks is caused by our neighbours roof. 12 years ago we had our house re-roofed and is currently in a good state of repair. Our neighbours house (which is a rental property) is in a poor state of repair and is currently vacant (since March '10). The landlord lives overseas and has not visited the property for 15 years. No majors repairs or maintenance has been carried out in this time either - apart from a lick of paint 3 years ago! Their roof is nail-sick and in desperate need of repair - it's a 1920's terrace with a 1920's roof!



When our roof was replaced, where the two roofs meet, roofing felt was placed under the neighbour's tiles to make good the join (as we believe is good practice). One of the neighbours tiles has recently slipped in heavy rain causing water to ingress, run along the roofing felt under the tiles, and down into our house.



Who is liable for the damage? We believe our insurance will pay out for the interior damage but not for the roof to be repaired (there was no 'storm', just heavy rain). Could our insurance pay for the roof, then try to claim against the neighbour's insurance?



Any advice in advance of dealing with the Claims departments would be most appreciated!

huckster

Difficult.

Your neighbour could be held liable, but if you can't contact them, how are you or the Insurers going to get their money.

Your Insurers might pay for the water damage, but they won't repair the neighbours roof.

I believe there is some law regarding this type of situation, but for the life of me, I cannot remember. I know that local authorities can sometimes get involved in helping in these situations, even if it is private property. They might have the owners contact details and be willing to write to them. But they might not be able to act, unless the property is a danger to the public. For example, in my area someone recently was forced by their local authority to repair a garden wall, because it was next to a public right of way.

There are some people who would effect the repair to the neighbours roof themselves and then send a copy of the bill with a covering letter to the neighbour. I presume someone must collect mail from the address or the post office re-direct mail somewhere. The plus side of this, is stopping future leaks, stopping need to claim with excess at stake and premium increases, but the negative is that you could be liable for issues arising from the repair and you might not get your money back from the neighbour.

Suggest that you take advice from a solicitor or Citizens Advice. Your Insurance may include a legal helpline and may cover legal expenses.

mikey72

As you builder was the last one on the neighbours roof, and would have disturbed the tiles to get the felt under, you may find he will be putting a claim in to you.

neas

it could be argued that in putting your felt under their tiles... you loosened the tiles that had lasted for 80+ years.

mikey72

When you got permission off your neighbour to disturb his roof, and put the felt under the tiles, was it in writing, or just verbal?
Did your builder make any comment on the poor state of the roof, or did he think it was ok at the time?

Rdon

We were unable to contact the owner when we replaced the roof. We have the UK letting agent's details but they couldn't contact them either - so we went ahead with the work anyway. Any of the tiles our roofer disturbed were put back properly. It was mentioned by the roofer (if I remember correctly - it was 12 years ago!) that their roof was in a very poor state, even back then. Although the nails fixing the slates were replaced, the tiles are ageing and degrading and the roofing batons are rotting. As I said, our roofer made good the join between the 2 houses. The slate on the neighbours roof may well have moved because of the underlying condition of the roof, not the work that we did. I guess we'll have to wait for the assessor/surveyor to find out.

I would be just our luck if we are penalised for maintaining and improving our property while the neighbour has done nothing. :mad:Subsequent tenants have moved out of there because of the state of the building and the unwillingness of the owner to fix anything (one family spent 4 months over winter without heating because the boiler broke. The UK letting agents only have permission to spend up to £50 without the owner's authority)

daveyjp

Call your local council and speak to someone who deals with private rented properties.

The section will be either part of the Housing Department for Environmental Health.

Explain that a neighbouring property is in a dilapidated condition and water ingress is causing damage to your property.

Rdon

Thanks for all the replies. We're now waiting for the insurance assessor and we'll see what he has to say. It's nice to be a little forewarned about what to expect!