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Bought a house with a known dispute over the drive
silverchoice
Posts: 225 Forumite
We recently bought a house with a known dispute over the drive. The dispute has been passed over to us now we have received a solicitors letter.
A builder had redeveloped our house and the next door neighbour had complained through a solicitor that the builder had piled soil onto his gable end causing damp in his basement.
There is a block paved drive that slopes down from the road to the back of our house. Between the drive and next doors gable end there is soil which the builder has covered in shale. This soil follows the
slope of the block-paved drive from right to left to the gable end. The neighbour says that the soil next to his gable end should be level with the bottom of his basement, which means that at the top near the pavement the soil needs to be lowered by 1.1metres !! He either wants us to remove the soil or build a retaining wall 6 inches from his gable end.
The neighbour has no proof of the previous level of the soil but I have found a photo on Google Street View that shows that the soil was about 6 inches lower at the bottom but you can't see the top bit where he wants it 1.1m lower.
When I asked the builder about the dispute, she said that it was just some one who doesn't like builders and that the level of the soil has hardly been raised.
Can next door make me do what they want without any proof?
And am I even liable when it was the builder that caused it.
I want to extend the drive to next doors gable end so I am willing to damp proof his wall before putting the new drive in. Shouldn't that be enough to cure the damp, and be acceptable to the neighbour? I really don't want to build a retaining wall as that would be very expensive.
A builder had redeveloped our house and the next door neighbour had complained through a solicitor that the builder had piled soil onto his gable end causing damp in his basement.
There is a block paved drive that slopes down from the road to the back of our house. Between the drive and next doors gable end there is soil which the builder has covered in shale. This soil follows the
slope of the block-paved drive from right to left to the gable end. The neighbour says that the soil next to his gable end should be level with the bottom of his basement, which means that at the top near the pavement the soil needs to be lowered by 1.1metres !! He either wants us to remove the soil or build a retaining wall 6 inches from his gable end.
The neighbour has no proof of the previous level of the soil but I have found a photo on Google Street View that shows that the soil was about 6 inches lower at the bottom but you can't see the top bit where he wants it 1.1m lower.
When I asked the builder about the dispute, she said that it was just some one who doesn't like builders and that the level of the soil has hardly been raised.
Can next door make me do what they want without any proof?
And am I even liable when it was the builder that caused it.
I want to extend the drive to next doors gable end so I am willing to damp proof his wall before putting the new drive in. Shouldn't that be enough to cure the damp, and be acceptable to the neighbour? I really don't want to build a retaining wall as that would be very expensive.
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Comments
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i think your neighbours trying it on - i would tell him to see me in court0
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Since neither of you have any proof of what it was like before, I'd completely ignore him. Let him waste his money on solicitor letters.0
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Out of interest, why did you buy this property? Did you get a significant reduction because of the dispute, or any other incentive to buy?silverchoice wrote: »We recently bought a house with a known dispute over the drive. The dispute has been passed over to us now we have received a solicitors letter.
I'm interested because I personally don't like unnecessary hassle, but appreciate that you won't have made the decison lightly.Value-for-money-for-me-puhleeze!
"No man is worth, crawling on the earth"- adapted from Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio
Hope is not a strategy
...A child is for life, not just 18 years....Don't get me started on the NHS, because you won't win...I love chaz-ing!0 -
VfM4meplse wrote: »Out of interest, why did you buy this property? Did you get a significant reduction because of the dispute, or any other incentive to buy?
I'm interested because I personally don't like unnecessary hassle, but appreciate that you won't have made the decison lightly.
It's a unique house and we got a good deal to get it and were convinced it's only a minor dispute between the builder and the neighbour which is still our view.0 -
Is the soil above any damp proof course?0
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david29dpo wrote: »Is the soil above any damp proof course?
As the house is over 100 years old I don't think there is a damp proof course.0 -
Can next door prove there is one and the soil is above it?0
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david29dpo wrote: »Can next door prove there is one and the soil is above it?
I doubt it.0 -
What is exactly behind the top of the soil? (in the house i mean)0
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david29dpo wrote: »What is exactly behind the top of the soil? (in the house i mean)
The basement is behind the soil, which they live in. The boiler is in the basement as well.0
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