Damp because of next door?

FireWyrm

Hi

I dont know where to start or go with this. Back in January the bloke who lived next door to us died. After probate, the house was sold to a 'wannabe' developer who set about gutting the place. Our house is one in a terrace. There was much thumping, bashing etc and when bits started to come down our chimney, I went next door to investigate. The whole house has been gutted, from top to bottom right back to the 100 year old bricks and he was in the process of knocking out a chimney breast. We complained that his actions were threatening the structure of the house and he stopped. A couple of week have passed and it has rained a couple of times, but now, today, we have noticed extensive damp patches on our side of the party wall. We are obviously infuriated, but not sure where to go or what to do next?

Do we get it assessed by our insurance company and send him the bill? How do we legally stop him damaging our house with his reckless actions?

Any thoughts welcome.

MrsFingersCrossed

I'm no expert but this would worry me too. I would have a look at my own home insurance first, and see whether you have any sort of legal cover. If you do, that's great, if you don't I would probably consult a lawyer. Also see what your insurance company have to say, though I'd hesitate about that as you don't want it to look like your house is being undermined unless you have to.


I would also want to know if this 'developer' has any sort of public liability insurance.

Mallotum_X

I'd contact your insurance initially.

Then contact him a swell.

Do you have a party wall agreement in place?

xylophone

Have you contacted your local planning authority?

Are there health and safety considerations?

Is this work putting the structural soundness of the property at risk?
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/responsibilities/buildingregulations/difference

FireWyrm

Mallotum_X wrote: »

I'd contact your insurance initially.

Then contact him a swell.

Well, we managed to track him down via a skip hire firm who are passing on our message about the 'unsecured' house as we speak. It remains to be seen whether he actually turns up and secures it, but it doesnt address the problem of damp in our house.

Mallotum_X wrote: »

Do you have a party wall agreement in place?

I am not aware of any such agreement. I own one house in a terrace and he owns next door. He just simply started work. I have no idea whether this agreement is in place, but I certainly havnt seen one.

FireWyrm

xylophone wrote: »

Have you contacted your local planning authority?

No. Does he need planning consent to rip out and strip plaster?

xylophone wrote: »

Are there health and safety considerations?

Only if you are in his portion of the building, the brick dust was horrific when I went round there.

xylophone wrote: »

Is this work putting the structural soundness of the property at risk?
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/responsibilities/buildingregulations/difference

Oh yes, I would say so. He has ripped out all the chimney breasts barring the one I stopped him doing because 'bits' were falling down our chimney with every strike of the sledgehammer. He told me that they would stop, reinforce the structure with a steel beam and use some sort of saw to saw through the mortar and the bricks.

He and his Polish builders disappears about 3 weeks ago and we havnt seen them since. All the windows are open and one window is completely open (they took it out so they could throw stuff through it into the back garden).

I know this is breaking and entering, but I could get in through the back door (the key is in the lock and can be reached through a cat flap) and secure the windows myself.

What are the thoughts on this? My main concern is stopping any further damage to my own home without antagonising him too much.

As I said, I managed to pass a message on through the skip hire firm, but he has yet to ring me back. I am thinking ahead about what to do if (as I fear) he has run out of money and just abandons the place during the winter.

eddddy

You need to:

- Inform the owner of the property of the problem (i.e. your property is being damaged as a result of his negligence)
- Tell him to fix the problem, so as to prevent further damage to your property
- Claim your repair costs (if any) from the property owner


If the property owner refuses to fix the problem, you might have to get a court order telling him to. (If he still refuses, he would be in contempt of court - in theory he could go to prison for this, but more likely face a fine).

If the property owner refuses to pay for your repairs, you can sue him.

missindecisive

The damp patches may have appeared for any number of reasons, defective lead flashing on a chimney, a dislodged slate on your roof, a chimney needing pointing. This could have happened even if your neighbour wasn't doing renovations..
I certainly would not enter the building uninvited.
Your best course of action will be to contact your local council and ask to speak to building control officer, voice your concerns and ask them to pay a visit.

[Deleted User]

Google it and check but I am pretty sure there has to be a party wall agreement in place before he starts working on a party wall.

FireWyrm

deannatrois wrote: »

Google it and check but I am pretty sure there has to be a party wall agreement in place before he starts working on a party wall.

I did google it after someone upthread mentioned it. There has been no agreement and I have never been informed in writing of his intentions.

We did speak to him over the weekend. He maintains that it is nothing to do with him and will not be doing any repairs. I cant afford a solicitor to sue him.