Property damage/ neighbour dispute

Duvaljones

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Could you ask your Neighbours if your builder coul look and see if he can find the problem?

Once the cost was known then if you paid for it and then you could come to some sort of repayment agreement with your neighbour.

Unfortunately the builder (and the daughters) remain adamant that the roof is fine and the only thing he has suggested since this began was to 'turn up the heating and open a window' to dry out the damp.

As for splitting the cost or arranging any kind of payment plan, I'm afraid to say they clam up whenever costs/money is mentioned. They even turned down free work from my roofer (offered as a goodwill gesture) - the reasons for which were never made clear.

kinger101

Duvaljones wrote: »

My mistake, I wasn't sure what a conditional fee agreement was so thank you for clarifying. As for eviction, I might have reached the end of my patience but I'm not a monster! All I want is for the root cause of the damage to be confirmed, repaired and our ceilings made good. Basically, to have my house back to the state it was in before this all happened. The thought of it going as far as having anyone kicked out of their house is just horrible and not what I want at all.

It probably wouldn't come to eviction. Even if she sells, moving into a property she can maintain might be a good outcome. I think the threat of escalation needs to be used at least. Not being a monster cuts both ways. Nice old ladies don't let their neighbours houses develop damp problems, especially when they have babies in the house.

moneyistooshorttomention

Duvaljones wrote: »

Unfortunately the builder (and the daughters) remain adamant that the roof is fine and the only thing he has suggested since this began was to 'turn up the heating and open a window' to dry out the damp.

As for splitting the cost or arranging any kind of payment plan, I'm afraid to say they clam up whenever costs/money is mentioned. They even turned down free work from my roofer (offered as a goodwill gesture) - the reasons for which were never made clear.

In that case...is your roofer still willing to do this free work? If he is and it wouldnt be necessary to go inside the neighbours house (ie because it could all be done from outside) I'd just tell my builder to get on and do it (having taken photos etc beforehand as evidence of why it was necessary for me to send my workman onto someone else's property to deal with it).

Deal with first, apologise later in circumstances where the structure of your house itself is being affected by them would be my take on it.

moneyistooshorttomention

kinger101 wrote: »

It probably wouldn't come to eviction. Even if she sells, moving into a property she can maintain might be a good outcome. I think the threat of escalation needs to be used at least. Not being a monster cuts both ways. Nice old ladies don't let their neighbours houses develop damp problems, especially when they have babies in the house.

Precisely!

That's the thing, there are genuine "nice little old ladies" and then there are right selfish little biddies who just happen to be little/old/female, but aren't anyone's definition of nice/are still capable of doing things for themselves but prefer to hide behind others/etc. If she doesn't give a damn how she is damaging your house and is hiding behind her daughters she may well be in the second category, rather than the first.

Always judge them individually to see which you have to deal with. Advancing age doesn't automatically turn people "nice" - if only!

lisyloo

Firstly I'm not saying you're a monster and she probably wouldn't get evicted. You'd probably get a charge on the house to be paid when she moves on. What I'm trying to communicate is that just because someone is liable doesn't mean they can be made to pay certainly not easily.

As a daughter in law of an 87 year old mil with dimensia I would point out that a lot of elderly people and not fully capable of taking care of simple affairs let alone more complicated ones.
That doesn't make them bad people. I do fully sympathise.
My mil is sometimes capable. I've tried to get attorney stuff but she refuses.
I do sympathise totally with your situation but she probably isn't a monster either but has lost the capacity to deal with this.

It's difficult for family because we can't put her in a home against her will.

I_have_spoken

A solicitor's "Letter before action" may be a wake-up call to the 'not bovvered' daughters.

Point out that the water coming in must be damaging both properties and greatly reducing the value of their hoped-for inheritance...

cb4fwh

Remember that you are obliged to notify any future potential buyer of your property of any written correspondence with your neighbours.

That is usually enough for buyers to question their purchase - legal correspondence would immediately scare the majority of buyers away.

I would always try and keep solicitors letters to a last resort for this reason...

lonestar1

Assuming the neighboring property also has damp issues perhaps a concerned call to the council asking them to check the old dear isnt living in squalid conditions

moneyistooshorttomention

cb4fwh wrote: »

Remember that you are obliged to notify any future potential buyer of your property of any written correspondence with your neighbours.

That is usually enough for buyers to question their purchase - legal correspondence would immediately scare the majority of buyers away.

I would always try and keep solicitors letters to a last resort for this reason...

I wouldn't see that as a likely problem. By the time OP comes to sell the house then chances are that the issue will be resolved and he only has to say "Neighbours house was causing a problem to mine. They dealt with it. End of dispute".

What would put a buyer off is if the neighbour hadn't stopped their house damaging OPs.

lisyloo

I would always try and keep solicitors letters to a last resort for this reason...

That is sensible.
Only the OP can judge but from what I've read I think it's getting pretty close to the only option.