next door house getting knocked down

mp3duck

Our neighbor recently sold to developers, who are now in the process of knocking down what is a beautiful Victorian house, which had gone though extensive renovation, and replacing it with two 6 bed houses in the existing plot..
Sadly, despite a big local campaign, it got planing permission..

Anyway, on to my question: The demolition work is creating a large amount of dust (as you'd expect), which is making our cars, and windows in the house totally filthy. Do I have a legal right to ask them to pay for both window and car cleaning? I'll of course ask that they do this, but wanted to know if they would be legally obliged to agree.

Thanks
Danny

dinkylink

Not wishing to sound pedantic, but is it really worth the hassle?


How much does it cost to get someone to clean your windows £10-15? You can also get your car cleaned down the local eastern European hand car wash for a fiver.

mp3duck

it'll cost more than £10-£15 for our house, as it's a fairly large detached property..
Yes, it would only cost £5-£10 for the cars, but why should we have to pay? We're having to put up with a huge amount of noise etc etc for what will probably be 6-8 months.. Why should we be out of pocket, even if it's for not a huge amount..
I'd actually expect them to clean our cars and windows more than once, should the build phase create more dust..

moneyistooshorttomention

£20 is £20 and many people might not be able to afford to cover that much of someone else's expenses for them (ie the developers).

It would help set the principle too that they must pay for any damage they cause - which just might make them be a bit more careful not to cause any in the first place.

mp3duck

any actual damage will be covered by the party wall agreement. Surveyors took photos, and assessed our home before they started work, so I believe we are legally covered should their work physically damage our house.

marleyboy

You could ask if they will clean your car, but if they say "Not a prayer!" there is little if anything you can do to make them.

Damages to cars and property I imagine will be covered and possibly even cleaning up after they have finished (which might include your car n windows, but a very light might at that).

The demolition is going ahead and is not likely to stop, the most you can do is complain about noise, dust and mess, at least unless or until damage to any of your property has occurred that can be acted on. A dusty car is likely to only get one raised eyebrow.

Yolina

Having had to live with a construction site (it'a a rather small affair - they are squeezing in 4 town houses) across the road for just over a year, I'd say don't bother cleaning your windows or car more often than you usually do, unless you want to end up having to do it every other day :rotfl: I've always done my car every week so that's what I stick with; as for the windows I now do them less often than I used given that they get just as dirty in a few days. Don't imagine that a lot of that dust won't find its way indoors too... a right PITA

Jagraf

Although its a nightmare, it won't be for ever. Wll you never need any work doing on your Victorian property? We live in an old house and someone is always doing something. Everyone always goeswith the flow, so that we all feel comfortable.

A present, the house opposite is having an extension, the one next door is laying a patio, and the one behind has scaffolding on it with workmen able to see into all our rooms.

giraffe69

Where I once lived there was a large Victorian house next door which was demolished. The builders broke time requirements starting very early and also did not damp down the dust in a dry period. A call from a neighbour to the council brought a council inspector round and a row ensued with the builder. The council man threatening to close the site down if they did not water the dust. After this they did at least do this until the rains came!

DigForVictory

We were lucky - when we were re-roofing, we made it very clear that while the builders could go home, we couldn't. So when a neighbour complained about dust on her decking & car, I called the site foreman & he came back with a pressure washer & a smooth tongued reassurance that anything she wanted washing down would be done at once, of course.

That bloke was worth his weight in rubies.

It can't hurt to ask who's in charge on a day to day basis & to ask him (it usually is a him) to let you know when his work (& noise & dust & mess) are planned, so you can avoid a family barbecue starting too early or whatever. Once friendly human relations are established, your hopes of getting the car hosed down improve no end.

Best of luck.

martinsurrey

mp3duck wrote: »

it'll cost more than £10-£15 for our house, as it's a fairly large detached property..
Yes, it would only cost £5-£10 for the cars, but why should we have to pay? We're having to put up with a huge amount of noise etc etc for what will probably be 6-8 months.. Why should we be out of pocket, even if it's for not a huge amount..
I'd actually expect them to clean our cars and windows more than once, should the build phase create more dust..

Do you have any trees in your garden? do you offer to collect the leaves if they blow into your neighbours garden every autumn?

As long as they are not deliberately creating dust (ie neglegent) there is nothing you can do.