We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Terraced house structural damage from movement
Options

Oli33
Posts: 5 Forumite

I bought my top floor flat 2 years ago, it was sold to me with the freehold of the building. At the time of purchase, I had a home buyers survey, as a full structural survey is not possible on a flat. Within the last year, severe cracks have appeared along the party wall between us and the next door house (which is the end of terrace). The cracks have revealed that the top floor landing has come out of the wall by around an inch and the cracks in the ceiling run along the entire depth of rear rooms and have opened up to 1-2 cm. Essentially, the party wall is moving away with the house next door. I put in a claim for subsidence last year, a surveyor came out and deemed it not subsidence, so no pay out. I found out that a claim had been made previously in 2017 for subsidence with the same result. Many of the cracks are old cracks which had been filled but the loft and roof is the worst affected. I had an independent survey by structural engineer who said it may be next door subsiding causing damage but it is hard to prove as it is not our building but it is also very lengthy and much of the repairs are urgent. He suggested strapping the wall to remedy the problem but no guarantee this will work in the long run if the next door property continues to move away. Has anyone been through this procedure and what would anyone suggest as this will likely not be an insurance pay out and there will soon be safety issues with the roof. Any help and suggestions would be much appreciated.
0
Comments
-
are there other people in your block that share the freehold? were you not told about the claims in 2017 when you bought the flat? have you spoken to your insurer about claiming? you seem to be certain that you would be able to claim.0
-
Hi, there are 4 flats in block including mine. I am the sole freeholder but as leaseholders we share expenses for the building maintenance. I was not told about the claim when I bought the flat, I'm assuming because it was never paid out. I put in a claim of my own last year but they said they would not pay out because it is movement rather than subsidence.0
-
so you are the freeholder for the whole block. any costs you incur can be passed on to the leaseholders.
you should go back to your solicitor and state that there was an insurance claim in 2017 that had not been disclosed on the property information form when you bought the property as this should have been done, whether the claims was paid out or not. the question is whether there was any claim, not that there was any payment.
i believe you may have some compensation claim from the previous owners as they obviously lied on the PIF.1 -
Ok, I will investigate this. Many thanks.0
-
i called my insurer a few years ago to claim for a broken back fence as the storm had blown it down. they said that my policy did not cover fences but that as i had called them to make a claim, it will need to be noted down on my policy! blooming cheek, but that is what is meant by a claim, it is whether you have made any claims, whether the insurer deemed they were payable or not does not remove it as a claim.
have you spoken to your next door neighbour? the one who owns the house?0 -
I work as a structural engineer. Obviously I haven't seen the building, so take my advise with a big pinch of salt.
Get the strapping done. Even if it doesn't solve the underlying cause, it'll slow down any damage and stabilise your roof. Don't leave it, in case finding the root cause takes years. And, in fact, it may be enough to stop the problem.
Where in the country are you? Big trees near by? How old is the building?0 -
Thank you AskAsk, yes you are absolutely right. I think the next door flats are all rented out and the building is possibly owned by the council but I will make sure of this. Thanks to you I looked back at the PIF from when I purchased the flat and one of the questions is indeed, 'has the seller made and building insurance claims?' She answered no, so she did lie. If I'd known this, I would have asked questions and likely never bought the flat. Thanks for your help.0
-
Weeg, many thanks for your comment. Extremely helpful to have your insight. I am in central London. The building is circa 1900-1910. There are a couple of small trees nearby, nothing particularly big. We are going to be doing CCTV of the drains. I think you're right, I will strap the wall and roof as it is becoming dangerous and could take years to determine cause, as you say.0
-
Oli33 said:Weeg, many thanks for your comment. Extremely helpful to have your insight. I am in central London. The building is circa 1900-1910. There are a couple of small trees nearby, nothing particularly big. We are going to be doing CCTV of the drains. I think you're right, I will strap the wall and roof as it is becoming dangerous and could take years to determine cause, as you say.
Hope you can get it all sorted.0
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.5K Spending & Discounts
- 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
- 598.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.9K Life & Family
- 257.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards