Roof leaking after council replaced neighbour's roof - advice what to do?

baronne

The council have been replacing the roof of the neighbouring properties (council tenant) but unfortunately I now have leaking coming in through my roof after the heavy rain.  After speaking with neighbour it appears this is also the case for a number of other houses. I have raised a formal complaint with the council and taken photos & video for evidence - I'm not sure what action to take next - do I take out an insurance claim (will that increase my premium)? do I *hope* that the council will "sort it out"?
Any advice would be much appreciated?

Alter_ego

Presumably semi detached?

tacpot12

If there is anything that can be done quickly & cheaply to stop your property being damaged further, you should try to do this. 
Then you should be pressuring the council to decide whether they want to sort the repairs our themselves, or have you find a contractor you are happy with. If they want you to find the contractor, they will normally expect you to get to two or three quotes, and will then agree how much they will give you towards the repairs (usually this will be 100% of the lowest quote). 

You should only need to make a claim on your own insurance if the council decide to deny their liability, and you decide not to go to court. You should ring your insurers though and tell them about the possibility of a claim (but make it clear you are not claiming yet). You should also speak to the Legal Helpline if you have legal expenses cover as part of your home insurance, if the council deny liability.    

baronne

Alter_ego said:

Presumably semi detached?

no, terraced.

baronne

tacpot12 said:

If there is anything that can be done quickly & cheaply to stop your property being damaged further, you should try to do this. 
Then you should be pressuring the council to decide whether they want to sort the repairs our themselves, or have you find a contractor you are happy with. If they want you to find the contractor, they will normally expect you to get to two or three quotes, and will then agree how much they will give you towards the repairs (usually this will be 100% of the lowest quote). 

You should only need to make a claim on your own insurance if the council decide to deny their liability, and you decide not to go to court. You should ring your insurers though and tell them about the possibility of a claim (but make it clear you are not claiming yet). You should also speak to the Legal Helpline if you have legal expenses cover as part of your home insurance, if the council deny liability.    

thank you very much for the advice, much appreciated!