Section 77/78 Building Notice charges £22,000 – HELP!!

PennyDog1972

Hi is there anyone who can help or know anyone who can help, please?

Building control contacted me on the 16th March 2020 because the gable end of a property I own that is adjacent to a road had moved and had become potentially dangerous.

 I quickly found local contractors to bring the wall down and rebuild it. For some unknown reason, the building control officer told me in a private phone conversation not to use the contractor who was due to rebuild the wall. After that, it seemed almost impossible to find someone to undertake the work and I was repeatedly let down by contractors. 

On 08/07/2020 I revived a Section 77 Notice to complete the necessary works, shortly after that the council erected scaffolding to support the gable end and traffic lights to manage the road. Eventually, I found a contractor prepared to undertake the work and the wall was brought down at the end of May 2021.

I have since received an invoice from the Council for £22,000 for the scaffolding and traffic lights!

Is there any way I can get this reduced??

Thanks

Speedster2

Have you got legal assistance with your home insurance? If you have you’d better get some dialogue going with them. What period do the charges cover and will this be a recurring charge? Only the council Building Control department will be able to tell you if they will give some kind of discount.

PennyDog1972

Thanks for your speedy response. The property is derelict and I didn't have insurance. the charging period was from 08/07/20 till 01/06/21.