Neighbour's raised flower bed causing damp problems

Doozergirl

grumbler said:

Doozergirl said:

canaldumidi said:

Seems like very poor advice from the consultant.  The only reliable solution is to reduce the ground level externally (ie neighbour's flowerbed) to below the dampproof course.

If the neighbour is uncooperative, and refuses to allow inspection and/or accept responsibility, the next step is a letter clearly setting out liability. It might be worth this coming from a solicitor.

Having said that, if there's any way to resolve amicably, try all avenues for this first.

It needs a solicitor's letter if he refuses to speak to you.

This may work or may be £200-£300 wasted. The letter can be ignored and in this case thousands will be needed for court actions.

Section62 said:

CharlieLondonUK said:

I think my next step is to contact my insurer’s legal expenses line to see where I stand....

One question they might ask you is whether the flower bed was there before the extension.  Do you know this?

If it was added later, another question is "when". If it was a different insurer that time, then the help can be rejected on the grounds of 'pre-existing condition' excuse.

Legal advice is separate to the home insurance policy.  

grumbler

Doozergirl said:

grumbler said:

Doozergirl said:

canaldumidi said:

Seems like very poor advice from the consultant.  The only reliable solution is to reduce the ground level externally (ie neighbour's flowerbed) to below the dampproof course.

If the neighbour is uncooperative, and refuses to allow inspection and/or accept responsibility, the next step is a letter clearly setting out liability. It might be worth this coming from a solicitor.

Having said that, if there's any way to resolve amicably, try all avenues for this first.

It needs a solicitor's letter if he refuses to speak to you.

This may work or may be £200-£300 wasted. The letter can be ignored and in this case thousands will be needed for court actions.

Section62 said:

CharlieLondonUK said:

I think my next step is to contact my insurer’s legal expenses line to see where I stand....

One question they might ask you is whether the flower bed was there before the extension.  Do you know this?

If it was added later, another question is "when". If it was a different insurer that time, then the help can be rejected on the grounds of 'pre-existing condition' excuse.

Legal advice is separate to the home insurance policy.  

I don't know about advice, but protection isn't. It starts when you buy the insurance (with legal cover added), and often even kicks in only  few months later.

SuperHung

Need some pictures, not sure how a flower bed can cause so much water damage to your house unless your neighbour is watering it 24/7.

Ectophile

SuperHung said:

Need some pictures, not sure how a flower bed can cause so much water damage to your house unless your neighbour is watering it 24/7.

If the soil level is above the damp proof course on the wall, then the wall will get soaked every time it rains. It may then stay damp for days after.

stuart45

Have you got solid or cavity walls?

CharlieLondonUK

Thanks everyone for your advice. Just to update you all, I contacted the family legal helpline of my insurer and they advised that I could send the neighbour a 'Letter before action' stating that I'm giving him 14 days to fix the problems with the wall or otherwise I'll take him to the small claims court. I was told that the neighbour has a duty of care not to cause damage to my property, which he is currently doing.

I've attached a picture of the planter which adjoins my back extension. It's a Victorian house, so the extension was added way before my time. The neighbour claims that the planter was there when he moved in about 8 years ago. However, he has obviously added another layer or bricks to increase the depth so that he could make more substantial plantings.

He claims to have repointed the wall (!) before painting it and doesn't believe the planter is doing any damage. However, it's easy to see that the wall is being badly affected by the planter and in particular by the large plant on the right.

As with many properties, my title deeds don't show who owns the wall, so I assume it is a shared responsibility. The neighbour has said that he's happy for me to make any repairs to the wall on his side to protect my property. However, he doesn't want to lose the planter.

Before I take the next step, I'd be interested to know how everyone else would respond. Many thanks!

theoretica

What he needs seems to be a trough (maybe open at the bottom) with a gap between it and the wall. It is treating that wall as the back of the planter that is causing the trouble.   Something thinner than bricks would be the way to keep the amount of soil without moving the front forwards.

Brie

can the planter be emptied, moved and then moved back after the repairs?  Obviously it needs to be out of the way in order to do any repairs.  If he can agree to that as well as paying for the repairs (professional, not diy) then I would think it's a good resolution.

CharlieLondonUK

Thanks theoretically and Brie. I agree that the planter needs to be moved so my wall isn't part of it. The wall will then probably need some remedial work. However, the neighbour has said that it's up to me if I want to do any of this as it's not his responsibility. 

youth_leader

I remember selling my house and my neighbour knocked to tell me that my staircase wall in their garden so was damaged it would seriously affect my selling price.  Told me almost gleefully, I did feel upset.  I was semi detached to them in an L shape, and they'd planted bushes under the staircase, along the front of my house wall which faced into their garden.  When they'd cut their bushes back, all the lime and mortar had rotted away between the huge sandstone blocks.  Luckily my surveyor was coming that day and I was relieved to find it was only a skim layer of stone, but their attitude shook me, no apology at all for a situation that could have cost me thousands.