Neighbour dispute insurance involved

antoniamc

Please help.
I'm looking for some advice 
There is a boundary wall separating myself and my neighbour ,the wall fell and damaged his car .
His insurance are now trying to claim the cost from me as my landlords insurance will not pay the damages,stating the liability falls to me as I should have reported the broken wall.

I emailed to say how can I report something I know nothing about,but they claim again the liability falls to me.

Due to the nature of this matter I am unable to get legal aid  ,and luton law Centre will not help.
I am on benefits and cannot afford to pay for a solicitor. One solicitor offered advice to hold hands up and ask if a payment plan can be arranged
Anxiety through the roof.any help welcomed

[Deleted User]

You'd be better off posting this in the insurance section. But I would agree with the solicitor advice, that arranging a payment plan is the best option, as the incident seems to have been caused by lack of maintenance, which your insurance won't cover..

antoniamc

Sorry I thought I was in insurance bit

[Deleted User]

You're in the reclaiming bit.  

This is what you need - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/insurance-life-assurance

maisie_cat

Deleted_User said:

You'd be better off posting this in the insurance section. But I would agree with the solicitor advice, that arranging a payment plan is the best option, as the incident seems to have been caused by lack of maintenance, which your insurance won't cover..

It's not clear to me but isn't the OP a tenant? If that's the case how can they be responsible for property they do not own and do not maintain?. The maintenance would then fall to the landlord, and the insurance would have to prove that the tenant realised that the wall was in danger of falling.

[Deleted User]

I read it as "my landlords insurance" rather than "my landlord's insurance", coupled with the fact the OP knew nothing of the broken wall.

Perhaps the OP will clarify.

elsien

Presumably the wall is visible from both sides? Begs the question of where the alleged unsafe bit of wall was, and why the neighbour didn’t raise any concerns about it either.
OP please can explain in more detail the layout, where the car was, and any indication that it could be seen from either side whether there were signs the wall was unsafe given that you say you didn’t know.

antoniamc

My landlord house insurance claim it's my liability as stated in tenancy agreement to report fault to property.

The wall is on my property line but I have raised the fact my neighbour who parks alongside this wall daily could have reported any damage especially as my landlord is also their landlord.my landlord owns both property's.

molerat

It is the landlord's responsibility unless you caused the damage. It is only up to you to report faults that you are aware of and would be reasonably obvious to the average man in the street, it should have been picked up on the landlord's property inspection if it was that bad. And, as you have stated, if it was that obvious the neighbour could have reported it to either you or the landlord and if it really was that obvious why did he park next to it !.

I would reply to the LL's insurance co with the reply as given in Arkell v Pressdram

Teapot55

So they’re expecting the tenant next door to pay for the repairs to their car? Somebody’s trying to pull a fast one here. 

If you didn’t phone the landlord to report a broken window pane or a badly leaking water pipe that had suddenly happened or that a tree had fallen on the house, then yes, that could be seen as you being irresponsible. 

But a badly maintained wall? That’s down to the landlord to do routine inspections for safety. 

MalMonroe

I agree with Teapot55. It's not your responsibility at all and you shouldn't pay a penny. 

What a terrible landlord you have. 

Here's what Citizens Advice says - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-in-rented-housing/repairs-what-are-your-options-if-you-are-a-social-housing-tenant/repairs-what-are-the-landlord-s-responsibilities/

If I were you, I'd give Citizens Advice a call - see what you can do about this situation. Landlords are responsible for walls. And it doesn't even matter what your tenancy agreement says because that's the law. According to Citizens Advice.