Garage falling down, potential damage to gas line and electrics, not covered by home insurance?

martinlewisnumber1fan

Hi all, my apologies if this is in the wrong thread or category; I'm new to this!

Today we discovered the front wall of our garage is falling down, and is not attached to the house, and is instead supported by what appears to be a brick, extruding about 2-3 inches from the original external wall. This front facing wall of the garage now has a gap that is about an inch wide and is growing.

We initially thought the garage door was broken, so we had someone to come and inspect it and provide a quote for fixing it, but after an inspection, they said that the garage wall could come down at any moment, even due to strong winds or heavy rain. 

This front wall is right by the gas meter and the electric box, so we are quite concerned that this could quickly become an issue larger than just damage to the building, but could potentially be life threatening not only to our family but also our neighbours and their homes too. They have young children so we are very very concerned. We're worried it might just collapse at 3 in the morning, damage the gas line and the electrics, and create sparks and perhaps a fire or small explosion.

For context, my parents moved in here about 6 years ago and have not had any work done to the house, so this issue was not due to them - it was pre-existing due to poor workmanship and a cheap build job. According to their home insurance, this is not covered, which I find to be outrageous. 

This feels wrong. This is not of their doing, and I believe it to be the fault of other parties. A lazy builder that did not create the garage extension safely and clearly disregarding regulations, the previous owners for hiring the builder, and the estate agents and their surveyors for not properly inspecting the building, or bringing this to their attention when they moved in. 

My dad is a few years away from retirement, and the cost to get it fixed or rebuilt from scratch would eat away his savings and postpone his retirement by a number of years, for something that is completely not his fault.

We're at a loss on where to go, or what to do. My mother is currently hurriedly looking around for some builders or anyone who is able to actually fix the problem without preying on the issue.

Who should we go to with this? Why is this not covered on the insurance? Can we appeal this? Is there any way the mortgage payments can be utilised? Can we get compensation from the builder or the surveyor or estate agent?

Any help would be really appreciated, we're all seriously alarmed. Thank you so much for your time

Robin9

Have you got the surveyors report from 6 years ago ?   What comments did he make regarding the garage?

martinlewisnumber1fan

Robin9 said:

Have you got the surveyors report from 6 years ago ?   What comments did he make regarding the garage?

I'm not sure, there was definitely no mention of any issues as they wouldn't have moved into this house if it needed work done to it. We'll have a look into this - thank you so much!

BarelySentientAI

Not outrageous at all.  Poor workmanship in a contact between two parties unconnected to the present owners and prior to purchase six years ago wouldn't be covered on almost any home buildings insurance policy.

Insurance policies are very clear what they cover.  Based on what you said, this is not an insured peril.  If that's true, then you have zero chance on an appeal or complaint.

Unlikely you would have any success chasing the builder, no chance of chasing the EA, limited chance from the surveyor depending on what they said, and most have sufficient caveats that you don't have much chance there either.

mebu60

I think you're being harsh on the home insurance company, pre-existing shoddy workmanship is not something that is generally covered. If your parents have legal expenses cover they may be able to get support to pursue someone if negligence can be proven. 

DullGreyGuy

Poor workmanship and defective materials are a standard Home Insurance exclusion, even on all risks policies. 

You'll have no claims against the builders as you weren't in contract with them and it's probably statute barred by now anyway. 

Your best bet is looking at the survey that was done at the time of purchase but even then you've got a potential timeline issue. This naturally assumes a survey was actually done, most people dont do anything more than the mortgage valuation that doesn't include considering if there is any issues with the property. 

dunstonh

For context, my parents moved in here about 6 years ago and have not had any work done to the house, so this issue was not due to them - it was pre-existing due to poor workmanship and a cheap build job. According to their home insurance, this is not covered, which I find to be outrageous. 

I think you misunderstand what home insurance is for.      
a) it is not there for routine maintenance and repairs
b) it is not there to cover other peoples mistakes (either bad DIY or a contractor who will have their own insurance)

This feels wrong. This is not of their doing, and I believe it to be the fault of other parties. A lazy builder that did not create the garage extension safely and clearly disregarding regulations, the previous owners for hiring the builder, and the estate agents and their surveyors for not properly inspecting the building, or bringing this to their attention when they moved in. 

The estate agent wouldn't notice it.
And surveyors will only likely point it out on a level 3 survey. it would not likely appear on a level 1 or 2 survey or mortgage valuation unless very obvious.

Did your parents arrange a level 3 survey?  Most don't.  They go with the level 1 which is rubbish or the level 2 as its the middle option and that is even more rubbish as it gives a false impression of a bit more quality but, in my experience of what I have seen, most of it is generic warnings and little more than checking internal fixtures rather than the structure unless it sticks out like a sore thumb.

For context, we went with a level 3 survey and it cost over £2k.  The level 2 would have been about £250.   And because of the level 3 survey it pointed out some issues that a structural engineer needed to look at with a further cost (covered by the vendor in that case).   So, what your parents paid for the survey may help identify the level they had.

In reality, seeing as your parents didn't spot it for 6 years, its unlikely anything other than a level 3 survey would have as well.   And even then, a lot of things can happen over 6 years.  It may have been visually fine 6 years ago.

Aretnap

Home insurance covers you for one off events which cause damage to your home - storms, floods, fires etc. It doesn't cover the fact that your home was defective in the first place, nor did it cover wear and tear, maintenance or poor workmanship and trusted repairs.

Houses in the UK are generally sold under the principle of caveat emptor, where it is the buyers responsibility to satisfy themselves of the buildings quality - hence it's the buyer, not the seller who arranges and pays for the survey. You'd only have a claim against the seller or estate agent if they actively misled you about the house's condition (eg provided faked certificates of compliance with building regs). You won't have a claim against a builder whose contact was with the previous owner, unless they offered a guarantee which could be transferred to a new owner. Which leaves the surveyor as the most likely route - and even that might be a bit of a long shot depending on what sort of survey it was and what the survey said.

It might be worth asking about this on the house buying/selling board as it's not really an insurance question.

sheramber

Do you know when the garage was built and who the builder was?

TELLIT01

Most insurers will expect the occupier of the premises to keep them maintained.  That the wall is falling down is pretty clear evidence to the insurer that this has not happened.  Therefore they will decline the claim.

liveletlive

The surveyors report is a good shout if it was a full structural inspection.

Challenge the insurance company’s denial of coverage. Argue that the policy should cover latent defects and pre-existing issues that were not disclosed or evident at the time of purchase.

Suggest that the insurance company’s refusal to cover this claim is unreasonable given the potential for severe damage and risk to life.

Can the insurance company prove that this is not sudden movement and is down to bad workmanship?

Get an opinion from a structural engineer, usually this type of thing seems daunting but isn't tens of thousands to fix.