Dutch drain to benefit neighbour on my land

snowonwinterhills

My neighbour has Grade 2 listed house, with basement.  The East wall of the house is the boundary between our properties and runs along the West side of my patio.  There has been damp in his house walls and cellar.  To assist my neighbour, I have allowed him to dig along the boundary wall to find and fix leaking drains, which have contributed to the damp in his cellar.  He also asked to install a Dutch drain (gravel filled trench) along the wall, on my land.  The level of the land between the houses, our patio, has probably risen over the last 100 years, and was in places above his house's damp-proof course, where one existed.  (The original house is Georgian and built without a damp proof course.  Later additions to the house have a damp proof course.)
The drain has been installed and so we now have a c.12" wide gravel strip next to his wall (on the West side of my patio.) with a 2" kerb.  He is now making good our patio.
My patio has settled over the last 20 years and so if the area "made good" is more than area strictly disturbed by the digging to fix the leaks, or the 1' strip cut off for the Dutch drain "making good" would in fact be "making better".

From the work already ordered and competed, my neighbour understand the what needs to be done to make good.

 I think I have been fair. I have allowed access to help his solve his damp problem.  I have given over some of my land for him to install the Dutch drain along his wall.  I was motivated on only by generosity, but also in part because I did not ever want there to a possibility of my liability of my property causing damage to his.  In effect I gave over some of my land for his drain, in return of peace of mind (and liability arising from my land above his damp proof course has gone.)

My Question. 

How fair have I been?  

Should I have demanded £££ compensation for the last three weeks of mud and piles of soil on my patio, around my back door? Should I have demanded £££ compensation for the use of my land for his drain?

Or have a dodged the bullet of being chased though courts buy rich neighbour, seeking compensation for damp in his house (aim at getting my insurance’s companies deep pockets to pay)?

If he is lucky, I did not charge him (and he probably would have been advised by his in the advice he was given by his lawyers) then I am minded to push for more work to "make better" my patio - request his contractor sort some of the slabs adjacent to the ones fixed already to make good.

njkmr

I think you have been a reasonable neighbour.
Leave it at that I say.
If he is sorting your patio area to make it a bit better then you have had a good result.
Don't spoil it by asking for more, as it has cost you nothing to allow him to stop damp affecting his house.
Well done .

ThisIsWeird

Interesting one, but if the situation is as you suspect - the land level on your side has risen so it likely has contributed to their damp issues, and certainly in the case where it's now above their DPC in places - then there is - I think - an equal chance they could legally force you to remove this land, as this is the obvious 'fix' (and cause).

I don't think it really matters how long the land has been 'too high' for, or whether it was caused during a previous ownership, as the simple fact is, your land has risen, and is now directly contributing to damage to their house.

It sounds as tho' you have both now resolved this in the best possible manner, so - personally - I'd be taking a great deal of satisfaction from this, especially when the rest of the world is going to hell in a self-obsessed handcart. Oops - no politics.

Any damage caused to your patio during this process should, obviously, have been put right by them. They technically 'owe' you nothing else, however, although it may have been 'nice' if they'd spotted an opportunity to say 'thanks' by asking their workers to fix further.

I'd be happy to settle for the current outcome, personally.

snowonwinterhills

Thank you for taking time to comment.  From the start I had always though that cooperation and negotiation was the right way, but it's helps to have what feels like common sense, endorsed!

ian1246

You ve got to live next to them. Maintaining a decent relationship is invaluable in itself!