Money Moral Dilemma: A fire at my house damaged my neighbour's place - should I pay for the repairs?

BethRobinson

More made up "genuine dilemmas"

jimjames

Stelly21 said:

The fire as you say was an accident and people have house insurance to cover these issues. I think it's unfair of them to ask you to pay £300 just because it happens to be the same amount as there excess. They agreed to that excess so they need to pay it. What's crazy is that you don't have house insurance, know that's playing with fire!

I agree to an excess on the assumption that it will be an issue with my house I need to pay for. I'd be pretty hacked off if a neighbour without insurance thought they were able to skip that and after causing damage to my house not have any comeback. There have been fire incidents in our street, not that they were uninsured to my knowledge but where a fire in one caused damage to adjacent houses that rendered them unoccupied for 12 months. If the person causing it wasn't insured and made no effort to cover losses it certainly wouldn't result in good neighbourly relations.

Aretnap

Saragon said:

Of course you should pay.
the fire was in your house. Accident or not it happened on your property. If you had insurance they would claim against your insurance and as you don’t it makes you personally liable.

No they wouldn't and no it doesn't. (Probably).

Aretnap

jimjames said:

Stelly21 said:

The fire as you say was an accident and people have house insurance to cover these issues. I think it's unfair of them to ask you to pay £300 just because it happens to be the same amount as there excess. They agreed to that excess so they need to pay it. What's crazy is that you don't have house insurance, know that's playing with fire!

I agree to an excess on the assumption that it will be an issue with my house I need to pay for. I'd be pretty hacked off if a neighbour without insurance thought they were able to skip that and after causing damage to my house not have any comeback. There have been fire incidents in our street, not that they were uninsured to my knowledge but where a fire in one caused damage to adjacent houses that rendered them unoccupied for 12 months. If the person causing it wasn't insured and made no effort to cover losses it certainly wouldn't result in good neighbourly relations.

You didn't though. You have to pay your excess of your burgled, or flooded, or your house is damaged by a storm or lightening, all of which are external causes and not issues with your house, still less your fault. Fire is generally no different, whether it starts internally or externally.

Your neighbours insurance won't cover damage to your house though, absent evidence of negligence on your neighbour's part, which would be unusual. So you'd be reliant on your neighbours generosity for your excess whether he was insured or not. I'm the event of a fire that guess your house and left it unoccupied for 12n months your certainly be claiming in your own insurance, as your neighbours generosity is never going to stretch that far.

Personally I think expecting your neighbour (or anyone else) to compensate you for things for which he want to blame isn't very reasonable and not good for neighborhood relations.

pinkangorasweater

Unless £300 is a big burden, I'd pay or certainly something towards it. I don't care what the law says, there's common decency. Are your neighbours decent, who take in post for you, let you borrow a jug of milk or lawnmower etc? Unless they're horrible people, this damage wasn't their fault. Maybe not yours, but 100% not theirs. 
Being horrible about this will mean there will forever be an atmosphere of distrust. 

Greengirl24

I had a similar situation with a leaky 
shared porch/hall roof. I organised a buider to fix it and agreed with my elderly neighbour that we would share costs. I got home from a week away to discover her son had done a bodge job and wanted £100 reimbursement for materials. Neither I nor my builder was best pleased. I coughed up and when the roof leaked again after 6 years, it cost £650 to fix (and 3 months to find another builder). She paid her share without complaint. This is about good relationships with neighbours.  You can buy a good house, but good neighbours need to be cultivated!