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Neighbour's chimney leaking

My neighbour's chimney is leaking and causing damage in my attic. I have kind of mentioned this to them before and I said I would get back to them with information about costs to fix it and see if we could agree on the works needed. Admittedly I was a bit vague about it as I didn't really know who would be paying for it, but he did sort of seem to say he wasn't really in a position to spend money on it anyway and that it wasn't really an issue for him.

I now realise that it is entirely his issue and that he should be the one paying for it.

How should I approach this properly with him without saying: Dude, you need to fix it or I will sue.

Is this the kind of thing that is covered by my home & contents legal insurance add-on?

Comments

  • WIAWSNB
    WIAWSNB Posts: 2,855 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper

    Yes. Well done for having this. Your LegProt should guide you in how to act, and escalate if needed.

    Bottom line is, the guy needs to maintain his house, especially if it's causing damage to someone else's property.

  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 18,586 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper PPI Party Pooper

    If the chimney is entirely on the neighbours property, how is its leaking causing damage to yours?

    If you mean the flashing around the chimney overlaps your property, and this is what's leaking, it may not be as clear cut as you think.

  • dutchcloggie
    dutchcloggie Posts: 253 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker

    The chimney is on the property boundary on the roof. There is no fireplace or chimney on that side of my property.

    Of course I will have this investigated properly before I do anything. In order to do that, I will need access to his property for the roofer. So I will need to start a conversation with my neighbour regardless. I am just looking to learn how to approach this. If he thinks he will be on the hook, he might deny access.

    Although when I bought the house, the survey said the chimney belongs to the neighbour and is causing damage to my house.

    So, these are first steps.

  • WIAWSNB
    WIAWSNB Posts: 2,855 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper

    Photo?

    Get the facts, and call up your LP. Follow their instructions.

  • Flugelhorn
    Flugelhorn Posts: 7,621 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper

    I have had houses like that where the chimney is on or crosses the boundary - we usually split the costs or if it was my house that had problems, we paid for the repair

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