Party Wall issues

sheramber

we need to permanently resolve a crack in their living room. 

What does that mean?
Has there been what he considers a temporary repair to the crack?

I would tell before you can consider his request he needs to supply him a detailed account of how he arrived at his costings

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82142889#Comment_82142889

£2k is a joke, unless they can produce proof of such value.

Not difficult to spend £2k on potplants…

https://www.olivegroveoundle.co.uk/product/natural-olive-tree-no-241/

…whether the building work has damaged/killed them is another issue.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6683899/party-wall-issues

We have completed a new build

Just to make sure - when you say "new build", you mean a new dwelling on land which wasn't previously developed?

In which case,

1) Who owned the land before?

2) At what point did your buildings insurance (including any legal protection) actually start?

3) Are there any planning conditions relevant to this?

Boohoo

This may help with some of your questions @Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6583127/building-loan-brokers

sheramber

Presumably your neighbour saw the plans for the building.

Did the plans not show where the electric box was placed on the adjacent wall?

Is it in position according to the plans?

PennysIntoPounds

Thank you all for you input which I'll reply to in detail in the next day or two when my brain is less exhausted!

PennysIntoPounds

Tempting @marcia_ but we would genuinely like to maintain good relationships with the neighbours! He's got our backs up over his unnecessarily aggressive message, but we do completely understand that it's horrible to have people building next to you and your space feeling invaded

@ExEstateAgent @sheramber neighbour is trying to say that we are responsible for permanently structurally making good the crack in their living room as our building works affected it even though it was pre-existing. Builder has cosmetically made good even though builder says it wasn't due to them. @millie There are photos of crack in party wall agreement.

Internet suggests £50-£150 per week for overrunning scaffolding, neighbour suggested highest amount of £250 p/w but wasn't denied access to driveway or similar

I'll try to see if box was on plans or if UK Power Networks decided location

@silvercar The crack has been cosmetically fixed by our builder, it didn't appear to have been 'fixed' in any way previously other than a couple of coats of paint. We're fairly confident we haven't caused structural damage

There are three main plants they're claiming for, two of which do seem to be about £200 each, with the other one he's gone for an amount of if he was selling it as a pristine specimen to a private collector. He also wants money for 'miscellaneous plants and damaged chairs' (the chairs as far as we know had some dust on them)

@Section62 a family member previously owned the land. We had site insurance from start of build and now have usual insurance but we're not looking to claim on insurance. We're happy to pay him, we just wanted to check what is fair. I'm more worried about if we have to get the electrics box moved and major reconnections work done tbh, as well as if he can make us legally responsible for crack even though it was already there. No planning conditions relevant afaik

We will send an offer based on meeting in the middle of what research suggests is a realistic range, and politely say that we cannot be made permanently liable for a pre existing crack. Not sure what is best re box though as he is legally allowed to access his wall for maintenance

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82143664#Comment_82143664

Section62 a family member previously owned the land.

So the neighbour doesn't have the benefit of covenants relevant to this?

We had site insurance from start of build and now have usual insurance but we're not looking to claim on insurance. We're happy to pay him, we just wanted to check what is fair.

The issue here is whether your buildings insurance - and particularly any legal protection - would have been on-risk at the time these issues have cropped up. This may be relevant if you wanted help from the LP to defend against a claim the neighbour makes.

I'm more worried about if we have to get the electrics box moved and major reconnections work done tbh, as well as if he can make us legally responsible for crack even though it was already there.

What does the PWA agreement say, and how close were your excavations to his wall? The presence of a crack before you started work doesn't mean your work hasn't caused a problem. If it were known there was a query about the existing foundations (or similar) linked to the existing cracking then I'd expect a PWA agreement to not just note the existing state, but also to cover the method of work to minimise the risk of further/future movement and how liability would be apportioned if further movement did happen.

The closer/deeper your excavations to his wall, the more important this would be. Personally, knowing his wall had a crack in it, I'd probably have paid for some structural monitoring to help rule in/out the effect of my work on his property. Did your PWS or builder suggest anything like this?

No planning conditions relevant afaik

I would double check, just to be sure. Did the neighbour raise an objection to the planning application?

PennysIntoPounds

I'll check those out, thank you @Section62. No, he didn't object to planning permission. Think he's just at the end of his tether with everything, with which I thoroughly sympathise

Boohoo

Why don't you pay him £1000 for the damaged plants as a start and a good will gesture. If you do get a confirmation in writing.

You can then try and come to an agreement on the other issues as they should be in better mood to converse with .

Any pics of this electric box next to the neighbours wall?