Neighbour demanding work to be fixed after extension

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sdtam
sdtam Posts: 3 Newbie
in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving
Hi,
I need a little advice...
We live in a victorian terraced house and we had a kitchen extension done 2 years ago, a 3rd party wall agreement was in place and we fixed, mended (above and beyond) anything that our neighbour said was as a result of our new extension.
It is now over 2 years later and she has said that the render has cracked on the back of her house due to our extension, the crack is so miniscule you'd have trouble seeing it and it is between our 2 houses so not on her side but right down the middle. The surveyor has said it's a result of our extension but the engineer has said it's probably because old houses move over time.
I had a quote to fix it at a cost of £2000 (mainly the scaffolding) which for a hairline crack that she can't even see without walking to the end of her garden and squinting to find it - I am VERY reluctant to pay.
Any idea on where we stand legally or if we can refuse to fix it as it's over 2 years down the line and the opinion of only the surveyor?
Any help gratefully received
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  • theGrinch
    theGrinch Posts: 3,122 Forumite
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    Did you use 0, 1 or more party wall surveyors to draw up the agreement?
    "enough is a feast"...old Buddist proverb
  • sdtam
    sdtam Posts: 3 Newbie
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    It was just the 1 surveyor
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 24,673 Forumite
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    Surely, then, you're entirely in his hands?

    I'm not convinced there's a cut-off date under the PWA? If there is, it's probably 6 years, not 2.
    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
  • sdtam
    sdtam Posts: 3 Newbie
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    the engineer said it was likely not to do with our extension tho
    I wasn't aware you were able to appoint more than 1 surveyor. Basically, can I refuse to do the work as I don't think we should be liable
  • TheCyclingProgrammer
    TheCyclingProgrammer Posts: 3,702 Forumite
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    Of course you can refuse, if you genuinely don’t believe your extension to be the cause.

    It would be down to your neighbours to pursue you for the costs by taking legal action. Whether they do or not depends on how far they are willing to take it and how strong a case they might have.

    If this does happen you’ll have to declare the neighbour dispute if and when you sell. It’s not going to be good for neighbourly relations.
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 844 Forumite
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    TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

    If this does happen you’ll have to declare the neighbour dispute if and when you sell. It’s not going to be good for neighbourly relations.

    I can't imagine paying out £2k for something the neighbour admits is really hard to see will be that great either!:rotfl::mad:
    Those who risk nothing, Do nothing, achieve nothing, become nothing
    MFW #63 £0/£500
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 24,673 Forumite
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    There's an article dealing with the law here.
    http://constructionblog.practicallaw.com/ask-the-team-what-if-damage-discovered-after-party-wall-work-is-completed/
    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 33,813 Forumite
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    Cementous render cracks. It just does. Houses move, cement is brittle.

    I don't see how anyone can prove that it was caused by an extension and I would be taking a structural engineer's word over a surveyor, given that it's what they specialise in!

    The problem with going above and beyond is that people suddenly decide that you're responsible for anything and everything.
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • George_Michael
    George_Michael Posts: 4,251 Forumite
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    Doozergirl wrote: »
    The problem with going above and beyond is that people suddenly decide that you're responsible for anything and everything.

    Exactly what I was thinking.
    You pay for the render to be repaired now then in another year or two your neihhbour may find that a gutter has started leaking or window has cracked and blames this on movement of the wall and expects you to cover the cost of the repair.

    I recently had to get a large patch of tender replaced due to it cracking and this happened even though no work had recently been carried out on my property.
    Things like this just happen. If they didn't, why would there be any need for routine maintenance on a building?
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 24,673 Forumite
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    Doozergirl wrote: »
    Cementous render cracks. It just does. Houses move, cement is brittle.

    I don't see how anyone can prove that it was caused by an extension and I would be taking a structural engineer's word over a surveyor, given that it's what they specialise in!

    The problem with going above and beyond is that people suddenly decide that you're responsible for anything and everything.

    The OP refers to 'the surveyor', and I assumed that this is the surveyor appointed under the PWA. Perhaps I am wrong about that, but if it is the PWA surveyor he has records of the state of the neighbour's property before the extension was built. He's been agreed by both parties as an independent expert. It's going to be an incredibly difficult uphill task to persuade a court that he's wrong.

    Also, I assume that the render has been there for years. It's quite a coincidence that it's cracked now.

    All in all, whilst I have sympathy for the OP, I wouldn't want to be defending his case if this goes to court.
    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
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