New here, not sure I am posting this in the right place at all but hoping someone might be able to assist.
We live in an old, quirky early victorian house joined to our neighbour. At the rear various extensions and alterations have taken place over the years which results in a hotchpotch of roof sections.
Neighbour is a very reasonable sort, we get on well, but have been approached about something which is not making any sense at all.
Imagine looking at a gable end wall. Inside the house behind the wall is 50% our house and 50% neighbours, split down the middle.
You would expect the roof apex to be central, with a slope either side relating to each house. Instead there is a single sloping roof (i.e the apex is on the far left side not in the centre.
Neighbours are under the higher part, we are under the lower part of the slope.
We don't have access to the roof void at all (very small area anyway as we are under the lower part of the slope) but neighbours have access to theirs, and there is no internal divide between their void and ours. Doesn't really bother us - tiny area anyway. Chances are the few boxes she has up there may encroach onto our side, but hey, really not a problem!
Except they have told us there is a hole in the roof, on their side of the slope. Water is coming in. It's actually coming in where their chimney stack flashing is failing (their chimney, of course!). However their roofer has been round today and insinuated that the whole of the roof, including the bit over their house (and the leak!) is our responsibility. I asked him to explain how a roof over a void which isn't ours, which is leaking from a chimney which isn't ours, into a house which of course isn't ours, is our responsibility. He said it boils down to the fact that they couldn't replace the top section without replacing the ours too - so therefore the whole lot is ours to have to repair.
I am most confused.
Doesn't sound at all right to me.
Of course if the whole roof really needed replacing then we would of course be looking at a 50/50 situation. But we are talking about a small leak on their side, relating to the flashing on their chimney.
Can anyone explain more or do I sound right in saying we are not happy to pay for this repair?
We live in an old, quirky early victorian house joined to our neighbour. At the rear various extensions and alterations have taken place over the years which results in a hotchpotch of roof sections.
Neighbour is a very reasonable sort, we get on well, but have been approached about something which is not making any sense at all.
Imagine looking at a gable end wall. Inside the house behind the wall is 50% our house and 50% neighbours, split down the middle.
You would expect the roof apex to be central, with a slope either side relating to each house. Instead there is a single sloping roof (i.e the apex is on the far left side not in the centre.
Neighbours are under the higher part, we are under the lower part of the slope.
We don't have access to the roof void at all (very small area anyway as we are under the lower part of the slope) but neighbours have access to theirs, and there is no internal divide between their void and ours. Doesn't really bother us - tiny area anyway. Chances are the few boxes she has up there may encroach onto our side, but hey, really not a problem!
Except they have told us there is a hole in the roof, on their side of the slope. Water is coming in. It's actually coming in where their chimney stack flashing is failing (their chimney, of course!). However their roofer has been round today and insinuated that the whole of the roof, including the bit over their house (and the leak!) is our responsibility. I asked him to explain how a roof over a void which isn't ours, which is leaking from a chimney which isn't ours, into a house which of course isn't ours, is our responsibility. He said it boils down to the fact that they couldn't replace the top section without replacing the ours too - so therefore the whole lot is ours to have to repair.
I am most confused.
Doesn't sound at all right to me.
Of course if the whole roof really needed replacing then we would of course be looking at a 50/50 situation. But we are talking about a small leak on their side, relating to the flashing on their chimney.
Can anyone explain more or do I sound right in saying we are not happy to pay for this repair?
