Party wall issue?

[Regis]

I was living here, but don't recall any of this. Maybe I never went out in the garden that year. I don't think they came into my property - probably did it all from the roof as the pointing stops about arm length. Had they asked, I would have been happy to let them on my side in the interests of doing it properly.

It's crazy, because I keep telling their builders that I'm happy to sort it all (short of fixing their roof and brickwork on their extension) as opposed to going through the courts/solicitors, but the owners are a big company who have bought dozens of properties on my street so clearly they couldn't give a crap about any of it. I bet they'd waste no time suing me if they though my property was responsible for their damp.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

At the moment they're ignoring you cos it is their cheapest option. A small claims action will either wake them up or (if they continue to ignore you) give you an enforceable summary judgement against them at not a lot of cost (about £50 IIRC). Yes there's the downside of having to confess to a neighbour dispute if you ever come to sell your place but a dispute against a faceless corporation is far less damaging than a dispute against owner/occupiers.

 

[Footsoldier888]

Sorry but I don't agree with any of the advice oldbutnotdated is giving.

The point is you say the coal shed wall is on your property but now they have built on it and you haven't objected the legal situation is muddied. Or some of the coal shed wall may be over the boundary making it a party wall, not unlikely in my opinion. If you pull down this wall and you are in the wrong you could be looking at thousands in damages and legal fees. In short this is a very tricky situation and probably not worth disputing, you are better off working with what you have frankly.

The lead valley flashing you can fix without notice because you have right of attatchment.

The extension next door seems to be draining onto your land? Does the drain go anywhere? It could well be the cause of the damp. I don't believe you can create an easement for drainage so I think you may be able to sort that. However realistically you are probably better off checking the drainage yourself and digging a soakaway if needed.

In summary I don't see they have much if any liability anyway based on what you have said.

 

[Regis]

I don't actually object to the previous owners putting the guttering on my old coal store wall, but it would probably have been better for them if they had spoken to me back then. As it is, I think the fact that the previous owners didn't build their roof properly is what is causing the damp inside their property and it would be better for them if I pulled down the wall and they fixed their roof and the wall underneath it.

The only real advantage for me is it would look a bit better, but honestly I can live with it. I'm actually trying to be fair and a good neighbour, despite my neighbours being a faceless conglomerate!

Let me be clear here - there's no damp on my side and I'm not looking to cause trouble in any way, but I do need to sort out my roof and don't want to get myself in any trouble in doing so. My builder has told me that they could, in future, claim that the damp is due to the upcoming repairs to the valley gutter because I have no photographic proof that there's damp inside their property now. I only know what their builders have told me.

My inclination now, since I still can't get a hold of them, is not to do any work to the valley at all and hope for the best.

 

[Footsoldier888]

Well the only way a repair to a gutter can cause damp is if the repair is defective! It sounds a very odd excuse to me. Remember it is they who would have to prove damage occured and if they are absent how can they do that???

If you write to them saying you are effecting this repair that will cover it if they don't reply.

I wouldn't take much notice of what builders say on matters other than building and making tea. Many claim to be structural engineers, planning experts and legal gurus - but they are not!

 

[Regis]

If you write to them saying you are effecting this repair that will cover it if they don't reply.

Ah! Now that’s a very sensible bit of (kind of obvious) advice! That hadn’t occurred to me. I guess I will need some sort of proof of delivery. All I can find on the land registry is the name of a holding company but it will have to do.

Thanks very much!

 

[Footsoldier888]

Perhaps what the builder really meant was that he didn't have a clear idea about what to do at that junction. Maybe the roofing experts will have an answer for it.

 

[Regis]

Possibly. It’s really a bit of a disaster. Apparently the flashing is on back to front as well.