Next doors property has damaged our property. Next door wont pay for damage. Who is being unreasonable?

[LunchLadyWannabe]

On thursday next when it was very windy, dh van alarm went off. It is on the drive. Dh goes out to the van and it has a tile on the bonnet, and a smashed window screen. There is also a tile on the garden of next doors house.

Two tiles has fallen off next doors roof.

Dh went next door and informed the lady (elderly lady) who was very apologetic and said she would contact her landlady ( a family friend of hers) straightaway.

Dh left his details with the lady next door.

Landlady rang about half hour later and said to dh that she would contact her insurance first thing in the morning.

Next morning, a roofer arrived and confirmed that the tiles were from next door and had come off due to poor maintenance of the roof.

Landlady contacts dh to tell him that her insurance wont pay out as "its an act of god" and basically said its just unfortunate.

The window screen has been replaced at a cost of £250. We have had to pay for this.

Dh contacts the roofer to ask him to put in writing what he told dh so dh could take it further. The roofer refused and said he didnt want to get involved, and told dh that he had been paid "as a foreigner" for the job and basically hadnt been paid enough to deal with this.

The landlady next door has asked dh not to contact her further regarding this. She doesnt care that we are out of pocket, its just one of those things!

Are we being unreasonable to expect the landlady to pay for the damage or at least pay half?

I feel really angry about this.

Check your policy, windscreen excess is usually lower. Obviously not helpful now, but for future reference.

You would be easier just reading the guardian article I linked to, some of the advice on here is going to end up costing you more money, not to mention the time, stress and hassle.

And if the actual problem is the landladys attitude, you ain't going to change that, I am not saying its fair but the system works the way it works, she is only liable if you can prove the tiles came off due to negligence and not because of the storm, for your own health you would be better to let this go. I know it's irksome but if she's an arse she will always be an arse, it's not worth stressing yourself over.

I agree with mercibucket. It's no one's fault. That's just storms for you. I can't see why she'd be morally obliged to pay up and I'm sure that she's not legally obliged.

Windscreen claims don't usually affect your NCD. On my insurance I paid £60 excess to have the windscreen replaced.

Perhaps your neighbour's landlady would have been prepared to pay this amount, had your DH claimed through his insurance.

YABU. Just totally. It's not like she deliberately damaged it. It was good of her even to check with her insurance. All this 'I'm going to make her pay' business makes you sound like a nightmare.

I don't think there is a cat's chance in hell small claims would pass this one either.

My garage roof badly damaged the neighbours property. My insurance company said it was up to next door to claim from their own policy. Like you they didn't want to. Like you they hadn't used their insurance for repairs so their insurance company said toddle on.

They tried the small claims court. They got laughed out of it. I was not negligent. The judge pointed out many houses had lost tiles etc. They were ordered to pay my costs and compensation for my time.

They were wankers.

Given the severity of the recent storms all across the nation recently I'd just be grateful no one was killed by a flying slate OP.

The fact that the property owner was able to get the roof fixed so fast before the next one hits is also something to give thanks for.

£150 as an unexpected bill is annoying but not the end of the world. Next storm it might be something from your property that damages hers.

Seriously some people have lost EVERYTHING. You sound just a tad entitled given just how extra ordinary recent weather has been.

YABU. You have van insurance, everyone is suffering from these horrible weather conditions, shit happens. Why make this more than it is?
Right it off, learn about insurance,forget about it and be happy.

Tiles can come off a roof even if it is well maintained. We had major work done on our roof before Xmas at enormous cost and even we lost tiles so I think you'd struggle to prove it was poor maintenance after a storm like that.

Btw we are in Lancashire too. The winds were horrendous here.

Does your dh not have a reduced excess for windscreen if yoh go thrrough approved repairer. No help this time but useful to know.

My insurance paid in full for my windscreen when it was hit by a rock. Auto glass usually do it.

As thecatneuterer says, you only have a claim if you can show negligence. If the roof was in good repair you don't have a claim. Showing the tiles came from her roof is not enough. You have to show that the roof was not adequately maintained.

Going through small claims would be less costly than thecatneuterer suggests - £35 to start the claim and a further £25 for the hearing. But I also think it would be a waste of money.

Tell her your insurers require her insurers details.

I don't believe that her insurers said that. I think she is being less than straight with you, and may not have even contacted them. It is up to her insurers and your insurers to agree where liability is.

I would just pay the £250 and think I was very lucky. A lot of people through no fault of their own have lost entire homes due to the weather conditions this winter with damage running into the thousands if not hundreds of thousands. £250 - not worth picking a fight over.

Give this landlords details to your insurance company and let them sort it out

Purplerayne check the link upthread or google it but that is the answer any insurance company would give. They do not need to pay out to third parties for damage due to a storm.

It wasn't her fault... Of course she shouldn't have to pay . With the weather being like it has, there is no way to prove if it was poorly maintained or simply the high winds. Not her fault at all! Surely that's why you pay your own insurance! Most companies have a deal with auto glass, I think the whole screen replacement was only about £50 excess, not like the typical £200 or so you might pay for another claim.

Even well maintained roofs don't survive gale force winds < Exactly! YABU. It is an Act of God as her Insurers have most likely said. There's no way it could have been predicted with the ferocity of the winds. What exactly did her Roofer say to you that he then wasn't prepared to put in writing?

There was a story on local news -?south East today if you can find it. A woman's tree had uprooted going into her next door neighbours window. Next door neighbour up in arms saying she should pay and it was her tree. National institute of insurers (think that's what they were called) said nothing neighbour could have done and it was just one of those things. Not sure if same would apply to you?

I don't understand the Act of God angle.

Will insurance companies across the land tell everyone who has suffered flood damage that the floods were an Act of God so they are not covered? (Claiming Noah as a precedent).

Exactly this happened to us, the landlord wasn't responsible, it was deemed an act of god.

Probably winkle . I would hope not but it certainly wouldn't suprise me for Insurers to trot it out. It is also why I believe Landladys' story that Insurers won't pay out because of it.