Neighbours have damaged my roof, where do i stand.......

[charliebrownsmum]

hi

i have a property that i let in London. The neighboring property was sold several months ago and the new owner has been renovating it. In june scaffolding was erected and it was finally taken down this weekend. However my tenant notices that when the scaffolding came down that the flashing on our side of the roof has been badly damaged and some roof tiles are missing. She asked the builders to fix it and they said it was nothing to do with them. She asked for the property owners number and passed it to me.
I called him today and told him i wasn't happy with the condition my roof has been left in. He claims that burglars climbed up the scaffolding and stole the flashing from his roof and tried to get it off ours but they were unsuccessful and so left it in the condition it is now in. I asked him why he hadn't notified me or my tenant and he said he asked his builders to but they forgot. He said he himself visited the property on SAturday and intended to notify my tenant but he also forgot! I asked him if he reported it to the police and if he had a crime reference number and he said he didn't bother to report it. he said he fixed his flashing but left mine! He said i can report it to the police and claim on my insurance.

Now, what i need to know is does he have a responsibility to repair this as it was caused as a result of his scaffolding being put up. I'm not sure if it even was a robbery or whether his builders have damaged it. Fortunately i have pictures from the day the scaffolding was put up and the day it was taken down and you can clearly see my flashing was perfectly intact when it was erected. Also if he does not repair this for me and the rain damages my house is he liable for the cost of any repairs?

any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have to email him tonight as he said he wants to see the pictures but i don't want to email him unitil i have received some advice.

Many thanks....

Have a look at the Party Walls Act.

Did any of his scaffolding encroach upon your land or property.

Did he ask for your permission before he started work which could have strayed on to your property.

Is your property semi detached or terraced, but is there a party wall separating the two properties?

When you reply to him, say that the Party Walls Act governs his responsibility and duties towards you and your property.

If the builder was deliberately telling lies about the robbery to evade his responsibilities then that make his crime worse.

Ask them whether either the property owner or the builder has public liability insurance. Ask them to make a claim on that insurance policy for the damage.

hi it's a terrace property, the scaffolding didn't encroach mine. I didn't see it close up as i now live in scotland but my friend sent me pics. He didn't notify me of any work starting or ask for permission of any kind. The only reason i am aware of it is because my tenant told me.
The flashing is on the party wall, he has replaced his side but left mine hanging off. you can see a pic here
www.picturetrail.com/charliebrownsmum

btw you can see the details really clearly on my phone as i can zoom in really close, its hard to see clearly in these pics.

In that case, I feel sure that "The Party Walls Act" applies and The next door property owner has a duty to pay all the costs for "making good" the damage caused.

Ask him nicely to pay all the costs.

If they had "owned up" before the scaffolding was removed it would no doubt have been able to do the remedial work more cost effectively and cheaper.
Ask him whether he is Insured.

i've just looked up the company on his email address and it turns out they are a big building company so why they would not repair this is beyond me. It would have cost them very little. I wonder if the contractor they used was responsible and maybe he didn't know either way they are just at it for refusing to fix it.
i'm bloody raging!!!!
plus i'm really worried that they weather will turn and my house will be damaged by rain!!

Could you ask the tenant to check if the thieves seem to have attempted to steal the flashing from the house on the other side? It sounds very suspicious - if not, why were they only interested in the lead on one side of the scaffolding. Was your tenant in when the "robbery" took place? I would have thought she might have heard people swinging up scaffolding and hacking away at the roof?
I would write to the MD of the building company saying that his workers' story doesn't really stand up and asking him to make good.

I would also contact the building regs dept to see exactly what work was undertaken next door and whether PW permission should have been sought.

thanks for the advice, i will contact building regs tomorrow. I don't honestly believe that there was a robbery. He said they stole his flashing and attempted to steal ours but they must have been disturbed. My tenant knows nothing of this. Plus he hasn't reported it to the police so i don't think he has a leg to stand on. Unfortunately the person who is the property owner is also the company owner!

In that case, a letter saying that you don't believe story (keep it polite: "having spoken to my tenant and various neighbours, there seems little evidence to suggest that there was an attempted robbery etc"), give him 14 days to make good or take it to county court. Would love to see how a magistrate dealt with that story.

Definitely get detailed plans from building regs (many have them uploaded onto council website).

I just want to get it fixed asap as there's meant to be terrible rain coming this week and the last thing i need is my tenant unable to stay in the house because the roof is leaking!
I have legal advice cover under my home insurance so ill call them tomorrow aswell.
They have picked the wrong person to try to con, I'm like a dog with a bone on these kind of thing!!! I won't let it go!!