Neighbour damaged boundary wall - council wants me to go 50/50

[TheNefariousOrange]

The boundary wall between me and the neighbour is shared. My house is privately owned but the neighbour is in council. Neighbour had a cherry tree and decided to chop it down themselves, as a result, it tipped and damaged the wall. The wall is in a bad state and now and the council wants me to pay half of it. My argument is that the neighbour shouldn't have chopped down the tree, but where do I stand?

No, the repairs are not "rightly shared".

Section 11(5) of the Party Wall Act 1996 provides that the costs of repairing a damaged wall are shared in proportion to the use which OP and the HA make of it, and, if they both make use of it, their respective responsibility for the damage. In this case OP makes no use of the wall as she has her own fence. Even if she did make use of the wall, the HA's tenant caused the damage, so it is the HA's responsibility.

@prh47bridge Exactly. The HA is wrong to pursue the op. Repairing the wall is down to the HA who can then charge the tenant for damage to the property. Not anyone else.

All this talk of suing the tenant is ludicrous.

Sadly my experience is that MPs are no better (and sometimes worse) than any regular customer service department department.

So I've spoken to my insurance as I have legal cover, but apparently they would only get involved if it goes to court so wouldn't provide any letters etc in the meantime. If I drafted up a letter with the personal info redacted, would someone mind giving me feedback on it?

OP Use ChatGPT to help you draft the letter.

Google ChatGPT

Put in your sample question.

Look at the result

Then modify your question a few times.

You have enough information from the letter you got from your solicitor in the past and the information about the law here. You will be able to politely tell the council that legally there doesn't need to be a physical boundary and even if there does as you didn't cause the damage to the shared wall you are not paying for it as they already admitted in writing you are not liable.

Hi all. I'm back with an update of sorts. The council responded to that letter today denying that their tenant chopped down a cherry tree and saying it is my fence that weakened the wall (I put my fence up 2 years after the incident and not attached to the wall but well within my boundary) and denying they took any liability for the costs. Any advice about where I should go from here?

Have you got paperwork about your fence , or evidence she chopped down the tree.

Write back to them pointing out that your fence is not attached to the wall so there is no credible mechanism whereby it could possibly weaken the wall. If they want to take that line, it will be up to them to get evidence to prove that the fence weakened the wall. Repeat that you make no use of the wall and therefore you are not liable for the costs of repair. Quote the section of the Party Wall Act I mentioned in a previous post. Also, if you have evidence that their tenant chopped down a cherry tree, I would state that, if necessary, you can prove that she damaged the wall.

So I have got a solicitor's letter after the incident where she put in writing that she had spoken to the housing manager and he had confirmed it was due to the cherry tree and they are taking over costs. They are saying they have no evidence or anything on file.
They've said they have just had a surveyor out who says it's because it's my fence. I realise this is completely illogical but I feel that because they have a legal team and more money than me, they are going to be able to strong arm me into paying.

How did they gain access to your property to assess your fence and how it affected the wall, ask for a copy of the surveyors report, seems a bit ott for a boundary wall.

Do your deeds and lease state you must have a wall and that it's a shared cost and responsibility. They should get more than one quote, refer them back to your solicitor and dont let them bully you.

This is a very valid point regarding access. I assumed they'd only inspected it on her part

Contact your local councillor. One of their key responsibilities is helping residents with complaints like this. They can intervene with the council officers/HA on your behalf. Very often, even just getting the councillor involved is sufficient to get even the most intransigent individuals to back down.

Surely any decent surveyor would have inspected the ground for root damage

I have contacted the councillor before and he wouldn't get involved

Don't let them strong arm you. Having more money and a legal team does not mean they will win. The solicitor's letter is evidence in your favour that supports your story re the cherry tree. So you can say that you have evidence that their tenant chopped down a cherry tree causing damage to the wall. Insist on a copy of the surveyor's report.

@TheNefariousOrange This all seems wrong!

First of all - does the wall have foundations? Walls need them. Just like a house (maybe not exactly the same) but the wall should not just sit on the ground. A well constructed wall would never be adversely affected by an adjacent fence.

How well built is it? Look at various web sites regarding how a wall should be constructed to withstand wind and the elements. One brick thick isn’t good enough.

What signs of wear are evident along the wall? Are bricks/stones missing? Did poor maintenance contribute to its problems? Who is responsible for maintenance? If it’s wholly the council, it’s their issue.

You can erect a fence on your own land. It won’t have foundations that have undermined the wall.

So. What can you do? Can you afford to get a structural engineer to report on it? They could report on condition, build quality and whether an adjacent fence could cause any damage. It’s not for them to comment on the tree. It is a matter for the local councillor as well.

If the wall is partially your responsibility regarding maintenance, negotiate with the council. If it’s entirely theirs, get advice from a qualified professional.

Say you don't have the money ?

Thank you for this. It is a shared boundary and we are both equally responsible for the upkeep.
I instructed a solicitor at first who spoke to the council over the phone and agreed they would take care of it from their end. I am thinking perhaps on Monday I should contact the firm again and get them involved? They are clearly lying about having no contact with me about the cherry tree damage or are not keeping accurate records, so I'm worried court would favour them if they are saying 1 thing and I am saying another without any clear records.

Go to the monitoring officer at the council. Make a complaint. Your councillor is one of your elected representatives. He should meet with you, get all the facts and work with you to the right outcome. When I say right, it isn't always in favour of the resident, but he should look into it.

Idle curiosity, which party is he from? They'll be after your vote for their MP soon. Might focus his mind a little...

@TheNefariousOrange You nor the council should get anywhere near a court. You would be better off repairing the wall. Get a report from someone who can definitively say you didn’t damage the wall by erecting a fence.

Conservative

Do you say that out of a cost purpose that we shouldn't go near a court or because I'd lose?

I’d also be contacting my MP for help. Why not, don’t they supposedly help with this sort of stuff?

Do you not have pictures of the initial damage showing that the fence wasn’t even there yet? Even if just in the background of a family picture!