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?

I also don't understand how a report done last month, coming up to 5 years after the incident, can tell whether weakening was there before the tree incident.

Did the fencing company get any pictures by any chance? Some companies will do before and after pics for social media/marketing. I would get in touch with them and see what they might have to strengthen your case.

Just say no thanks! You have a fence and no obligation to repair given you didn't cause the damage!

What are you referring to?

At the risk of stating the obvious, your solicitor will have a record of their communication with the council. If it was a letter or email, there would be a copy in your file. If it was a telephone call, the solicitor would have made an attendance note with details of who they spoke to and the date and time.

Ask your former solicitor for a copy of the correspondence or attendance note and forward that document to the council.

@petticuliar We haven’t seen a picture of the whole wall or the damage to it. My DH is a structural engineer and could give a view on whether it’s built properly or not. If it’s in a state of disrepair it might need rebuilding.