Neighbour digging a basement- help please

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My neighbour has received permission to dig a basement but first wants to discuss party wall details. Problem is I have tenants who will not like the disruption this will cause, not to mention potential damage to our foundations. What am I supposed to do? Have you had to deal with this? Can I make him liable for any damage to the house, or loss of income if tenants leave? Many thanks in advance.

I assume your neighbour will want to underpin the foundations of his/her house including the party wall between the houses? Have a read of the Party Wall Act and guidance on line and you will see what your neighbour needs to do and the effects

As for your tenants, providing your neighbour and his/her builders stick to what is agreed re: hours of work and what is sanctioned by the council on this they just have to suck it up, as you would if you were living there. It's for a finite period, not ongoing with no end in sight. Ensure they are informed and ask them to tell you about any problems they cannot resolve with the neighbours themselves. The neighbour has the planning permission and you, I presume, have a signed tenancy agreement with the tenants which provides the terms of their tenancy.

Thanks Wow, I guess I am thinking about worse case scenarios. What if tenants are inconvenienced above the stated terms (unable to park nearby, too much noise during the day and they happen to be in, damage to property requiring to be rehoused), who would be responsible for this? Sorry if I come across as ignorant, I don't know anything about basement conversions but have heard many horror stories :-(.

I believe that your neighbour is obliged to fund a Party Wall surveyor for you, if you wish to have one. You can have your own or agree to share an independent surveyor with your neighbour. I would imagine they could take you through the process and ensure that your property is protected.

As wow says, there's lots of party wall guidance on line. You are entitled to expert support with this, your neighbour can't just crack on without you being happy (within reason of course).

OP you should be adequately insured to cover the nightmare worst case scenario of damage to the property and the need to re-house your tenants if the house is unsafe to live in. Check your policy and act now if you are not.

Do you mean Landlord insurance or building insurance? We obviously have the latter. Surely if the people residing in our house (owner or tenants) have to be rehoused, shouldn't it be the owner of the house where the excavation is done who is considered responsible?

I mean landlord insurance - god forbid anything goes wrong your insurers will claim from the neighbours doing the building work's insurers. But surely you as the landlord need to be covered to provide a roof over their heads - especially if you are concerned they might leave because of this disruption. Ordinary buildings insurance is not the correct cover if you have let the property to tenants.

If I were you I'd be offering the reassurance that should anything go wrong you can fulfil your landlord obligations under the tenancy because your insurers will rehouse them in the short term until any problems are fixed.

Thank very much Wow, makes sense. Gosh, what a headache!

I doubt your tennants will leave. Neighbours could start building work in any location. Its just part of urban/suburban living. If they were to move the same thing could happen in the next house.