Cottages that are built into the land

[EarthSight]

There's a few old stone cottages in my hilly area that were built into a slope. As in, instead of flatting the entire plot to make sure they had clearance and good airflow all around the external walls, they just built some of it so that some of the walls are directly covered by soil. This means that the surrounding external ground level is 30cm - 60cm above the internal ground level.

If you live in one of these cottages, has this presented problems to you with regards to rising damp, and if so, how tricky or expensive was it to sort?

My sibling lived in a house like this. It was riddled with damp. She had to have a dehumidifier running all the time and the heating on constantly.
It belonged to her inlaws so, after she’d left, they left the property empty. Within 3 months of it being empty (so no dehumidifier/heating on all hours) it was floor to ceiling mould.
It needed tanking, which they weren’t prepared to do.

30 - 60cm into a hill shouldn't be too expensive to clear all around and expose the external wall and allow airflow to dry them.
I guess you'd have to question if chronic damp has caused any issues, or maybe a drainage system is already in place.

I almost purchased a cottage that had the back of it built into the hill about 6' I had a full structural survey carried out and it picked up on damp which I then visually saw on another viewing, the bits that couldn't be seen were the floor joists and the back kitchen wall which were all covered.
It would have cost a fortune in groundworks to resolve and backed directly onto a lane, so I pulled out loosing a few thousand ponds.
My surveyor was keen to point out that any damp proof membrane solution only puts a barrier between you and the damp, and always has a limited life span.

Unfortunately it's not an option @BreezyPeachGoose . There is a telephone pole and powerline that goes into the ground on the very edge of the external wall, where the problematic section is.

I don't know what BT were thinking. The age of the cottage pre-dates the pole. I'm assuming that a long time ago, this section just used to be a shed or a rougher type of outdoor toilet, so maybe it didn't matter as much. Now it's the house's only bathroom (there's none upstairs).

That wall is immediately bordering a public footpath, just like in your situation, so the land directly outside the wall might not even be in the title plan, which is why BT put a pole in such an odd place.

No one sells decent houses in my county at first time buyer prices. Almost all of them have substantial issues with them, so I have to be suspicious. It's like sorting through an extremely expensive rubbish bin - you're going to have rubbish, it's just a case of what's least rubbish.

We went to a holiday cottage like this once. Damp everywhere in the middle of summer.