legal issues

[Anonymous]

I have evidence of damp in my diningroom on the gable wall. The property was built around the late 1890's - victorian terraced in Lancashire. Wall paper is loose near the wall base and feels very cold/damp compared with other walls. The pavement on the other side of the gable wall is public space/council owned and is obviously too high as it bellies up the few courses of brickwork before the rendered finish. Anyone have any ideas regarding my legal rights with this. If the council have contributed to damp then are they responsible in rectifying the problem? I would like to think they are!

 

[Anonymous]

Richard - have you ever tried getting a council to admit liability for anything?? Thye will spend more time, and therefore money, trying to avoid the issue than it would cost to fix it all!

Yes, I'm sure it must be contributing to the problem. First thing - check with your house insurance if you have legal cover for problems of this sort.

Next - get a professional opinion regarding the pavement and the damp, hopefully paid for by the insurance.

Third - only then approach the council to get something done!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice! I'll check my insurance and see what happens! I almost jumped on the chemical injection bandwagon untill I started reading this forum and looked for other signs i.e high paving levels etc. Fingers crossed

 

[Anonymous]

I think it's worth giving the council a chance to put things right first.
I had a little terrace house in a street that had been pedestrianised by the council (and very attractive it is, too).
The front wall was damp because the paving was too high, so I wrote a polite letter to the council asking them to lower the level and they came round and did it within a few weeks.

 

[Anonymous]

The problem is, if you start something without checking with the insurers, then it may be difficult to get insurance to pursue this if the council doesn't put things right. A professional opinion is always useful to have on your side!

Not all councils are obliging...

 

[Anonymous]

Ass coz your cewncil are noice fook, gel.