DAMP CAUSED BY NEIGHBOUR

[Damper]

My house interior wall has damp because the previous owners of house next door put earth and gravel up against my house wall , to make an area to park their cars on .
The gravel is 1 foot above the damp proof course of .my house...the new owners of the house say the gravel drive was there when they bought the house ..they wish to keep the drive and won't let me remove it from the side of my house ..I have explained to them that it is causing damp inside my house ..they aren't bothered . Is there anything I can do ..thank you

 

[sako243]

French drain alongside it? Keeps the height and can be topped with gravel to make it appear not there but at least you can divert the water away with a drainage pipe.

 

[tigdlo]

Get professional legal advice.

 

[Agrismith]

I think you would be best with a legal letter.
Apart from the damp the wall of your house is not designed as a retaining wall. Depending on how the wall is constructed the weight of a car against might be a bigger problem.

 

[Damper]

Tried legal with the previous owners who put the gravel there ..because we couldn't prove that they did put the earth/gravel there , no one could make them remove it ..they said it had always been there ?

 

[Damper]

This is where they put the gravel...new owners won't let me remove it .

 

[Cato]

Tried legal with the previous owners who put the gravel there ..because we couldn't prove that they did put the earth/gravel there , no one could make them remove it ..they said it had always been there ?

Use Google earth, the actual program rather than the maps. There's a feature on it where you can scroll back through the years, it even incorporates aerial photography from the pre-satellite years. Scroll back until the drive isn't there and you have evidence of when it was laid.

 

[Damper]

Don't think that was around when they did this ..tried legal avenue about 10 years ago ....nothing we could do about it then ..thought the new neighbours might be better to deal with , but no

 

[premmington]

Tried legal with the previous owners who put the gravel there ..because we couldn't prove that they did put the earth/gravel there , no one could make them remove it ..they said it had always been there ?

Why are people so "unreasonable"?

Today I got my neighbours skip landing down "my drive" becasue she not got room to put it down hers. She asked nicely and I just said yes.

Should I have bridged the damp course on her house - I would dig a drain down the side. Or at least controbute towards the project - labour or 50%. It is a boundry issue and you gotta be nice to your neighbours.

But I am not a pig...

 

[gaz1]

google street maps do show this all depends on how far back it goes

mine goes back long enough to show things

 

[Damper]

Use Google earth, the actual program rather than the maps. There's a feature on it where you can scroll back through the years, it even incorporates aerial photography from the pre-satellite years. Scroll back until the drive isn't there and you have evidence of when it was laid.

How do you scroll back ?

 

[gaz1]

My house interior wall has damp because the previous owners of house next door put earth and gravel up against my house wall , to make an area to park their cars on .
The gravel is 1 foot above the damp proof course of .my house...the new owners of the house say the gravel drive was there when they bought the house ..they wish to keep the drive and won't let me remove it from the side of my house ..I have explained to them that it is causing damp inside my house ..they aren't bothered . Is there anything I can do ..thank you

a trick question here so answer it carefully and truthfully

yours is an old terrace building of some age, i can see that so how old is it ?

now you state has damp what do you mean by that ?

have you changed a cellar into a room instead ?

pointing looks old and not maintained

 

[Damper]

This is where they park ..

 

[Damper]

Built 1900s ..the gravel is over a foot above bottom of house in some places ..damp inside house .wall damp from floor level to about 3 feet up the inside wall ...no damp further along the house where the gravel drive begins

 

[Damper]

No damp inside here

 

[gaz1]

built 1900s dosnt have damp coarse

damp inside house dosnt tell me much

3ft up the inside wall from floor level or cellar level

beaware im a builder ive seen it all and done the work to it

what your pointing too is cellar level

 

[Kayos]

I live in a cul-de-sac, the property next to ours doesn't have a drive. The owner (landlord) wanted a drive, only access was to remove my fence and create a shared drive, with a covenant on the deeds to say max 1 car per drive. I said no, I'm not giving up my driveway, fence and privacy so he could make more money.

Next thing his dad is measuring up, asked what he was doing and he replied "establishing the boundaries" I asked what datum he was using, didn't know what a datum was.....

Then I get a "solicitors" letter, stating I drive over his land and must install a fence (that makes my drive unusable) 5 seconds of Google showed me the letter was fake

In the end I called his bluff, reminded him I had 20 years in the building trade and any legal battle would cost him dearly, as I had the fake letter and video of his dad (the surveyor) admitting he didn't know what he was doing

Not another word for the last 3 years

My point? People are selfish and only want what is good for them, sod the neighbours

I'd excavate what is touching your house, tell the neighbours they do not have permission to back fill and suggest they pay for a retaining wall with a sufficient gap for access for maintenance or you will go legal and they will pay to have the drive removed

 

[gaz1]

My point? People are selfish and only want what is good for them, sod the neighbours

I'd excavate what is touching your house, tell the neighbours they do not have permission to back fill and suggest they pay for a retaining wall with a sufficient gap for access for maintenance or you will go legal and they will pay to have the drive removed

your advice is wrong dont touch it as it dosnt belong to you

what you are stating is the exact same thing that you had done with your drive comment

that looks to be next doors drive not the ops driveway

 

[JOEPRO]

I am surprised by the number of regular posters on here who do not know about the Party Wall Act.

THAT is the law which applies here and sets out your rights clearly. That is the mechanism cases like this are compared against.

You are probably too late now in that it will be exceedingly difficult with the passage of time and dealing with new owners. Should have approached it immediately the problem occurred and not let off until resolved as it was a clear breach of the act.

Please do look it up and read it in full.

 

[Craig-SM]

Use the clause to allow you to repair the damp and dig enough of the drive out. This may take months or years to complete.