rented property next door falling on my property!

[veilside01702]

Hi, I live next door to a rented property. the tennants are friendly and we get on fine. The problem is the owner of the property will not repair the roof or the fence that leads between both properties. The fence is rotten and collapsing onto my entrance to my front door. the roof of the rented property is falling apart, tiles sliding off and hitting the wall next to my front door. luckily it was 5am and missed anyone going in or out of my house!
I have called the letting agent, as has the tennant. we have both asked for the roof and fence to be sorted out. I sent 2 letters and have called 6 times in the past year. Finally 3 months ago, someone came to quote for the repairs.... then nothing!
I am disabled and cannot get a wheelchair to my front door anymore....
The problem is the rented properties pathway is higher than mine. So the soil under his path has pushed the fence outward narrowing my entrance to my house. The fence was there when we moved in in 2003. I just realised a month or so ago that the fence is on my property anyway. But have been told that it is his fence....
Can I get it taken down and returned to the letting agent, so the owner gets it back as with cutting down a tree that overhangs my property??
I am desperate as i am having more and more problems getting in and out of my house....
I tried council and they will do nothing as it is a private rental....
also there are sheets of asbestos dumped against this fence on the other side....but the council still say they can't do anything......
Help.....
I am desperate......
russ

[MrShed]

Have you spoken to environmental health?

[blacksheep1979]

If you have insurance on your property then it might be worth contacting them and stating that there is a risk to your property from the neighbouring house, due to its condition. The insurance company obviously not wanting to pay if any damage happens may set their legal team onto the owner of the property.

[veilside01702]

Hi MrShed...i tried enviromental health....they said they couldn't do anything as it wasn't council property...?
I thought their job was to make sure we are safe....but they didn't want to know..!
Hi blacksheep, I will contact them tomorrow....I hadn't thought of trying that approach....
Thanks for both your advice...
Russ

[MrShed]

Also, do a land registry search on the property to find the actual landlords address - might be worth contacting him directly(nicely!).

[veilside01702]

Hi MrShed....I wrote to the owner and he ignored my 2 letters asking hime to mend the fence and roof. The letting agent sent their repair guy round. He hadn 't even heard about the roof collapsing!
When the tile slid off the roof there was a huge bang from the roof. It looks like the ridge tiles and roof tiles are badly dipping, as though a beam has collapsed. Yet the owner won't even contact the tenants....
I am just worried another tile could hit someone coming to my front door...
The previous tenant moved out after condemning the electrics. He was a sparkie and couldn't believe how poorly maintained the house was....
The windows are falling out as the frames are rotten, the heating wasn't tested for 4 years, the electrics are dangerous, the roofs falling apart, the fence is falling down and there's asbestos dumped in the garden.....quality house for rent.....lol
It has been like that for the past 5 years, since we bought our house...
I just wish I could force the owner to repair the dangerous bits that affect me...
Russ

[jaocheu]

If you get on well with the tenants next door have you suggested they make the repairs at their own expense then deduct them from the rental payments.

[MrShed]

Hmmm....I would be extremely careful with that kind of action, certainly not something I could advise in these circumstances.

[jaocheu]

An alternative approach may be to check the land registry charges register and see who the 1st charge is registered to.

This will be the name of the mortgage lender. Then write to the mortgage lender spelling out the bad state of repair of the property.

They have the power to send people around and repair the property without the owner's consent and then bill him.

[demon_x_slash]

That would probably be easier than the neighbours offsetting their rent; that can be a tricky area, as they are entitled to get ignored repairs done and deduct from the rent, but it can sour relations with the landlord very quickly.

[jessop]

Originally Posted by veilside01702

...they said they couldn't do anything as it wasn't council property...?

Thats a first EHO's only looking after council property.

Ring them back and tell them they have a duty under Part 1 (Housing Conditions) of the Housing Act 2004 to inspect housing conditions in their area and identify any hazards that exist, it applies to any residential premises to which the act applies.

Don't be fobbed off

[veilside01702]

cheers everyone for the advice....
I will get onto it after I sort out my nightmare with 2 claims being issued on the same day at 2 different courts....
by myself and a company issuing a claim under my name without my conscent!!!
God this is getting complicated.......lol
Russ

[veilside01702]

Sorry peeps....
Closing all my threads now......
Thanks for everyones help and support......

[miss_annoyed]

Sorry haven't worked out how to post new thread.

I'm having a recurring problem with the property upstairs due to it's lack of repair this is causing a great amount of stress and nuisance to me and tenants who are currently living in the property downstairs. I'm the owner of the downstairs flat.
There's been quite a few leaks of water into the flat downstairs one resulting in the ceiling falling down. Luckily it happened in a large cupboard downstairs. The upstairs landlord did foot the bill for repair to the ceiling unfortunately this has happened on a few occasions in various places around the flat over the years. I've had damage to computers, walls , floors, personal items which I've always paid to repair. The latest leak is pouring down the walls in a very high ceiling victorian conversion. I've express my concern that it needs their urgent attention but as I've been in this situation before. I have little faith anything will be done for weeks. In the meantime I've asked our tenants ,the wife is pregnant, to monitor the problem from afar but to not enter the spare bedroom. They say is getting worst by the day and covering one walls. All in the space of one week. They've had to move out of the room due to the smelly water and damp. We can't fix the damp or treat the area until what's causing the damp is fix . It also looks expensive the longer it's left. It's running down the external and internals walls to the wooden subfloor.The wall is completely wet and now moulding.
I've called a plumber to assess which pipe from the outside could be leaking and yes it's definately a pipe going into upstairs flat. This information has been passed on to the landlord and agent dealing with maintenance. The landlord to the flat above is also the freeholder of the property . He does little if anything when it comes to maintaining the building , never mind his rented property. He always goes for the cheapest option including not using a registered Corgi engineer to fix the boiler. To the horror of his tenant and us. It's been suggested this ill repair could also be causing the leak.
What can I do to get this sorted out as quickly as possible? I'm worried about my pregnant tenant and the growing mould. Could I fix the leak myself as I know the tenant upstairs and can gain access, then bill him for the repair to his own property? Would I be able to bill the landlord/ freeholder to fix the damage to walls ? Do I have to claim on my insurance to fix the walls? The flat has it's own building insurance as set out in the lease. Can I get the landlord upstairs to pay for the repair considering he's dragging his heels? What can I do to get things moving more quickly? I hate the fact that my hands are tied as a landlord to the flat below I generally try to repair any problems within 24 to 48 hours. Please can any one help me.