Ridge roof tile damaged car - House Insurer Declines Fault

[johnnympl]

Hello all,

 

I need some advice, please.

 

I've been renting a property since August 2006 and always been a good tenant, never asked for anything from the landlord, paying rent on time and always looking after the house.

 

Just before Christmas, Monday afternoon, 23rd December 2013, the car was parked on the driveway as always and suddenly I heard a big bang from the outside. When I went to inspect what had happened I noticed the big ridge roof tile was on the ground and my car damaged. The roof of the car was dented, windscreen smashed and the bonnet was also damaged. I rang the agency, explained the situation and I was advised to repair the car, give them the bill and I will receive my money back.

 

I rang a windscreen company and they came, examined the car and said that they cant replace the windscreen because the roof is too damaged. I emailed the agency, explained what I've been told, attached images of the car and the roof tile. I got an email back which stated this:

"Your Landlord has spoken with his Insurance company who have informed him that the cost of the repair to your car is down to you unless you can prove negligence on the Landlords part. You will need to contact your car insurance company and report the incident to them and then it will be down to them to prove negligence for them to claim the monies back"

 

In the meantime I contacted my insurance company, called in the claim, my car has been taken away, assed and I received a courtesy car. The repair of the car came to a total of £1600 which exceeds the value of the car, which results in the car being written off.

 

Now I am faced with two options, withdraw the claim, keep the car and try to repair it or buy a new and I cannot afford to do either or I can go through with the claim, receive the value of the car minus the excess cost of £300 and lose my no claim discount bonus which is valuable to me as soon my son will be starting his driving soon.

 

The ridge tile came off to easily, the wind wasn't that strong to take down the tile. In the seven years I have lived in the property not once the landlord sent someone to make sure the roof is in a stable condition. Yet he denies fault and so do his insurers.

 

What can I do in this situation, should I contact a lawyer? Any help is appreciated

 

Thanks, johnnympl

[unclebulgaria67]

You would have to claim under your Car Insurance for the write off value and then try your luck in issuing a court claim against the landlord for uninsured losses. If you have legal expenses cover under your Car Insurance, they may help you. If not, you could see a local Solicitor to see whether it is worth pursuing. Or just do it yourself, using the MCOL process.

 

Don't worry about issuing the court claim against the landlord, as the landlord can just pass it on to their Home Insurers to deal with. They may just pay out for your claim and not defend it.

 

I would suggest that you contact the local Met Office for a report into the wind conditions on the day in question. If the wind gusts were below say 55 then the rood tile should not have come down through storm damage and must have been weakened before. In any court claim, it is just establishing on the balance of probability that the landlord was liable for the roof tile coming down i.e roof not maintained.

 

Nb. Before you issue a court claim, you should send the landlord a letter before action stating your case, providing details of your losses and by what date you expect to be paid these. Allow say 21 days. After this you can just issue the court claim.

[johnnympl]

Thanks for the quick reply! That helped me a lot, I will contact Met Office to gather the evidence however I'm not too sure about the legal expense cover, I will need to double check. Thanks again!

[dacouc]

You would have to claim under your Car Insurance for the write off value and then try your luck in issuing a court claim against the landlord for uninsured losses. If you have legal expenses cover under your Car Insurance, they may help you. If not, you could see a local Solicitor to see whether it is worth pursuing. Or just do it yourself, using the MCOL process.

 

Don't worry about issuing the court claim against the landlord, as the landlord can just pass it on to their Home Insurers to deal with. They may just pay out for your claim and not defend it.

 

I would suggest that you contact the local Met Office for a report into the wind conditions on the day in question. If the wind gusts were below say 55 then the rood tile should not have come down through storm damage and must have been weakened before. In any court claim, it is just establishing on the balance of probability that the landlord was liable for the roof tile coming down i.e roof not maintained.

 

Nb. Before you issue a court claim, you should send the landlord a letter before action stating your case, providing details of your losses and by what date you expect to be paid these. Allow say 21 days. After this you can just issue the court claim.

 

Proving liability eg negligence for a roof tile coming down is a lot more difficult than you suggest

[unclebulgaria67]

Proving liability eg negligence for a roof tile coming down is a lot more difficult than you suggest

 

It depends on what the OP finds out. They are on site and have a better view of the situation. The ridge tiles I thought are cemented in, so if there was not winds of particular strength, the tile should not have come down. The negligence would be decided based on what is provided to a court. The House Insurers may not bother to defend, if the amount involved is not that high.

[TSx]

It depends on what the OP finds out. They are on site and have a better view of the situation. The ridge tiles I thought are cemented in, so if there was not winds of particular strength, the tile should not have come down. The negligence would be decided based on what is provided to a court. The House Insurers may not bother to defend, if the amount involved is not that high.

 

You are correct - however the 23rd was one of the worst storm's we've had this year and was pretty much nationwide. If the OP is an an area which suffered high winds that day (most) then they will find it very difficult to prove negligence. If the winds are 'storm force' then they will almost certainly defend as without any evidence the roof was in a poor condition (7 years isn't that long to go without a roof inspection on a pitched roof), on balance of probabilities, the tile will be deemed to have blown off in the storm.

 

However the court fees will only be £70-£80 (depending how much you're claiming) and it'll be a small claims hearing so the other side can't claim costs back so it may be worth proceeding. The letter before action won't cost you anything.

[unclebulgaria67]

You are correct - however the 23rd was one of the worst storm's we've had this year and was pretty much nationwide. If the OP is an an area which suffered high winds that day (most) then they will find it very difficult to prove negligence. If the winds are 'storm force' then they will almost certainly defend as without any evidence the roof was in a poor condition (7 years isn't that long to go without a roof inspection on a pitched roof), on balance of probabilities, the tile will be deemed to have blown off in the storm.

 

However the court fees will only be £70-£80 (depending how much you're claiming) and it'll be a small claims hearing so the other side can't claim costs back so it may be worth proceeding. The letter before action won't cost you anything.

 

 

Yes I realise that it was stormy in some parts of the country. When I responded to the OP, I did not want to add a negative post, just stating a list of problems. The OP is on the ground, can investigate this further and decide how they want to proceed. I am trying to start 2014 in half glass full and not half empty state of mind.

[Surfer01]

To claim anything you would need to let the insurance companies fight it out. If the car was damaged on the body in the windscreen area, it will not be a cheap fix anyway so may be better to process the claim. Isn't your no claims bonus protected?

[Clusia]

Hi,

Where is your case now?

Exactly the same happened to my car, a ridge tile fell straight on the top, only a few days after yours. I reported it to the letting agent and they came back that the landlord's home insurance doesn't cover it and also he is not responsible for the damage. I asked a quote for repairing my car and the whole roof panel has to be changed because it was damaged so badly, ca 1500. I told to the letting agent that I think the landlord is responsible for it because his property caused damage to my car. I've also read on various sites that negligence has to be proven to win a case, but it is not easy.

Now a roof contractor came out to fix the roof and it is interesting they had to cement back a whole line of ridge tiles because all were loose! They haven't even completed the job, will come back tomorrow. So I think if the roof was in a good condition prior to the accident why that much repair and maintenance is necessary? I asked the roof company to leave me a copy of what job was done.

Anyone knows what to do? I'm trying to get an appointment with the citizen advice bureau, but they're so busy, but I need to clarify what my rights are and what his responsibilities are.

Thanks

[unclebulgaria67]

The landlord has to maintain the property in a good state of repair and take reasonable steps to ensure this.

 

The problem with roofing, is whether the landlord would have known any tiles were loose. Was it reasonable for the landlord to have had a roofer inspect it, before they let the property ? With my house, I certainly keep an eye on the roof, inspect it from ground level after high winds and I have had maintenance work carried out.

 

You could chance your arm with issuing a court claim against the landlord for any losses suffered, purely on the basis that the landlord had not properly maintained the roof and therefore as a result caused you to suffer a loss. For this to succeed, you would need to have helpful information from the local met office that there were not any storm force winds around the period the tile came down. If the met office confirmed that there were no storm force winds, then I think you may have a good chance. If there were storm force winds, then you would not have a very good case, because it was the wind and not any negligence on the part of the landlord.

 

If you have any legal cover or a helpline with your Home Contents Insurance, they may be able to give you advice on this.

[Mwynci]

The driveway could pose a problem as the liability (not that I believe there is any negligence at all, and no claim to answer) is the in law the occupiers to ensure the drive is safe to park on. Now if you have contents cover in your name and therefore occupiers liability cover ( the greater cover) you cannot sue yourself and have no case.

I might not be right and I am playing with a bit devils advocate here, but it's a potential.......

Re negligence, it also has to be recognised, the roofing mortar could be loose, but it has to be proven the landlord was aware of the impeding risk, the same as the average man, unless the risk has reasonably been pointed out.

[coversion]

Hello

 

Something very similar happened to my van around the same time - roof tiles, smashed glass and several dented panels - and it has been a pain trying to claim.

 

It has been a little while now, have you had any joy in claiming via insurance or small claims?

[kabukiman]

Op is thinking of withdrawing his claim because he will lose his ncb, now that the insurer's have been informed would the assumption be his premiums would rise anyway if he decides not to proceed and to declare it to other insurers.