Anyone ever sued/claimed off the council ?
Discussion
The problems we have had with subsidence are caused, based on two surveyors reports, one in 2003 and one this week both cite the damage as being caused wholly by a tree on council property, i.e. the roadway that drained the water from the footings, causing cracking, will have paid £800 in surveyors fees, 2 grand plus to get it underpinned, higher insurance premiums etc, do I have a case to get recompense off the council, or should I just suck it up ?
Tree was there first, house was fine when we bought it in 1998, nothing on the survey, get a hot summer, tree likes a drink and drains all the water, bay drops.
Council didnt keep the tree under control, was tapping on the windows for ages despite asking them repeaedly to sort it, house insurance surveyed it, said it was the tree and the work was less than the excess, however now been told needs three grands worth of underpinning, just paid £430 for a survey and then another £350 for a further survey after the work has been done.
Over the years have paid thousands in additional insurance and now cant get subsidence insurance, so wondering if its worth throwing it at the council, to whom I pay £1800 a year for their services.
Council didnt keep the tree under control, was tapping on the windows for ages despite asking them repeaedly to sort it, house insurance surveyed it, said it was the tree and the work was less than the excess, however now been told needs three grands worth of underpinning, just paid £430 for a survey and then another £350 for a further survey after the work has been done.
Over the years have paid thousands in additional insurance and now cant get subsidence insurance, so wondering if its worth throwing it at the council, to whom I pay £1800 a year for their services.
IANAL but I believe for a claim to be successful you have to prove negligence / liability.
If you have told them that a surveyor has said the tree is too close / too large and will cause subsidence and they have done nothing then that may be enough.
If you have merely asked for the odd branch to be cut back then it won't.
As mentioned, you can only sue for your loss.
If you have told them that a surveyor has said the tree is too close / too large and will cause subsidence and they have done nothing then that may be enough.
If you have merely asked for the odd branch to be cut back then it won't.
As mentioned, you can only sue for your loss.
A number of years ago I was involved in a mediation between a Council and an Insurance Company, the latter were seeking a return of the value of the subsidence claim they had paid out to their policyholder.
In this case the trees apparently causing the issue were a fair distance from the house and the legal costs each party had incurred far exceeded the amount being sought. Ultimately the mediation was unsuccessful so unless one party backed down it will have gone to court.
So I would let the insurance company fight it
In this case the trees apparently causing the issue were a fair distance from the house and the legal costs each party had incurred far exceeded the amount being sought. Ultimately the mediation was unsuccessful so unless one party backed down it will have gone to court.
So I would let the insurance company fight it
Tom_C76 said:
If the house was built after the tree was planted, the house foundations should be deep enough to protect it from said tree. Not the council's fault you have inadequate foundations.
Why can you no longer get subsidence cover?
Because the house has a history of subsidence, insurers dont want to know, even though it was slight and only affected one, unsupported bay, insurers are risk averse so our only hope is to get it completely and utterly sorted so we can demonstrate that it has been cured, surveyor has recommended underpinning that bay and estimates £2000 or so to sort it, so probably a bit more by the time it is done.Why can you no longer get subsidence cover?
It isnt that we are moving but we want to be in a position to show it is all in good order by the time we are.
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