Party Wall Act & Neighbour's Roof

[InitialDave]

I've had a letter from the local council saying they want to re-roof my neighbour's house, and referring to the Party Wall Act. Semi detached arrangement.

They want me to reply to confirm I'm happy for the work to be carried out, if I do not reply it will be regarded as a dispute.

His house is owned by a company who rent out properties for council tenants, my house is owned by me.

Letter states that any defects which develop at the join of the two roofs will be rectified by the council.

I get on just fine with my neighbour, so no problem with agreeing to the work, but are there any "gotchas" I should be aware of first?

[David-p5d5m]

Wouldn't the property owner carry out the works rather than the council?

[t400ble]

David-p5d5m said:

Wouldn't the property owner carry out the works rather than the council?

These normally are a fully repairing lease, so the council who rent the house will be resoponsable

[How u doing]

If the council have a repair lease on the property then as tenant would be responsible.

[InitialDave]

I don't know the ins and outs of the tenancy, but the house is not owned by the council, the council have always been the ones to do the maintenance, and this letter is from the council, saying they'll do the work.

Doesn't really affect the question tbh.

[Ind1e]

My reply assumes a couple of things - That it’s a standard construction pitched, tiled roof and your half of the roof is the same age as the ‘other’ half.

As you’re happy for the work to take place ( and you are not interested in approaching the contractors with a cash offer to do the whole roof, while they’re up there ) then it would be prudent to find a way (ladder, drone, cat burglar) to take pictures of your half of the roof, especially at the boundary line, as a record of the condition before the work starts. Even if the Council say their guys will fix it .... It will save a lot of argument after the event about any ‘new’ verses 'existing' damage.

Also it might be useful (always assuming they match) to see if you can have some of the ‘old’ tiles just in case you need them in the future.

[anonymous-user]

I would suggest you get more details in writing, specifically how the join of the repaired roof to your roof is made.

A chap I know had the same situation, the HA contractors just cut the tiles off which resulted in his house leaking.

[InitialDave]

Ind1e: Yes, that's correct, it's a pretty standard pitched roof with tiles. They are the same age, but I've not had any problems to warrant replacement - speaking to my neighbour, it seems the woodwork is rotting, but mine is totally dry, never had any issue.

I wouldn't say no to a new roof, but there's no real justification in my mind, and besides, I'm already paying for his, aren't I?

Good point on recording the current state of the roof to fend off hassle should they cause a problem, I'll see if I can do something about that, same with trying to get tiles off them to allow for future patching, I should've thought of that.

Gottans: another good point, I will contact the person at the council the letter originated from.

[Toltec]

Might be worth knowing if they are replacing with the same type of tile, otherwise how is the join going to work? On a terraced house we own the timbers had sagged a little over time on both sides so that as the tiles ran over the party wall they were at different angles and there were gaps under the edges of the tiles so in certain wind conditions we were getting rain driven in. The roofer fitted a profile, an inverted T shape, so the tiles could be cut and butt up to it from both sides and the tiles didn't then have to go over an inversion of angle. That might be the sort of thing used when reroofing one side but not the other?

[mr rusty]

I suggest you reply stating that you will approve the work subject to two conditions.
1) That they confirm either i) that they will be using identical tiles for a seamless joint or 2) they issue construction drawings showing the intended specification and structure of the join and
2) You require a documented condition survey to be carried out by a party wall surveyor prior to works commencing.

Both these are reasonable requests. The three options when you receive a notice are approve, approve with conditions, disapprove and enter dispute.

Doing this is in the Councils interest as well as it should avoid recriminations and make sure it gets done properly.

[anonymous-user]

If they are replacing any felt under the tiles they need to state how this will be laid and joined to the neighbouring property.

[jondude]

Is there any beef behind asking them to replace your roof too? While presuming they would offer this at a silly price, you never know!

I'd certainly ask.

[Jeremy-75qq8]

The term dispute is simply a technicality.

Just appoint you own party wall surveyor and they pick up the bill

The surveyor will do a schedule of condition and define the works a s how they are done

[98elise]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It would depend on what they are paying for the lease.

Councils will sometimes lease a private home then operate it like a council house, i.e. they manage the tenants, and all repairs. When I've looked I to them they have been at a significantly lower rent to the landlord.

[InitialDave]

Thanks for everyone's input, I wrote back agreeing to the work, provided they give me a copy of the condition survey etc, and either use identical tiling or give me the detail on how the join will be made if using a different type.

Haven't been able to get a closer look at the roof from the outside (as I appear to have properly killed the battery for my drone), but I'll sort something out. I did go up in the loft and have a good poke around, and everything seems good currently, so hopefully won't be too badly disturbed by the work.