Damp from highway above dpc

[Penny]

I have asked the "Agony Uncle" but...When I bought my Grade II listed house some 9 years ago I raised an issue with the local highways authority concerning damp ingress. The ancient bank outside a room which adjoins the pathway was replaced many years ago with tarmac. This tarmac is less than 6" below the dpc in some places and above the dpc in others. There is severe damp in the wall adjoining the pavement, which has become much worse. We are now redecorating this room and wish to cure the damp problem. I think that the wall is solid brickwork with a slate dpc.

At the time the highways authority told me that this was my problem as it existed when I bought the property and that they did not have to abide by any building regulations with regards to hardsurfacing against a wall with a dpc. They argued that the grass bank was higher and therefore much worse. However, it would have been easy to dig the bank back. I let it drop at the time but have always been unhappy with this response. Do they not have a duty of care with regards to a listed property, or indeed any property? The solution would be quite simple, I think, as there is enough width in the pavement to dig it back from the wall.

Any suggestions, please?

 

[skier-hughes]

My inexpert view is, you need a good solicitor, letting 9 years pass is going to make it trickier to get a result and I think this may turn out to be a long drawn out battle, sorry.

 

[AMc]

As a law abiding citizen I would never suggest you took the law into your own hands and remedied the situation with a spade.
When we had our electricity supply upgraded (at my expense) I took the warnings about digging between my wall and the pavement very seriously and left that to a licensed contractor. However someone before me planted the same verge with daffs which probably involved unlicensed earth works :shock:. I have no idea how this is policed but I suspect a no harm/no foul approach might be taken? If you feel that the work could be done without any impact then there is a route there but clearly a risk is involved.

Alternatively you could suggest paying part or all of the costs in digging back away from your house. It may be cheaper than a protracted legal argument.

Finally many people have discovered they have legal cover on their home insurance that is quite comprehensive and may cover your costs on an issue like this - esp. as you could argue that the original work is damaging the insured building. I urge you to check that first as a well placed legal letter might solve the problem.

Good luck!

 

[middi]

As A non-law abiding citizen I would dig a big trench around the perimeter wall and leave it open in the hope that someone falls in and breakes their neck.( :wink: :wink: :wink: ).

Seriously I would be tempted to carry out a mini archeological survey to ascertain where the original exterior level was when the house was built and if this has been elevated due to road works intervention then the local council ( or the road maintainance control body) bears the responsability for such action which has resulted in your dpc being breached.

( I am sure they have encountered these problems before and have you believe that is all your fault for having a building in an unfortunate geological part of the street/road).

I believe that they are responsible for rising kerb or road levels which makes them also responsible for damages which may occur to properties as a direct result, any other excuse is a load of " bollockeros".

Only my opinion of course

 

[Penners]

a load of " bollockeros"

Italian is such a beautifully expressive language.

I agree with Graham. You need to talk to a solicitor. And nine years of laissez-faire is probably not going to work in your favour, I'm afraid.

 

[Flyfisher]

As the house is listed, is it worth contacting the relevant CO on the basis that he council's action iscausing damage to an historic property. I'd be very surprised if they could get the highways department to actually do anything about it, but they might be able to obtain permission for the owner to make some changes.

I wouldn't put too much faith in legal action. As soon as things become adversarial I suspect the council would 'dig in' behind the luxury of a fully-funded legal department to defend their position. Such situations are good for racking up legal fees and blood pressure, probably over many years.

A more concilliatory approach along the lines of "we've got a problem, the CO agrees, we'd like to do such and such to solve it, would this be alright?" might be quicker and cheaper.

 

[Stephen]

Not sure if you recently posted to Agony Uncle, but they can take some time to come through to me.

You will need to seek legal advice and certainly check your insurances to see if you have any cover for legal costs. If so try them first. However, they will probably want to see a report that confirms you have a case and that it has a better than 50% chance of success - only then do they usually take it on. The cost of the report may not be covered by the insurance.

The delay of 9 years in taking action may not help you, but it does not change the simple fact that you have a damp problem that you believe to be directly related to the high level of the 'highway' and that the increased height is directly due to the work of the Highways Authority. If you can show that the level has been increased over time (photographs, sworn statements, physical evidence) and you can show that the dampness is due to the high level you may then have a claim.

Whether the statute of limitations will come into play is another matter. If you knew what the problem was and failed to take action then you lose your right to take action after 7 years - the period runs from 'discovery'. However, if you only recently realised the cause of the problem, etc you may be 'in time' to take action. It is not certain you could take action because of the delay, but you should seek legal advice.

I can advise that I recently assisted a client who had a similar problem and although it took nearly two years of argument and threats of legal action we managed to get the Highways Authority to do work - they created a channel along the base of the wall in accordance with a design I created. Therefore it is possible to get the Highways Authority to undertake work, but it is not easy, can take years and you need a professional who can argue the technical issues. In that case the CO was also on our side and was very helpful in putting pressure on from the Council.

Stephen
aka (Agony Uncle)

 

[Pford75]

If you can show that the level has been increased over time (photographs, sworn statements, physical evidence) and you can show that the dampness is due to the high level you may then have a claim.

I hesitate to disagree with one of our resident 'experts'...but I feel I do speak from a position of a similar nature. We had a boundary wall which collapsed due to severe splashing from road flooding. We are currently still pursuing a complaint against our insurers (Brit) with the financial ombudsman, but we have also been working with solicitors for over a year in considering action against the highways agency at the county council and a developer whose actions caused the road to flood.

I agree with others that the delay in action will damage your claim, but I would add that it is doubtful that the county council has a 'duty of care'. We instructed Counsel's opinion on this matter specifically and without boring you on the details, they advised that unless the council can be shown to have been knowingly negligent, then there is very little you can do other than bring the matter to their attention and request that they resolve it.

The good news is that whilst you may be unable to recover past costs, you should be able to get them to rectify the situation. The advice to seek a solicitor is good....but if costs are an issue and you want to consider pursuing the matter a little yourself, I would do the following:

1. Get an expert opinion on the cause of the damp which clearly identifies the ground levels as the cause. This could come from your CO, or you could instruct a surveyor

2. Make a formal written complaint to the highways agency (via recorded delivery to a named individual). Include the report and ask them to rectify the situation with 28 days or you will be making a claim against their public liability insurance. (you may wish to CC the risk/insurance team at the council)

3. Identify your local councillor and copy him/her on all correspondance.

That should focus minds.

 

[Moo]

some 9 years ago I raised an issue with the local highways authority concerning damp ingress ... I let it drop at the time ...

Was this exchange in writing? It might be relevant to your current situation.

 

[Penny]

Thank you for your comments.

I will talk to a structural engineer I know and see if he can help. Unfortunately costs are an issue so do not wish to incur expense. (I regret that my RICS studies were 30 years ago and so do not think that I qualify as an 'expert witness'.)

I do have the relevant letters from the highways authority but did not pursue things further as I considered that I had met an immovable object; also I then suffered many years of ill health. In doing alterations I am now faced with the damp problem again and cannot ignore it. I had not thought of the insurance company so will check my policy.

On a slight deviation, 'my' structural engineer recently undertook some party wall negotiations involving an ancient listed barn and was horrified that the local planning authority forced me to move a large shed back to a position touching the barn. I had moved it so that the owners of the barn could do some emergency repairs, which they could only do from my property and if the shed was not there. I had the enforcement officer contacting me on an almost daily basis.

Thus far I have not found my local authority very helpful! I have not spoken with the conservation officer(s) and will consider this option.

Once again, many thanks.