Question for legal/property/building experts?

[Enchanted]

So we live in an Edwardian end-terrace. Our ndn neighbours were an absolute nightmare, think noise nuisance constantly (they're from Hong Kong and would engage in extremely loud video calls through the night in the bedroom next door which would keep us awake from 2am every night for hours - only mentioning where they're from as obviously the time difference is relevant). We had so many conversations with them and I actually begged them crying one night when heavily pregnant on the doorstep and they laughed at me and slammed the door in my face. My husband went round and they threatened him with violence. This was because they'd started scraping wallpaper off and hammering against the bedroom wall at midnight. They're also extremely dirty and they had damp in their hall which caused mould in our house and we had to redecorate and have it professionally treated. They did rectify this on their side and had agreed to pay for the damage they'd caused to our house but then when we got quotes they then refused. The neighbours on the other side have taken legal action against them about similar property related issues and won so it's not just us.

Now, at the rear to our house is a courtyard and then we have another 2 storey property which is adjacent to one they own. Ours had planning permission on when we bought it for 2 x 1-bed apartments but we've kept it as a garage and workshop. They've converted theirs to a 3-bed house during Covid and moved into it whilst renting out the main house (new neighbours are perfect and we have no more problems! ) And luckily we now don't see/hear the horrible neighbours.

Our problem is when they've had the work done it's obviously damaged where the roofs join and our building is now badly leaking during VERY heavy rain. I suspect we've left it too long to complain/prove it was them as they've been in over a year now but it wasn't immediately apparent, and due to our history we've been reluctant to deal with the stress of them again.
We've asked for a roofer to look at it (just for us to repair) but they've said they can't give us a quote as it'll involve removing the neighbours "dry verge".
Any help?

[Vanillapod]

Presumably there was a party wall in place so you can prove the original condition?
I know when we had to have a survey for a party wall agreement there were a lot of photos taken. I don’t think the time that’s passed is an issue but will ask OH

[Enchanted]

Originally Posted by Vanillapod

Presumably there was a party wall in place so you can prove the original condition?
I know when we had to have a survey for a party wall agreement there were a lot of photos taken. I don’t think the time that’s passed is an issue but will ask OH

See more...

Unfortunately not - no one ever approached us and work was done during the Pandemic so no real contact with anyone. (I know that's not an excuse and we've been stupid).

[parisdisneyfan]

Do you have a legal helpline with your house insurance? Or one through your work? These are invaluable and could sort it all out for you. We used ours twice to get the supplier to rectify the patio we had laid and also when a British Gas engineer burnt my lounge carpet - minor in the scale of your issue but helped all the way up to small claims court when both cases backed down and settled- not quite as we wanted but a very reasonable compromise. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Enchanted]

Originally Posted by parisdisneyfan

Do you have a legal helpline with your house insurance? Or one through your work? These are invaluable and could sort it all out for you. We used ours twice to get the supplier to rectify the patio we had laid and also when a British Gas engineer burnt my lounge carpet - minor in the scale of your issue but helped all the way up to small claims court when both cases backed down and settled- not quite as we wanted but a very reasonable compromise. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

See more...

Thank you, that's a good suggestion. I'll look into that 😊

[Enchanted]

Anyone else with any advice?

Where's TM when you need him... enjoying himself in Florida no doubt for a change