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Semi detached Nightmare

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syncpulse

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I need advice on an issue i am having with the people who own the house Attached to mine. Here is the situation.

My roof is new-ish (under 5 years old) and in very good shape. The attached house's roof is about 7 or 8 years past the point where it needs it to be replaced. According to 2 Different roofers and one general contractor the reason i have had water in my attic and upstairs hallway is because it is getting in under the join between the bad roof next door and my good roof. To compound the problem The attached house is a rental property and the landlords are old and i am told senile. My repeated attempts to get them to rectify the issue have been unsuccessful, the problem is either being ignored or forgotten.

I have tried to get the city involved siting the property standards by-law (629 section 20) but i have gotten no help there.

What can i try next? Lawsuit? The idea of me taking a couple of pensioners to court isn't actually that appealing. I don't want damages i just want the problem fixed, so is this a small claims court thing or should i hire a lawyer?

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Ah, the joys of living in a semi. The semi on Langley that was written up in The Globe a couple of times over the past two years was empty for decades, slowly falling apart, and full of raccoons. The attached house was occupied ( by humans ) during all of this. I don't think there was much they could do about the situation. Finally, the non-resident owner of Chez Raccoon died, his three properties were bought and renovated, and all was set to right.
 
A new roof can help...and other options...

Syncpulse: I assume you are talking about a "twin" with two halves of a common building. There are somewhat common in the Philadelphia area-I have a cousin who lives in a house of this type. Is it a flat or angled roof?
Do you own or rent this dwelling?

If it were me I would try to keep from having to sue-I am thinking of somehow getting the owners to accept a new roof installed for some kind of credit-especially if I rent-letting them know somehow that the bad condition of their roof is causing damage to both properties.

If they should ever intend to sell that property look into purchasing it and renovate the house into your own rental property as a live next door landlord- a win win situation possibly for you. LI MIKE
 
Moved to the real estate section. I note that this technically goes against the rules about brand new forum members starting new threads, but looks like a good discussion and a topic that I am sure can come up again.

But just a reminder nevertheless. Welcome to UT, syncpulse.
 
I'm not sure how this would work exactly, but I think it's worth paying a lawyer a small amount for a 30-minute consultation.

If you haven't already done so, get those two roofers and one contractor who you have consulted to put their opinions in writing. As uninvolved outsiders, and as experts, their opinions will carry more weight than anything you might say.

Obviously roof leaks can be problematic. If left unfixed the problem becomes dramatically worse. Mould in your walls is just one possibility.
 
take a buckut of roof patch and cover a 3' wide patch along the seem. take a hammer and punch a couple of holes on your neighbours roof while you're there. just joking on the last part.
 
Observer Walt said:
Obviously roof leaks can be problematic. If left unfixed the problem becomes dramatically worse. Mould in your walls is just one possibility.
Click to expand...
Definitely. When we were having the roof reshingled on our Cabbagetown semi the contractor was pulling off the three layers of old shingles, and noticed that the roof boards were rotted through in many places, to the point where the contractor almost fell through. We then had the ceiling on the top floor taken down and noticed that four of the main joists that support the roof had entirely rotted away at the point where the joists meet the firewall between the houses. Essentially, one big snow fall and the weight could have collapsed the roof into the house, and from the inside expect for some minor water damage to the plaster, you couldn't tell there was a major problem. So, our roof job turned into a big job, requiring the joists to be rebuilt,, roof boards to be replaced, ceilings to be redrywalled, and only then could we put down new shingles. Since the roof was open we took the opportunity to insulate everything, add a skylight in the bathroom and a solar tube in the hall way, but goodness, that water caused a lot of damage.
 
unimaginative2 said:
Were you able to get your insurance to pay?
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No, I didn't involve my insurance company. First of all, I'd need to get the building permits from the city for replacing joists and support members (adding cost, delays, inspections, etc.), and my insurance has a high deductible (which is 100% reimbursed if the total claim is high), and lastly, the water damage was caused by my own neglect, since I've owned the house since the late 1990s and could have repaired this years ago had I known.

Total cost was only $14,000, so it sounds awful, but it was okay money-wise.
 
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