Advice on party walls and chimneys

[Bellenden Belle]

Dear fellow forumites,

Knowing what a knowledgeable bunch you are, I am wondering if anyone can offer me advice on the following:

I own a property which I rent out. So unfortunately I have never met my next door neighbours.

It appears that my shared chimney is in a bad state of disrepair - I need to have the following done:

Re-point Chimney.

Replace broken ridge tiles.

Replace lead work around stack.

Erect scaffolding around chimney to carry out work.

Total cost: ?2,200 plus VAT

Since this chimney is shared with my neighbours, I need both permission and preferably would want to share costs.

Any one know the corrct procedure for going about this? I presume a letter is a good starting point (and of course necessary to let them know of work being carried out) But if they refuse to contribute (and quite frankly I could understand their reluctance) what action should I take then? Can the local authority become involved if the property is deemed unsafe? Do I need a party wall surveyor? Has anyone had a similar experience?

Any advice/ experiences welcomed.

[DJKillaQueen]

A shared stack means shared responsibility. The local authority can definitely demand your neighbour carries out a survey on this one. An unsafe chimney stack is something they would have an interest in, so as a last resort, that is defintiely an option.

Worth both you and your neighbour checking your buildings insurance too as you may be covered under that for the work.

I'd personally go and speak with your neighbours first and see what they say and then go from there. Put everything in writing before the work goes ahead though.

[*Bob*]

"Must.. urgh.. resist.. .. resist.."

[Fabricio the Guido]

You want to get a Party Wall Act agreement set up.

[Laddy Muck]

The first thing I would check is whether or not the proposed works actually come within the current legislation for party walls. They may or may not. I have no idea - but a surveyor would know. Assuming that the law applies, then Fabricio is correct: (a) you want to lessen the risk of any disputes between you and your neighbour and (b) should a dispute arise, resolution should be more straightforward.

Good luck!

[MrBen]

I would advise:

- Get three quotes ?2.2k sounds a little steep unless scaffolding etc is needed..even so..

- A friendly chat with the neighbour first and to gauge how happy they are to pay costs etc if they agree get this in writing.

- If they are also happy to do the work you could (in theory) just go ahead and do the repairs, split 50/50

- If (as is usually the case) they don't care/are poorer than you/think its your issue then it gets tougher and The Party Wall Act is your friend -it was invented to make this process easier but it can start to get very expensive so tread with caution.