Derelict House Issues

talking_walnut

Hi all,

I'm looking for a bit of advice regarding a long-term derelict house that's in the middle of our terrace. It's been empty for 20+ years and the owners have done little upkeep. Needless to say, nature has done its thing and the structure of the building isn't what it used to be. This has a knock-on affect on our house, since we share a wall. This wall and the related floors have signs of water damage. There's also the worry about their roof caving in as there's a noticeable sag in the middle of it.

The council have already slapped a derelict building notice on it, but the owners haven't done anything more than put up new boards on the windows at the front of the house.

I'm wondering what the best way to proceed from here is? We're hoping to talk to the owners directly soon to make them aware of the issues their house is causing, but there's no guarantees they'll care. Assuming they don't, what is the best way to proceed? Keep hounding the Council until they start fining them? Is there any independent legal avenues worth considering? I'm not looking to profit, just don't want to have to worry about a heavy wind taking out their house and bringing mine with it!

L1011

Keep at the council - some will eventually take drastic actions. Find a friendly councillor to bug them through

talking_walnut

L1011 wrote: »

Keep at the council - some will eventually take drastic actions. Find a friendly councillor to bug them through

So the Council called us back today and told us that the house isn't on the derelict buildings list as the owners tarted up the front. All they Council are interested in is that the front looks good and is boarded up. They were "sympathetic" to our structural issues but still felt the issue was closed on their end and it was now a civil issue.

Does this sound correct to people with knowledge of how these things work? Should we consider the Council a dead end at this stage?

Steve

Have you spoken to a solicitor about suing them for your damp issues?

It'll probably cost a bit and involve getting engineers reports.

Alternatively, it might be an option to inform your house insurers of the issue, they might be inclined to take action (might backfire tho, wait for more opinions on that).

evolving_doors

Would it be a similar issue to say, your neighbours house went on fire and your house got damaged but the neighbour didn't have any insurance?

Edit: sorry of course it's similar... But would it be the exact same issue/procedure?

L1011

talking_walnut wrote: »

So the Council called us back today and told us that the house isn't on the derelict buildings list as the owners tarted up the front. All they Council are interested in is that the front looks good and is boarded up. They were "sympathetic" to our structural issues but still felt the issue was closed on their end and it was now a civil issue.

Does this sound correct to people with knowledge of how these things work? Should we consider the Council a dead end at this stage?

Get a councillor on it - having done enough work to convince someone to take it off the list does not mean it can't be put back on for still being derelict.

wench

talking_walnut wrote: »

There's also the worry about their roof caving in as there's a noticeable sag in the middle of it.

just don't want to have to worry about a heavy wind taking out their house and bringing mine with it!

Try the dangerous buildings section, emphasizing your concerns about the roof

http://www.dublincity.ie/main-menu-services-housing-city-architects-division/dangerous-buildings