Who is responsable for damage to a shared chimney one side a private tenant the other side a council tenant?
Question:i am a private owner next door is council owned the cladding on the shared chimney .has broken off.are the council obliged to pay for half the cost of the repair
Answers:
50/50
I would say that if no one is responsible for the damge both are responsible for repair...half and half. If one or the other caused the damage he or she is reponsible.
It depends on if the damage affects the whole of the chimney or just the side of the chimney that lies on your side of the boundary. For example, if the lead step flashings on your side got blown out in a storm, you or your insurers would be fully liable for repairs. However, if during the same storm it damaged the brickwork structure, because the whole of the chimney stack would need to be rebuilt, then both you and the council who own the adjoining property would be jointly liable.
So the answer to your question lies in where the cladding (I assume it's pebbledash/render?) is damaged. Because render isn't structural, if it has only come away on your side then you are responsible for repairing your side and your side only. If it is coming away around the entire area of the chimney, then both you & the council will be jointly responsible for the repair costs. Bear in mind that due to revised working at height rules, the tradesmen will require a scaffolding to allow them to work safely on the chimney, which will substantially increase the cost of repairs.
Hope this is of some use
50/50
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