Neighbours cause £173 million of property damage annually

Monday, 14 April 2008 10:02 AM

Next door neighbours cause £173 million worth of property damage each year in the UK, according to new research from Halifax Home Insurance.

Some 590,000 British homes were damaged in last year alone, as ambitious home improvement plans spilled over the garden fence.

Damage included water cascading into neighbouring properties through pierced pipes, demolished walls and even broken ornaments - all of which contributed to the cost.

According to the research, in 32 per cent of cases the victim was forced to foot the bill for repairs or claim on their own home insurance policy.

In a further 27 per cent of incidents the costs had to be shared between both parties.

"A number of errant DIYers are not just damaging their properties, but their neighbours' homes too," said David Rochester, head of underwriting at Halifax Home Insurance.

"But even more interesting is that so many victims handle the situation with typically British aplomb. Indeed, over two-thirds of them chose to pay towards the cost of repairing their home - rather than create a fuss.

"Perhaps they weren't aware that they could have claimed for repairing the damage on their neighbour's insurance policy."

Interestingly, Halifax also finds professional workmen were accountable for one in ten of the incidents, and not just DIY enthusiasts.

Neighbourly relations in the south-east may be particularly strained - as the region leads the way when it comes to neighbourhood botches, accounting for 29 per cent of incidents, closely followed by northern England, at 27 per cent.

While in the last five years the average neighbourly DIY disaster in Scotland costs the most to repair at an average of £817, the region accounts for just 11 per cent of recorded incidents.

Wales and the south-west ranked second highest of the UK regions surveyed with an average repair bill of £359, followed by the north of England with £320.

Halifax reminds homeowners of the requirements of the Party Wall Act, which requires neighbours give notice and agree with their counterparts any significant work to be undertaken to a party wall before starting the work.

Failure to do so could result in any subsequent claim for damages being rejected.

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