rockola57 Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 Hiya friends. Has anyone had retaining wall issues.Seems the Landlord of the property next to mine,on the lower side,is not keen to part with a cent.My outdoor area is extremely unstable near the wall,the full length of my property.It is basically falling into his property...slowly.The fencing is all over the place above it.I have posted his agent a recorded delivery letter,asking for a reply in 30 days.I have had one quote,which he has dismissed.The creep said he may consider doing it in sections later next year !It is wooden,and the sleepers have rotted,26 yrs old they are.I have had the council compliance officer out,who confirmed it is downright dangerous.The Landlord is evasive,the Agent is curt,to say the least.The Landlords property is the one which needs access for work to be done.He is moaning about that,and stating his tenant has a dog,which will have to go into care whilst the work gets done,if it ever does.I am going to go to court over this,i reckon.What would you do,as the clown says he will get it done,when he has the money!!!!Advice please.The situation is unacceptable,and very dangerous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiralx Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 If the council officer is 'compliance' then that implies he can force the landlord to carry out repairs. I would pursue that avenue as it sounds like you will get nowhere yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest241083 Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 .........there is a booklet from the dept of commerce on dividing fences ..... .........it stipulates the rules.....ie half each.... .........of agreed fencing or what is the norm for your area.... ..........worth getting and keeping it legal..... ..........he may drag his feet.....but faced with a court order.... .........would have to stump up the money.... ..........good luck and merry Christmas....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booma Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 retaining walls arent necessarily treated the same as fences & the cost of building them & maintaining them isnt necessarily a shared responsibility. i know this cause my husband is a builder & recently built a house on land that needed retaining walls on the property line. we are in nsw so sa might be different but i found this link on google from the legal services commission in sa that talks about retaining walls in sa. http://www.lsc.sa.gov.au/handbook/print/ch32s04.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 I would point out the cost difference of getting it done now compared to later. When a retaining wall fails, if dealt with early, it is often just a matter of replacing the wall. Cost in the 8 - 20k level depending on size. If if not dealt with and house suffers structural failure, then costs would start at 100k and head north fast. I am currently working on a failed retaining wall project. Just the investigation of the damage done if going to see a bill of £80k and that is before any work has been done to repair the wall and surrounding structures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest241083 Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 .........just had a Google and Booma is right in WA as well......http://www.mbawa.com/dividing-fences-and-retaining-walls/ .........it's basically who altered the natural level of the land and by how much... ........dictates who pays what.... .........Hope you resolve this quickly...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 (edited) Sometimes a letter from a solicitor is all it needs. But if he's in WA, he's probably struggling to find good tenants, he's suffered a significant drop in the property price, and the landlord may have lost his job and be low on cash. It's not a great time to be a property investor in WA. Good luck. Just checked, it's Adelaide, which while down, seems to be up and coming. The guy shouldn't really have an excuse. If he has enough money to invest in property, and he can write it off against tax. Edited December 22, 2016 by newjez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockola57 Posted December 22, 2016 Author Share Posted December 22, 2016 I have offered to go 50/50 for costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopylu Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 You may find this link useful http://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch31s04.php. Refer to sections on repairing retaining walls and emergency work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srg73 Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 Retaining walls are a pain. Make sure drainage is put in place, poor drainage kills retaining walls, they rarely fail otherwise. Who benefits from the wall, is his land built up or your dug out, that will give an indication of financial responsibility. Shop around for prices, retaining walls are mostly very simple, only made complicated and therefore expensive by builders. The golden rule is 45 degrees, the wall supports anything above it if drawing a 45 degree angle in section. The wall will also provide some lateral support however given the wall is sleepers then it is likely only to be decorative and supporting garden land only. Best of luck. Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockola57 Posted December 22, 2016 Author Share Posted December 22, 2016 Thanks Simon.Best wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockola57 Posted December 22, 2016 Author Share Posted December 22, 2016 Thanks Loopylou.All the best my friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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