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Failed retaining wall.


rockola57

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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.

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.........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....!

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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

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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.

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.........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...!

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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.

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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

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