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One can only imagine the huge shock to come home and find your beloved nest has been destroyed. This is what has occurred in Camden last week and it really does highlight the pitfalls and bear traps of home ownership.
Two neighbours own flats in a converted Victorian semi-detached property where a developer started work in the adjoining property without planning permission. His work has caused devastation and he wasn’t supposed to be doing it.
The families are left unable to live in their homes but the mortgages keep running. This is where the law turns into a minefield in terms of getting satisfaction and resolution without cost. The obvious answer is for the families to sue the developer but they could end up out of pocket on fees and costs when regardless of liabilities they are the innocent party.
Of course this is by no means unique unfortunately. I am involved in a block of 13 flats in Battersea where the catalogue of misfortune beggar’s belief but the flat owners are starring at a £500,000 bill to rectify what the developers should have done. All the while they are racking up costs with no certainty of getting their money back and we have to throw more money at the problem to even stand a chance.
So there will never be easy answers or solutions. If someone wants to do something and flout the law then the innocent need protecting and miles of legislation will not make that easier or more helpful.
04 Mar 2010 10:00:03