The survey from Direct Line found that 33% of neighbours owned up to the damage, however 30% blamed someone else.
Perhaps it's a British thing, but 17% chose not to confront neighbours about the damage, given that the average cost to repair damages was £533 this is a surprising stastistic. For an unlucky 8%, the cost of damage to their property was £1,000 or over.
The majority of neighbours who had caused the damage (53%) offered to share at least half of the repair bill. 14% decided to put their hand in their pocket and cough up over 80% of the costs. However, 19% paid absolutely nothing towards damages that they had caused.
Nick Brabham, head of SELECT Premier Insurance, says: “In the UK we take pride in our homes with many seeing extending and renovating their homes as a way to improve their living standards. As such it is not surprising that in the 12 months to September last year we saw more than 55,000 residential planning applications made in England with more than three quarters of them accepted.
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If you or your neighbours are thinking about starting a home makeover project it is worth assessing and discussing the risk of damage to adjacent properties with neighbours. It is also crucial to check whether your home insurance policy covers damage caused by neighbour renovations, otherwise you could be left with a hefty repair bill.”
Damage to fencing was the most common ailment for victims of over exuberant home transformation projects, with two in five people (43%) suffering damage. A quarter of people (25%) highlighted damage to windows and damage to garden features (e.g. fountains and sheds) making these the next most common casualties of neighbour renovations.
Top 10 most common types of property damage |
|
Damage to fencing |
43% |
Damage to windows |
25% |
Damage to garden features/ornaments |
25% |
Damage to gates |
24% |
Damage to roofs |
22% |
Damage to plumbing (incl. leaks/flooding/moisture damage) |
22% |
Damage to contents |
21% |
Damage to plants |
20% |
Damage to exterior walls |
19% |
Damage to driveway |
17% |
Home renovations have also caused other annoyances to neighbours with 26% enduring noise disturbances and 14% experiencing reduced parking. This was a major issue in already congested London where 26% went through reduced parking whilst their neighbours renovated their properties.