Can my neighbour take tiles off my roof without my permission?

[Fishead]

I live in a mid terrace and my neighbours removed the end ridge tiles off my roof in order to re-roof their own roof. They have also taken off the row of tiles between our property and left a 'gutter' running from the top of the roof to the bottom. When I questioned them about what was happening they gave me a mouthful of abuse and implied that it was my fault for being at work when they had the roof taken off! Despite saying they would give me an explanation the next day I see them hot-tailing it away from the house on my way home and they blatantly ignore me when they see me! Now I am concerned that the scaffolding has come down and there is now a 'gutter' between our houses. They have at least replaced the ridge tiles but I have never seen a roof in this state and am concerned that I will soon have a very damp attic room. can anyone advise me please? thanks

[AlBags]

They should definitely not disturb your roof .. or your part of the roof without your full knowledge of the work, including a sketch or drawing if necessary.
Have they changed the roof covering to a different type?
They may have created a temporary gulley to weatherproof it?
You need a builder friend if poss to take a look and speak to them about it ... and the council if the properties are rented from them.
They may be doing this work under a building notice .. You could enquire with the council on that to see what the score is.
You really need to deliver a letter to them asking them to outline the work/changes, and ask them not to carry out any other work on your (shared) junction of the roof without your express permission.

[Fishead]

Thanks so much for this. Yes - my neighbour had a slate roof and has replaced it with tiles. Someone has suggested that the roofers may be coming back later to replace the ridge tiles to cover the 'gutter' that has appeared between the 2 properties, even tho the scaffolding has been taken down, but since my neighbours won't speak to me I really don't know. I will check with the council and put something in writing to my neighbours, as this seems to be the only way of communicating now. Thanks again for the advice.

[AlBags]

OK Good luck with it.

[The Builder]

Fishy ...... as Al says .......... good luck.
Building Control should be interested, especially if the type of material used has been changed. I'd bet my cheese sandwiches that they haven't considered the greatly increased loading that the roof structure now has to take with (I guess concrete) tiles.
Unfortunately this is often done. Conc. tiles are a lot cheaper and hugely quicker to lay than proper slate. These people are just being cheap!
Re-slating would let them easily tie into your roof and leave it unaffected. Tiles have no way of "knitting" to adjacent slate. What's usually used is a kind of leadwork "break" between the roofs. A slightly tortuous installation of lead soakers is probably the best way ......... IF done properly.
Another, older and less favoured method is to make up a "secret gutter" between the two materials ......... then cover with the tiles or the slates. The worst thing about this method is that gutters bung up .............. they're "secret"....... so you don't notice until water drips into the roofspace.
Good tradesmen have their own preferences, and would probably give me an argument about the best method, but anyone would agree this isn't the best way of re-roofing in a terrace.
Don't panic though ........... this is done all the time ............... it just needs a little more care to get it right.

[Fishead]

Thanks for this. I have been trying to get hold of building control to find out what they have to say about this.

when pushed my neighbours seemed to know more about the job than they initially let on and said they knew the roof had to be strengthened to take the weight of the tiles - hence the roofers had taken my ridge tiles off. at least they have now been replaced, but the mystery new 'gutter' is more concerning, particularly given what you say about these filling with rain water. This is hardly surprising and I can imagine the ensuing arguments/legal battle if this happens. at this stage i will pursue the matter with building control and sincerely hope this can be resolved. thanks for your help.

[boxtops]

I can vouch for the weight of tiles. I have an 1860 house and an affixed outbuilding was original roofed in slate, when the people I bought from changed the slates to tiles, the weight started to draw the extension away from the original structure.

[naomirod]

the alchemist is adept_honest!

[naomirod]

are you sure its a gutter and not a row of ridge tiles?If this is the case you have nothing to worry about

[Fishead]

Thanks - yes it is definitely a 'secret gutter' - fortunately with my attic being converted I can see the work very close up, hence my surprise when my tiles disappeared when I went out to work!

[buildersmate]

The longer term issue with secret gutters is that leaves and other debris can get down the small gap between abutting tiles. They then get carried down to the bottom of the gutter, where should be able to get out. If they don't, then you have a problem as they can't be seen and they prevent some water getting out. The result is damp that may penetrate into the roofspace. If you can get at the bottom of the secret gutter where it presumably must flow into the main (visible) gutter at eaves level, then you (or your neighbour) can check it periodically..

[Charlie911]

Very interesting. I have read all the answer an agree with them. But keep us all up to date with what happens..please?
Thanks and good luck :-)

[Fishead]

Thanks everyone for their help with this. I have now anaged to speak to building control at the council, who say they are happy with the work and it has been completed. Apparently they won't put ridge tiles over the 'secret gutter' as they may not be secure (?!). I also managed to get the number of the 'reputable builder' they used, who apparently has never had any complaints about work being undertaken without permission and couldn't see the issue with only a few tiles being taken off. i have since noticed that I have a substantial number of new tiles (that I can see) so they must have take more tiles off my roof after I expressly told them they needed my permission to undertake any work on my roof! hence my neighbours have been running away from me! It now doesn't feel like my own home if people are doing what they like to it whilst I am out earning a living to pay for it!

[Mieko74]

I've had the same issue about the tiles, although we did give permission for some gutter work we didn't give permission for the tiles further up our roof to be removed and they have dammaged some of our battens. I'd be interested in how this was resolved and if your roof has gone worse?

[freddyf]

I have a similar problem, with my neighbour removing tiles from my part of the shared roof, the council has explicity told them not remove or alter the tiles on my roof or disturb them, they have ignored this request and therefore I am now been advised this is a civil matter and I should contact my solictors to take further action.