Liability of neighbors: what to do?

Questioner

Dear Sir/Madam, My daughter's house is over 100 years old. A few years ago, the neighbors raised their roof. After a few heavy rainstorms, water leaked into my granddaughter's bedroom, which is adjacent to the neighbor's house. My daughter confronted the neighbor, and he cemented the connection between the houses. This has happened more often in the past three or four years. After the recent heavy rain and further moisture problems, my daughter had a contractor inspect the roof. His advice, after carefully examining the connection and taking photos, was to hold the neighbor liable! It turns out that the neighbor's roof tiles are covering the roof tiles on my daughter's house. This is causing the flooding! The question is: how do you hold someone liable and what should you do next? P.S. The insurance company responded that they wouldn't do anything about it; you're on your own!

Lawyer

In this case it concerns liability arising from unlawful acts (Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code). You send the neighbor a registered letter in which you first briefly and concisely outline the situation and briefly and succinctly present the contractor's report. You then argue that the neighbor acted unlawfully by incorrectly installing or having the roof tiles installed. You claim that the neighbor is liable for all damage caused by the incorrect installation and request that they remedy the defect within a reasonable period (three weeks). If the neighbor does not comply with the request, you will have the incorrect placement of the roof tiles repaired at his expense.

Lawyer

Dear questioner, In addition to the above, I would like to refer you to the documents section of this website. My colleague Robert Martens has provided a sample tort liability claim.