Liability for Construction Damage: Who Pays?

Questioner

A single divorced woman has been living in a cottage for years. The cottage includes a large piece of land where some small livestock used to roam. In July 2014, a new neighbour rings the doorbell and announces that he is going to do some major renovations on the cottage next door. The garage next door is also being demolished. The municipality has issued the necessary permits for this. However, after a few months, the woman's cottage starts to show cracks on both the outside and the inside. According to initial insights and in retrospect, the garage should not have been demolished. The neighbour had previously reacted rather nonchalantly and promised a while ago to repair the cracks, but has not followed through on this. The amount of damage is not yet known, as it still needs to be assessed. It is clear that there is damage, and also that the damage is causally related to the demolition and renovation work of the neighbour. To ask: • to what extent can the neighbor be held liable for the damage caused? (tort) • To what extent can the municipality be held liable? What obligations/duty of care/duty of investigation does the municipality have when granting such a permit (renovation and demolition permit). Is there an unlawful government act/unlawful government action?

Lawyer

The government probably cannot be held liable, but the neighbor can. It is important to not only determine the damage, but also the cause.