Who is responsible for maintenance of a shared chimney?

Questioner

I have a leak in the house at the chimney, however the leak was present before and we were advised by the roofer to share the whole with the neighbors, our neighbors had chosen not to do that. That was in 2020, so we all had our half repaired with new lead and pointing. Now after more than 3 years, our house is leaking again and we have called in a roofer again, and according to the roofer, the chimney needs new joints, new leadwork and needs to be impregnated, only then can he guarantee that it will not leak again. He indicates that the chimney is just like a big sponge, and that moisture can easily run to us via their side and that repairing half of it is therefore pointless and the problem will then come back to us. However, our neighbours do not have a leak and they are also not open to cooperate in this. Now I know that our house is from 1980 and that a chimney needs this maintenance after approx. 40 years. Can I now oblige my neighbours to pay for this maintenance, even if they do not have a leak? And if we have half of it made and then they have a leak, are we responsible for their part?

Lawyer

From a legal perspective, a shared chimney is a joint property of the owners of the adjacent properties. This means that the responsibility for maintenance and the costs thereof are generally shared between the owners involved. You may be able to address your neighbours about this shared responsibility and ask them to contribute to the costs of maintenance. However, in this specific situation where your neighbours indicate that they do not have a leak and are therefore not willing to cooperate, it can be difficult. Although the law does not provide specific advice on this, it may be advisable to start legal proceedings to enforce a contribution from the neighbours. A judge will then decide based on all available information. If a leak occurs on the neighbour's side after the repair, it should in principle not be your responsibility, unless it can be clearly demonstrated that the leak was caused by the repair. It is possible that there are specific rules in the deed of division, if present, or in local regulations regarding the maintenance of shared chimneys. It is advisable to check these documents if they are available. As this can be a complex legal situation, I would recommend that you contact a lawyer or bailiff to advise you further in this area, especially if you are considering taking legal action. ------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer I would like to invite you to rate the above answer so that we can learn from your response.