Jan 18, 2024 at 00:01
New solar panels, extensions or extra insulation: many renovations last year did not go without a hitch. Legal expenses insurer SAR counted a record number of conflicts and sees “hardened relationships” between neighbors, contractors and renovating homeowners.
For example, the legal expenses insurer received more legal assistance requests about solar panels in 2023 than in 2022. The conflicts were about disappointing returns from the solar panels or problems during installation and delivery. This is an increase of 28 percent, while that number had already doubled a year earlier.
Neighbors also suffered more from renovations last year than in 2022. For example, they complained about the glare of the new solar panels or the noise of a new heat pump.
Furthermore, neighbors “regularly have disagreements” about water damage that occurs after work by a contractor, SAR reports. Only during the corona years was the number of neighbor disputes received by SAR higher.
Hidden defects in a home also resulted in conflict more often last year. This concerns, for example, problems with a house due to excessive rainfall, such as pile rot or foundation problems.
Less willingness to come together
SAR sees that mutual relationships in legal aid practice have hardened. “There is less often tolerance towards each other and the desire to find a solution together,” says the insurer.
In construction cases, lawyers see that there is less willingness to reach a solution quickly. This in turn leads to more conflicts.
In total, SAR received approximately the same number of reports as in previous years: 118,776. This also includes matters about traffic, injuries and work. SAR provides legal assistance to insured persons with, among others, Interpolis, Centraal Beheer and FBTO. In total, this amounts to approximately 1.3 million households and businesses.
Image: ANP
Read more about:
Housing marketEconomy
2024-01-17 23:01:34
#arguments #neighbors #contractors #clients #renovation #Economy
