Neighbor has no gutters and it's causing our basement to flood

[Anonymous]

We live in a 100 yr old rowhouse in DC and share a wall on both sides with our neighbors. One of the neighbors have really let their house go. Does no maintenance at all including having no gutters on parts of the house. Have let them fall off without replacing them. So whenever there's a heavy rain, we get water - a small puddle - in our unfinished basement on their side of the shared wall.

We want to finish the basement but cannot do anything until this problem is resolved. It was creating a mold problem which has been pretty much taken care of by getting a dehumidifier but I'm not sure what to do about this. I rarely see her and she does not answer her doorbell. The roof of the house looks like it's caving in. Their was a family of rats living under her porch (reported to city and it seems to be resolved). The house at this point does not look habitable. Not sure what I should do.

[Anonymous]

Is she elderly? She may lack capacity or financial resources to deal with this. If you think one of those issues applies, you could call Legal Counsel for the Elderly and see if they or some other agency they know can check in on her; they could link her with resources that can help her stay in her home in a more responsible way.

You could check with the city to see if it's a violation of the housing code not to have gutters, but if you're dealing with an issue in the first paragraph, I'm not sure what that will accomplish other than potentially fining someone who may not be able to financially handle it.

Third route is paying for gutters yourself if she'll agree. It's not terribly expensive, and if it's the only thing preventing your basement renovation, it might be worth the cost.

[Anonymous]

First, a conversation with the owners. Second, a letter to the owners. Explain that the lack of gutters is causing damage to both of your homes. Might be worth sending this as registered mail, or something that requires a signature.

I am not a lawyer, but there should be some legal options, since it is impacting your property. City or county building inspector might be the place to start there. You can probably sue, but that seems pretty extreme and un-neighborly. I think both of these routes could take quite while to get the resolution you are hoping for.

As for preventing more problems in your home.... make sure that it really is coming through the common wall. It might also be a roof problem, not a gutter problem. It could be coming from underground or from the not common wall. Possible that replacing the gutters won't fix the problem if the grading isn't correct. Water is tricky.

Look into waterproofing treatments to your foundation and walls. That might help prevent damage.