I own a flat in the UK, in which I live. I own it. It's part of a block of 50 flats.
I have learned recently that there was a subsidence problem. A large tree has been drinking the water from under the building, which has started to move. Some walls show some cracks.
The freeholding company is talking with the insurance, trying to get underpinning work done.
My question is this: how serious can that be? Should I be looking to move flats because of this? Of course, I am not expecting someone to be able to answer definitively without seeing the building, but I am after a general case answer. What's the likely outcome, and what's the worse outcome?
In particular, can I be fairly certain that in the vast majority of cases, some underpinning will fix the problem? Or is it sometimes the case that a building is beyond hope, and therefore my flat could lose all its value?
Best Answer
The very likely outcome will be that the structural engineer will go away to do the necessary calculations, specify the requirement for the underpinning to be carried out by a contractor, and the tree will be converted to firewood (tree preservation order permitting).
The underpinning will be carried out and leave the building stronger than it was before. Any additional remedial work (eg to the cracks) will be carried out. Over time (once the repairs have weathered), you probably won't even be able to tell that the work was done.
The problem has been identified before the worst case has happened (crater), so now it can be fixed to mark sure that it doesn't happen.
Without a thorough assessment by a qualified individual (or company), I can't say for absolute certain, but I'd say it is very, very likely that a satisfactory solution to remedy the subsidence will be found.