stock photo from the archives
“Dear PoPville,
My neighbor has begun a renovation project over a year ago, digging a new full height basement as well as building an additional top floor.
They have permits, however, they have stopped ALL work several months ago leaving a basement excavation that has NOT yet been shored up at the foundation, an unfinished top floor that is rotting away, and a staging area in his back yard which is a total mess.
Regardless to the nuisance of having to live next to a dormant construction site (rats, mosquitoes, danger of structural damage to my own foundation) I am also having trouble renting out my basement unit because of this, so this has also turned into a financial burden for me. The owner is not responding to my emails/calls and DCRA are not helpful as they “cant gain access to the property”.
On one side, I want to be patient and wait for the project to be over and stay out of his hair, but on the other, I’m sick of waiting for it without knowing if it will ever be completed… I wonder if anyone has any advice? Is there any legal way of forcing them into expediting the process?”