“Housing Disaster — Need help!!”

“Dear PoPville,

I need some assistance. Over the past three months, I have been battling my neighbor next door for construction that is quite frankly abhorrent. Mid-August, they ripped a chunk of my side of the party wall off during their demolition of the house. We had that terrible storm back then and the water rushed into my second floor causing it to pour out of a light fixture.

Trying to be civil, I contacted the contractors and they said they would tarp and patch it up. I called DCRA to come by and inspect in tandem with my contact with the contractor. DCRA came by, refused to enter the property because it was TOO dangerous and ended up never filing a report (they blamed the iPad they had) so they had to send someone else at a much later date. I had no follow up and when I asked for a report from DCRA they told me to file a FOIA request to get the report for the incident I called for.

In the interim, the contractor reached out and said he would tarp it. That took 45 days. 45 day my interior wall was exposed to the elements. The contractors are completely janky, they didn’t have the right permits, they work on Sundays, they leave the alley and our shared porch a mess. I continuously kept contacting DCRA but no action was taken against them. They keep getting stop work orders that they ignore, the city can’t inspect them doing work on a Sunday because the inspectors don’t work on weekends. Its illegal to work on Sundays but there’s no enforcement so the city just shrugs their shoulders and say there’s nothing they can do.

The contractors have also begun to install a deck on their roof, I have solar panels on my roof of which they must inform me if they were installing anything on their roof that my effect my solar generation. Automatically due to their construction plans and the way my panels are, I should’ve been informed by the city or contractors. I have heard nothing and they are continuing to conduct construction. They ripped the fascia off my home leaving my attic crawl space completely exposed. When I reached out to the contractors, they just ignored me. Additionally, they have installed metal plating on to my roof with nails, again without my permission or knowledge and have not properly waterproofed it.

I called my insurance to come by and inspect but their level of inspection skills equals DCRA’s. They said they did not see any damage but when I pointed it out they said “okay” and have begun a battle on another front.

During this whole endeavor, which has been 3 months mind you, I have been in an email chain with the Mayor’s office, Brianne Nadeau, a lead for DCRA, a lead for the new DOB, and my local ANC. My ANC has been an angel trying her best but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

I have decided to take this into my own hands and am having it repaired with my own money. I was hoping someone on PoPville can help me out as I am out of options. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated! Legal recommendations will be welcomed as well!”