What Should I Do If My Neighbour Has Wet Rot?

18 February 2025

Wet rot is a serious problem, and it is completely understandable that if you suspect your neighbour’s property might have a wet rot problem that you would feel concern.

So, if your neighbour does have a problem with wet rot, should you be worried, and what steps can you take to stop it from affecting your property?

Why Might My Neighbour Have Wet Rot?

Wet rot, unlike dry rot, tends to grow and spread through timber that has a high level of moisture content. Normally, this is down to the timber being exposed to a level of moisture that it isn’t intended to come into contact with. This means like floorboards under a bathroom getting saturated every time someone has a shower due to a leaky pipe, rather than externally facing timber treated and prepared for weathering.

So, if the neighbour’s timber has been exposed to a large amount of moisture over time, then it’s incredibly likely that the timber is going to be the perfect environment for wet rot to grow on. Wet rot thrives on timber that contains a moisture level of about 50% or higher, so its very probable that the wet rot isn’t going to disappear until the cause of the moisture has been identified and stopped.

There are all kinds of reasons that wet rot could develop, but reasons that you might notice as a neighbour include the likes of blocked drains, clogged or broken guttering, or maybe even a burst pipe near an exterior or party wall that makes use of timber.

Can Wet Rot Spread from My Neighbours House?

So, in the event that you have noticed your neighbour’s property has wet rot, you may well be worried about the possibility of the wet rot spreading into your property’s timber.

The good news is that unless your properties timber is taking on the same amount of moisture as your neighbour’s timber then it isn’t going to be a suitable environment in which wet rot can survive and grow.

Remember, wet rot is a fungus; a living organism. If the conditions for its survival aren’t correct then any spores released from your neighbours timber that land on yours aren’t going to be able to fruit and grow, its that simple.

However, if whatever problem that caused wet rot to appear in your neighbour’s property is also affecting your timber, and your neighbours timber is in close proximity to your own, then there is a chance that wet rot can spread across to your property, but all of the separate factors such as cause, proximity, and timber moisture level have to be right for the wet rot to grow.

What Should I Do If My Property Has Wet Rot That Came from the Neighbours Timber?

When it comes to rot it can be difficult to figure out exactly where an infestation began, especially if it has gone unnoticed and spread over time.

However, if you suspect that a wet rot infestation in your neighbours property has led to a wet rot problem in your own property, then its highly recommended that you look into having a proper survey carried out in your property to ascertain the extent of the wet rot, as well as its potential causes.

A damp and timber survey from a PCA qualified surveyor is bound to bring to light not just what timber has been affected by the wet rot, but also the cause of the wet rot in question (as well as any other damp, rot, or woodworm problems that might be present in the property).

This is important because a survey is going to give you written evidence (in the form of a report) detailing the cause of the wet rot, and where the problem has grown from.

By establishing the cause of the wet rot (for example, a burst pipe), you can attribute ‘blame’ so to speak, and should you decide to pursue legal action via small claims court to recoup the cost of any wet rot remedial works, you are going to need some kind of recognised authority to confirm that the wet rot came from your neighbour, rather than being your own fault.

What If My Neighbours Property Has Caused Wet Rot in My Property?

A more likely scenario than wet rot travelling from a neighbours property to yours would be a defect on a neighbours property leading to wet rot developing in your properties timber.

This can occur from any of the reasons we mentioned earlier, as well as any of the other near limitless possibilities when it comes to water ingress in a property.

For arguments sake, lets say that a neighbours guttering has broken and is now allowing water to spill freely down the side of your property, saturating some exposed timber in the process. If the wet rot were to occur as a result of the broken guttering, and a surveyor identified the guttering as the cause in their report, you can always talk to the neighbour to try and reach an amicable solution where the cost of the wet rot treatment is covered, or if needs be, pursue further action in small claims court.

Of course, you will need to be completely confident in the knowledge that the wet rot is in fact a product of your neighbours property before taking any action, and that’s why we recommend a professional survey before you commit to any course of action.

Every single surveyor at Timberwise goes through qualification courses set by the Property Care Association (PCA), so that they can deliver the best and most accurate survey they possibly can. You can request a survey by calling 0800 288 8660, or by submitting a form online here.

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