Bus vibrations are damaging my property

You can complain about the council’s refusal to act through its complaints procedure and to the Local Government Ombudsman (there is a 12-month time limit).

You should take legal advice but you could consider:

● A judicial review of the council’s decision not to take remedial action, if you can show that they have acted outside their powers or irrationally. There are strict time limits: any claim must be brought within three months.

● A claim based on your right to respect for your private and family life (including your home) protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This requires the council to balance the impact on you against the interests of the community.

● A claim that the council has caused a nuisance that interferes with your peaceful enjoyment of your property and/or has caused physical damage. The court would decide whether the interference is reasonable given the frequency and intensity of the vibrations, their duration, and the location of your property in an urban environment. If there is physical damage it will be easier to demonstrate unreasonableness. The council may have a defence that it is carrying out its statutory role as highways authority.

It is unlikely you have a legal claim against Transport for London because it is the council’s configuration of the highway that is causing the issue. Further complaints to the latter may help.
Michael Stacey, Partner, Russell Cooke, russell-cooke.co.uk

Tower Hamlets responds: “We are working with Transport for London to resolve this issue. Changes to the road are planned for 2022 to reduce the vibration caused by buses.”
TFL responds: “We are sorry for residents’ discomfort. We will work with Tower Hamlets to resolve this issue and ensure residents still have access to zero-emission buses.”

My neighbour won’t pay for roof repair

I live in one of four townhouses in northwest London. We are jointly responsible for the flat roof, which covers all four houses. The roof was recovered in the early 1990s and has served us well, but now needs replacing. The two middle houses, which have skylights, suffer from water penetration.

Three of the four houses have agreed to replace the roof on a communal basis (we are told that technically speaking it is no use doing them individually), but the fourth refuses to join in, even though his house is the worst affected. I have looked in the house deeds and there is no clause to make people join in with the roof. The fourth owner does not live in the house: he is a landlord, and it’s a house in multiple occupation, so he doesn’t suffer. He’s not short of money, but prefers to spend his profits on expanding his portfolio.

Is there nothing we can do if we cannot appeal to his better nature?
Anonymous

I assume that you and your neighbours each own the freehold of your individual houses. It is not unusual when neighbours share something as fundamental as a roof for the obligations in this regard to be recorded by a covenant on the freehold title of each property. The terms will be set out in the original conveyance when the houses were first sold. It will depend on the wording of the covenant as to whether it is binding on anyone other than the original contracting parties.

Those covenants normally state how often such repairs need to be undertaken and how the costs should be divided between neighbours. I see that you say that you and your neighbours are jointly responsible for the maintenance of the flat roof and I assume because of this, a covenant exists in the original conveyance. If that is right, even where there are no terms covering costs (which I understand is the case here), the assumption would be that they would be borne equally between the parties deriving the benefit.

If no express obligation exists, the position would be that each neighbour is responsible for the part of the roof immediately above their property. A wholesale replacement of the roof will be most cost effective but would need consensus. If this proves difficult there are steps you could take to exert pressure owing to the fact the property is an HMO, and if the water leakage is because of the neighbour’s roof is in disrepair, that may give grounds for a claim in nuisance.

However, what you do next will very much be informed by the documentation and I would suggest as a first step you take legal advice.
Liberty Chappel, senior property litigation solicitor at Forsters LLP, forsters.co.uk

How can I repair my bathroom tiles?

I’ve been cleaning my shower room controls with Viakal. The Viakal has got onto the porcelain tiles round the controls and seems to have eaten into them, leaving an unsightly white residue all round the controls. Are the tiles irreparably damaged or is there anything I can do to restore them?
Sandy Yates

The tiles would certainly be repairable. It could be that the limescale has been redeposited on the tiles surrounding the controls. If this is the case, we would abrade the residue from the tiles and work through abrasive papers and compounds to restore the sheen of the tile.

If the chemical has eaten through the glaze and damaged the tiles, we would first clean the surface and remove any residues using chemical and abrasive techniques. We would then reapply a coating, which our finishers/technicians would colour match to the existing tiles. This coating would restore the tiles back to the original sheen. If the tiles were detailed, then our finishers would reapply the detail and then seal with a glossy coating.

Call-out fees start at around £180 for a job, but depend on the severity of the damage.
Spokesman, Plastic Surgeon, plastic-surgeon.co.uk

How can I stop foxes from climbing on my car?

My Ring doorbell reveals weekly visits by a family of up to three foxes who seem to enjoy walking on the cover of my soft-top car (covered by a microfibre cover). My car is parked on the hard standing in my front garden. Their claws are damaging the cover. How can I dissuade them? I am concerned that deterrent liquids may taint the cover and transfer any smell to the cabriolet hood itself.
Valerie

Urban foxes are completely used to cars now and treat them just as a normal part of the natural landscape. They are also extremely agile and can leap onto the top of even the largest vehicles, leaving muddy footprints on the bonnet and windscreen. It’s usually groups of young males, on the prowl, looking for females, although adult singletons will also use the height advantage as a look-out post.

Foxes are creatures of habit, so once they have discovered the convenient promontory on your driveway they will return, often night after night. Your car cover is at least preventing their claws scratching the paintwork. Sprays and scents are often marketed to dissuade foxes, but these are mainly to stop digging in flowerbeds and lawns; if you use it on the car roof, by the time they have got their nose into it a fox is already up there anyway. You could try using sprays and scents to inoculate the driveway near the car, to head off their approach. You could also try parking the car nearer the house in the hope that this changes its attractiveness as a vantage point. A bright light activated by motion-sensor might send them on their way, eventually discouraging them from returning, but some foxes can be very brazen.
Richard Jones is the author of House Guests, House Pests (Bloomsbury, £9.99); bugmanjones.com

Readers’ clinic

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How can I keep my duvet in place inside its cover? It keeps sliding down so the top bit has no duvet inside it!
Edward, Dartmoor

Sew tapes to each inside corner of the duvet cover, and tapes to each corner of duvet. Tie them together.
Betty Cloke

Attach a 6in tape to top corners of duvet. Turn cover inside out; attach another two tapes to top inside corners. Tie these together.
Mark Crotty

In Canada some duvets have a small loop with a snap fastener. These loop through a matching loop inside the cover. It would be a simple sewing job to make some, one per corner.
Virginia Crook

Turn quilt cover inside out. Use safety pins to attach quilt at each corner, then turn it all right side out again.
Robyn Emerson

As above, but use large nappy pins.
Geri Blake

Buy an emperor duvet; use a smaller king-size cover.
Emma

Future questions

● How can I protect my Christmas tree from my cat?
● Plus, send us your festive dilemmas — and solutions.

Readers’ tips of the week

When battery life on my old Oral B toothbrush has diminished too much for extended use on my teeth, I use it to clean mould from my plastic double-glazed window seals. Spray on some anti-mould, brush clean and wipe down. It inhibits future mould growth too. They can be used in other ways too.
Nick Jackson

To stop your fudge turning into toffee: drop a small quantity of your mixture into a bowl of cold water to see if it has reached the right temperature (or use a sugar thermometer, which should read 113C). In the cold water it should make a soft but squishy ball when squeezed between the fingers. Then take it off the heat and beat it, by hand or with a hand-held mixer, until it starts to thicken, crystallise and look fudgy. Waste no time in spreading it in the tin you want to set it in, or it may surprise you and set in the pan.
Deborah Whittaker

Send your festive dilemmas and solutions to homehelp@sunday-times.co.uk, as well as regular questions. Advice given without responsibility