Neighbor Balks at Fumigation of His Abutting Building

[adjusterjack]

I agree with Stephan. Get two more opinions. Tentless treatment is less costly. Also get copies of any warranties and read them carefully.

 

[quincy]

Got it. The consensus is that I should fumigate my neighbor's building when I do my own. As I said, I was leaning in that direction since I'm tired of dealing with him. So that is what I will do. Thanks to all for the advice.

But I'd like to be clear on the legal principle. Is this consensus because I don't have a legal leg to stand on (i.e., I can't make my neighbor fumigate his own building), or because this isn't worth the legal hassle?

And to get at that point, answer me this. Would the advice be the same if things were reversed? That is, what if my neighbor wanted to fumigate his small termite-infested building that was attached to my termite-infested building but I took the same position he is taking? Would the advice be the same — that if he wanted his small building fumigated then he needed to pay for my building as well?

It would be smart to fumigate the neighboring buildings at the same time to better eradicate the termites, and it would be smart for the building owners to fumigate all of the buildings at the same time because it is less costly to do so. But unless there is a local ordinance that requires termite inspection and treatment, you really cannot force your neighbors to treat their own property.

That said, if you do treat your building and your neighbor doesn’t treat his building, you potentially have a legal action to pursue against your neighbor if your building is reinfested in the future.