Groups of home owners battle with municipality over pile rot

DORDRECHT – Auditors at the Dordrecht municipality are tracing the origin of the hugely costly pile rot plaguing about 1,300 home owners in the historic river town east of Rotterdam. The municipality has offered the affected home owners a subsidy and low-cost loans which do not cover the average 60,000 to 70,000 euros it will cost to repair the exposed piles underneath the homes. If not fixed, the homes will face demolition. The home owners also say the municipality so far has not raised the groundwater levels nor fixed leaking sewer lines, endangering additional properties. Two groups of home owners launched legal action in 1997 but a resolution is nowhere near. The groups are pinning their hopes on the findings in the auditors’ report. The auditors say they will only chart the history of the problems, without attaching blame. They now have access to all the relevant files.