Freundlich & Littman, LLC
Rowhome Property Damage Attorneys
Rowhome and property damage claims caused by neighboring construction, contractors, and demolition, plus lease, title, and boundary disputes.
- Free, confidential case review
- No cost, no obligation
- A lead attorney and dedicated legal team




Recognized Across the Legal Field
Our attorneys have earned distinctions from respected legal organizations for trial advocacy, client service, and professional excellence, standing recognition built case by case over the life of the firm.













Practice Group
Rowhome Property Damage
Rowhome and property damage claims caused by neighboring construction, contractors, and demolition, plus lease, title, and boundary disputes.
Philadelphia is a rowhome city, which means your house shares a party wall with whatever your neighbor decides to do next. Excavation for a new foundation, a demolition next door, an underpinning job done without proper shoring, a contractor who cuts into a shared wall: any of them can leave you with cracked plaster, a sloping floor, water in the basement, or a structural problem that the party responsible would rather call pre-existing. We represent owners in exactly those disputes, against the developer, the contractor, the neighboring owner, or the insurer refusing to pay.
Damage cases are won or lost on documentation, and the useful documentation is the kind gathered early: photographs before and after, the L&I permits and plans filed for the work next door, an engineer's assessment of what actually caused the movement. We also handle the rest of what comes with owning property here, clouded title on a rowhome sale, boundary disagreements between adjoining owners, commercial and residential lease disputes, deed transfers and sheriff sales, and we bring the same preparation to each of them.
Frequently Asked
Rowhome Property Damage: Frequently Asked Questions
Construction next door damaged my house. Who is responsible?
Often more than one party: the contractor doing the work, the developer or owner who hired them, and sometimes an engineer or the party's insurer. Pennsylvania law also puts duties on an excavating owner toward the adjoining property. Sorting out who pays starts with the permits, plans, and an assessment of what physically caused the damage.
What should I do first if I see new cracks or movement?
Photograph everything with dates, keep any earlier photos of the same areas, write down when you first noticed each problem, and report it in writing rather than by phone. If the work next door is permitted, the filings are public. Do not sign a release or accept a repair check before someone has looked at the full extent of the damage.
My insurer says the damage is not covered. Is that the end of it?
No. Homeowners policies often exclude earth movement while still covering other causes, and how the loss is characterized frequently decides the claim. We review the policy language against what actually happened, and we handle the bad-faith side of these disputes as well.
Can a title defect really stop a real estate closing?
Yes, an old lien, a missing heir's signature, or a boundary discrepancy can hold up a closing indefinitely until it's resolved through a negotiated release, a quiet title action, or litigation.
Can I resolve a property boundary dispute without going to court?
Often yes. A professional survey combined with a negotiated agreement between neighboring owners resolves most boundary disputes without litigation, we reserve court action for cases where a fair resolution isn't otherwise realistic.
How does a sheriff sale affect my rights as a homeowner?
A sheriff sale is typically the final step in a foreclosure or judgment-collection process, and by the time it's scheduled, options for stopping it narrow significantly. Speaking with an attorney as early as possible preserves the most options.
What's the difference between a residential and commercial lease dispute?
Residential tenancies are heavily protected by state and municipal landlord-tenant statutes, while commercial leases are governed almost entirely by their own negotiated terms. That difference changes which arguments are available to either side.
Ready to discuss your rowhome property damage matter?
Every case review is free and confidential, with no obligation to hire us.
