Cape homeowners blame UEP for property damage

Author: Adam Wright
Published:

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- Cracked tiles and thousands of dollars in damage.

Rudy and Shirley Diaz’s home is now off the market. They had hoped to sell it, but say they can’t now that their home has been damaged by construction from the Cape’s water and sewer project.

Their front entryway has been damaged for months. The tiles are cracked and will cost thousands to repair.

“We didn’t know that the slab was cracked until we had some of the tiles removed yesterday to see the damage underneath,” said Shirley Diaz.

They say it was caused by construction crews tearing up their front yard for the Utilities Expansion Project (UEP).

“When they were digging the holes, big deep holes in front, it actually shook the whole house,” said Shirley Diaz.

The city says they’ve had dozens of homeowners file complaints against contractors for damage to their property related to the UEP work.

WINK News viewer Matthew Dick sent us a video of his walls shaking while he says UEP crews worked outside a couple weeks ago. He says he now has damage to his pool deck and driveway.

The City of Cape Coral says of the roughly 3,000 homes in the UEP construction area, about 2 percent have submitted claims of property damage.

The city said about half of those claims, 30 homes, turn out to be the contractor’s fault.

If the contractor denies responsibility, then the city sends out its own inspector and will make sure the contractor pays up if found to be at fault.

The Diaz’s say the contractor sent them a letter last week, denying responsibility. After the couple threatened legal action, the contractor told them they would send someone out to look at the damage.

WINK News spoke to the contractor Tuesday. The company says it will look into the damage, but is not accepting responsibility just yet.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.