Whose responsiblility is it to maintain & repar a retaining wall?

[Nona Boyle]

I am having an issue with the property owner next door who uses that home as a rental property. He has listed the property under an LLC.

So I have researched to assess that I can file a complaint through the Attorney General's Office. However, I'm trying to assess if anyone has had any similar issue with the maintaining of a retaining wall.

The retaining wall was built back when all of the properties were built. As some of the homes on this street are built on a slight hill that declines as you go down the street.

My home is on the upper part of the hill, so my property sits on a bit of a higher elevation in contrast to the neighboring home, but the retaining wall runs along both of our property lines.

Back in 2018, I had some damage due to a hurricane and a large tree that was in my yard fell on my fence, but it fell towards the neighbor's property. State Farm covered the damage of removing the tree and replacing the damaged fence.

I did not notice at the time, but the retaining wall that ran along that part of where the tree fell damaged the retaining wall. State Farm left it to me to try to get that property owner to file a claim through State Farm, that would not cost him anything, nor would it go against him in any way, but he refused.

One of his tenants had a dog and when that dog saw my dogs, the dog would dig and dug a huge hole where the missing retaining wall is supposed to be, so my dogs could get out and potentially attack that dog, etc.

So I temporarily had to block that hole, but I am trying to assess the best course of action.  That property owner put the sole responsibility of the retaining wall solely on me as it being my responsibility to repair and maintain it.

Furthermore, the tenant's kids took some of the cinder blocks from the section of the retaining wall in the front of the yard and used them to mount their basketball goal.

**If I have redo the retaining wall, I'm assessing leaving the damaged wall and just trying to have another wall built behind it and behind my fence.

Has anyone had any experience with a retaining wall like this? If so, what was the outcome?