I recently bought my first flat: a Victorian two-bed maisonette in southeast London. The building has been split into a basement flat and my upstairs flat. I viewed it twice and didn’t notice the sloping floors. The slope is noted on the survey, but the only comment was “consistent with the age of the property”. The floors don’t creak and seem stable, but I work from home and need an even surface to work from. The past few weeks I’ve developed RSI which I put down to correcting how I sit. I spoke with a structural engineer who said I’d need a party wall agreement with the basement flat to get the joists redone. I am not sure I can afford it. Help! Katie Hithersay

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