Neighbour is having an extension

chappers

If they have a lawful development there isn't much you can do. The partywall act allows them to build right up to the boundary.

The party wall act has no teeth and there is no punishment for them not envoking the party wall act also you cannot stop them carrying out the works without a court order. They will get their way in the end.
You can however deny them access to your property but in my experience that just prolongs the job.
In my opinion you are better off letting them get on with it and just make it clear what you expect from them during the build.

With regards to your boundary it could be anywhere it's position is infered on your title plan but these are never of suitable scale to exactly mark it's position, if you have a straight boundary then its position should be quite obvious as a straight line down your garden from the clear division of the two properties iregular shaped boundaries are a bit harder and usually taken to be correct on the ground, providing there is no deviation from that shown on the title plan. Hence the need to always maintain your boundary.

paddy's_mum

OP - read up now on the Party Wall Act and take lots of dated photographs of your property (house, fence and garden) so that if it all goes pear-shaped, you have evidence of its condition before the work started.

The fact that your neighbour has done nothing to adhere to the PWA is a bit worrying - if they and their 'professional' builder either don't know or don't care about it, my thoughts would be running along what-else-will-you-take-shortcuts-on lines.

They've been tactless but a polite word or two now could very easily prevent future trouble.

andy.m_2

we had an issue with our neighbour, not quite the same but similar.

My Wife was merrily hanging the washing out when she heard our neighbour drilling into our garden dividing wall.
She was savvy enough to call me and check and neither of us had heard anything in advance so we told the builder to stop.

He swore blind that there would be no fixings into our wall and that there would be no issue.
We told him simply that any works carried out without our agreement was at risk.

They were fitting support rails (2x2) to take their 3' fence panel on top of our 5' blockwork wall.

I explained to the neighbours wife, she apparently couldnt see an issue and was mortified that I stopped the job, that it was OUR wall and OUR decision as to what happens to it. I also explained that I wasnt enamoured at the idea of them fitting a sail to it.
I secured rights to inspect the workmanship on their side, that the builder returned to make good blow holes around the plugs/screws, painted their side again in masonry paint, I also got them to agree to treat the fence twice a year to ensure it doesnt look ramshackled anytime soon.
We asked them to sign a letter to this effect and initially she refused, so I stated that I expected the fece to be removed by the following Sunday 12 noon or I would so it for her and charge them for the privilidge, I also explained that I thought it was reasonable to expect a Structural Engineer to attend and inspect the wall.

They signed the document the next day and we got back to life as though nothing had ever happened.

Later that year they divorced and wanted to sell the property so we made them sweat a fair bit, we liked the bloke but she was a miserable cow and I would struggle to find the enthusiasm to !!!! on her if she was ablaze so we were delighted whe he bought her out and carried on living there on his own.

The document may well have been worthless, but they signed it and lived by the terms within it.

The moral therefore if you get nothing if you dont ask/try and I for one would not be at all happy to have a blockwork wall erected on my boundary, one that potentially you could be liable for poor construction, subsequent damage, negligence etc as it is in essence YOUR boundary wall.

Sugared-frog

I've been through something like this - though it wasn't done properly. As far as I know you are entitled to be represented by a party wall solicitor/surveyor (not sure exactly which) at their cost to check that there will be no damage to your foundations.

My old neighbour built to within 6 inches of our boundary fence and really annoyed us the way they went about it, with no notice, and their builders coming into our garden and cutting back our scrubs. Before finally erecting a 2 m fence. All within permitted planning permission as far as I'm aware.

Now in my new house I'm thinking of extending - not towards the neighbour at all, but I was told that I would need a party wall agreement with them even though the two houses are probably 12 ft apart in case I would affect their foundations - in which case I don't think my old neighbour did it correctly.

Mojisola

paddy's_mum wrote: »

OP - read up now on the Party Wall Act and take lots of dated photographs of your property (house, fence and garden) so that if it all goes pear-shaped, you have evidence of its condition before the work started.

The fact that your neighbour has done nothing to adhere to the PWA is a bit worrying - if they and their 'professional' builder either don't know or don't care about it, my thoughts would be running along what-else-will-you-take-shortcuts-on lines.

They've been tactless but a polite word or two now could very easily prevent future trouble.

I would second this. Get advice quickly. Put in writing to your neighbour that no work can start until the PWA has been adhered to. Your neighbour has to pay for your PWA solicitor.

I would also take photos of the work along the way.

If you do agree to let them into your garden, make sure there is money secured for them to put your garden back into its original state.

tyllwyd

If your neighbour is replacing the fence with a wall, what is happening to the roof above? You might find that the edge of the roof or guttering overhang your land.

Also, do you have any plans to extend your own house? If she builds on the boundary line, does that affect anything you might want to do in the future?

Mojisola

tyllwyd wrote: »

If your neighbour is replacing the fence with a wall, what is happening to the roof above? You might find that the edge of the roof or guttering overhang your land.

Also, do you have any plans to extend your own house? If she builds on the boundary line, does that affect anything you might want to do in the future?

Also, is there going to a window in that wall?

ognum

Any work that your or your neighbour does within 3 metres of your home requires a Party Wall agreement.

I am aware many people do not go down this route, it has a cost to the person building but does protect them and you.

I have just completes a party wall agreement between our attached neighbours and ourselves as we are building a rear extension, this is within our boundary, not attached to their property and has its own foundations but we serve the Party Wall notices required by the law and due to a previous dispute they has had they decided to go down a formal route and that is fine. We used the same independent surveyor, all the cost borne by us as required by law. Cost £500.

You can stop the build and require this to happen.

chappers

ognum wrote: »

You can stop the build and require this to happen.

Not without a court order. Without a court order you cannot invoke the party wall act, this can only be done by the party carrying out the works

What happened to you is why many people don't go down the party wall route, particularly for minor works.
As you have found out, your neighbour can be bloody minded and object, you then have to bear all the costs involved.

Whilst the party wall act is meant to protect both parties it grants no further rights than those that already exist within the law. Your neighbour would still be liable for any damage to your property.
As suggested take photos of your property before the works commence, so you have some proof should any damage occur.
As has been mentioned they cannot overhang any part of your land, even with guttering.If they build right upto the boundary then everything must be within their property, should you wish to extend in the future you can use their wall as the outer skin of your extension.
With regards to your fence I am not sure of the legalities around them removing it, but they definitely would have a right to build upto the boundary.

I would reccomend trying to sort this out ammicably and would reccomend speaking to them about ensuring that your garden is returned to its present state.

Mojisola

chappers wrote: »

Not without a court order. Without a court order you cannot invoke the party wall act, this can only be done by the party carrying out the works

What happened to you is why many people don't go down the party wall route, particularly for minor works.
As you have found out, your neighbour can be bloody minded and object, you then have to bear all the costs involved.

Whilst the party wall act is meant to protect both parties it grants no further rights than those that already exist within the law. Your neighbour would still be liable for any damage to your property.
As suggested take photos of your property before the works commence, so you have some proof should any damage occur.
As has been mentioned they cannot overhang any part of your land, even with guttering.If they build right upto the boundary then everything must be within their property, should you wish to extend in the future you can use their wall as the outer skin of your extension.
With regards to your fence I am not sure of the legalities around them removing it, but they definitely would have a right to build upto the boundary.

I would reccomend trying to sort this out ammicably and would reccomend speaking to them about ensuring that your garden is returned to its present state.

It does have the benefit of allowing you to sort things out before anything is built. Once foundations have been dug and walls built, it's much harder to get things changed. Far better to have the discussions before any work is done.