Opinions please

valleylass

Hi
We bought our terraced house 3 years ago. The house next door was sold recently and has been bought as a buy to let, there are currently students living there who have just moved in.

Today we were contacted by the Letting Agent of the propery next door on behalf of the owners, they have been advised by the surveyor that the garden wall between our two properties is structurally unsound and needs replacing asap. The Letting Agent has advised in the brief telephone call i had with him today that if something should happen then they would be liable and apparently it is also a condition of the new owners mortgage that the wall is replaced.

They want the wall replaced asap and are currently looking into if it is a party wall, they have instructed their solicitor to find this out.

If it is a party wall I understand that we are responsible for 50% of the costs, my issue is that the wall has been structurally sound for the last 3 years and there have been no issues-I do appreciate that it can weaken over time. Whilst the wall may need replacing at some point we dont see it as a job which needs doing now.

The other issue is my partner had a serious accident just after Xmas which resulted in him being hospitalised and then off work until a fortnight ago. He isnt paid sick leave so has just been receiving SSP, whilst we've managed our bills during this period paying for a new garden wall now isnt something we had factored in and it will be a few months before we are able to afford the work.

I have told the agent that at the moment this is something which financially we cannot afford (i havent given the reasons why), can they force us to pay half if this is a party wall?

The letting agent advised they have builder contacts who can undertake the work, I did tell him we would want 3 quotes before any work is completed and a full breakdown of material and labour costs from any builders.

Any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks

brightontraveller

Letting agents in general are full of bs “there currently looking into it” party walls if your business means you’d have dealing with them a lot then you’d not need to look into it you’d know ?

More fishing to see what your response is if the owner thinks you a responsible guaranteed they’d be on you and if they think you have no dosh the agent would be doubly so they’d push there own builders on you kick back to them and most likely extra works done on the other owners property in with the quote? They have absolutely no legal powers at all if they come back with anything legal then do you own investigations

I’d simply not acknowledge them at all until they do? This is not the same as your neighbour coming around and saying it could be this or that lets work together to find a solution acceptable to all its a letting agent and a landlord trying it on there are set procedure needed to be followed this may help

https://www.gov.uk/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance

Doozergirl

Unless the houses are listed, there is no legal requirement to maintain a wall, only the boundary.

The wall can come down amd be replaced by a fence or nothing much at all.

Whether it's a 'party wall' is pretty irrelevant to who is responsible for costs when the wall doesn't even need to be there.

warmhands.coldheart

^^^^^ Second That..... panel fence would be more than adequate..... I'd imagine you'd want something in it's place to keep the students out !! :-)

macman

It's most unlikely to be a 'party' wall. If it's yours, you are under no obligation to maintain it, or even provide a wall at all. Check the deeds for a plan.
Of course, should it collapse and cause damage or injury, you (or your insurers) would be potentially liable, if it were ruled that you could have foreseen the collapse due to it's condition.
Your neighbour's mortgage terms are none of your concern or responsibility, if the wall is not their property.
Finally, why would you allow a letting agent to arrange a builder for you so that he can trouser a commission?
Your cheapest option is to leave it be, or if you are concerned about it, demolish it to a safe height.

valleylass

Hi


Many thanks for the replies. Apparently the letting agent is going to send us a letter-cant wait... We're not going to do anything with regards to quotes etc until the letter has been received but in the meantime will do some research to see if it is a party wall.


Ideally we don't want the wall to be removed and nothing put back in its place as we spent a lot of time last year sorting out our own garden and don't want it ruined, I did suggest a fence yesterday as a potentially cheaper alternative and I was told he would have to speak to the owners to see if this was a suitable option for them, surely if it is a party wall it has to be a suitable option for all parties.


We wouldn't leave the letting agent to arrange a builder, we would want to see three quotes from him (although we would expect these would be arranged so their preferred builders would be cheaper) and would also get three quotes ourselves.


Thanks again for all your responses, much appreciated. Also a relief to think I'm not being completely unreasonable!

chrisw

Tell them that they are free to rebuild it at their own cost and you might / might not pay half. If it's a condition of their mortgage and the costs are reasonable they might agree to it.

warmhands.coldheart

My FIL bought their house 25 years ago. A condition on their mortgae was to have the place re-wired...... Still hasn't been done !!

jbainbridge

I'd be wondering why the new neighbour hasn't some round and had the courtesy to introduce themselves. What connection do you have with the letting agent - none.

'If' the wall is unsafe (is it?) then as others have said do consider other options - like a fence.

Personally - I'm always prepared to treat a fence / wall as shared and would be more than happy to contribute - assuming the neighbour is reasonable.

jonnyb1978

Correct me if im wrong but if it is a party wall that means in simple terms its a wall that enters and or borders both properties. To do any work it needs both your authority. If you say no there is nothing they can do except build a wall/fence up to the existing wall within their own boundary and without touching the existing wall.

More so there should be something in the title deeds that states who is responsible for that boundary wall plus if it is yours then they have nothing to do with it and can not make you do anything. If it is their responsblity then they can only ask you.. you have the right to say no and this is where they can build up to the wall.

paddyrg

The fact that this has come to light for their mortgage makes this a much bigger problem for them than it does for you. Remember this in all discussions ;-)