Urgent advice please; builders have built about 10cm onto neighbours' land!

Hoploz

Sounds like it should work, if they've already signed it.

But an issue has arisen from it though, hasn't it.

ManofLeisure_2

Mojisola wrote: »

It doesn't make a lot of sense - I can't picture exactly what you've done.

Neither can I, and I'm an Architect

OP, who drew up your plans?

Are you able to post a pic?

rosie383

ManofLeisure wrote: »

Neither can I, and I'm an Architect

OP, who drew up your plans?

Are you able to post a pic?

I can't really post a picture as it is impossible to see from our land. All that you would see anyway is our extension and their extension next to each other with no gap. That's it.
And it was an architect who drew up the plans and advised building the extra layer of wall. Honestly, there is nothing to see. If you go down to the bottom of the neighbours' garden and look toward the house, you can see that our extension roof is slightly over the line of render where the two houses meet. There is nothing else to see.

If our builder hadn't done what he did, we would have ended up with this 10cm gap between the two extensions. For us it wouldn't have been too much of a problem, but we were genuinely worried about damaging next door's wall as it was a very obvious slightly wonky wall with almost no foundation. And neither of us wanted a damp or debris trap either.

Land_Registry

rosie383 wrote: »

Update: DH went with the builder to the neighbours yesterday and had a talk. The builder explained that had we left the 10cm strip of land between our boundary and the start of their extension, that it would possibly have caused both parties problems with damp and debris, hence the extra wall.
The neighbours said that they would be willing to have an agreement drawn up at our expense which would sell that strip of land to us for the princely sum of £1000!

This was a much earlier post and plenty more since but just wondered what they were alluding to here?

As others have mentioned a 10cm distance would not show up on any title or deed plan as they are never to a scale that would accommodate it.

So a boundary agreement might solve the issue for you both by formalising your agreement as to where the boundary lies or you could complete an application for a determined boundary

Neither would then involve selling you a parcel of land which would be a separate process with a legal deed (form TP1) required and the added registration requirements that would entail.

Looking at the letter being suggested I would recommend also getting legal advice before signing it. And if either property is mortgaged then don't forget the lender(s) will also need to be involved. A £1,000 purchase presumably does not include any additional costs likely to arise so it may be worth looking at the viable alternatives and ensuring that they do effectively cover what both of you want here.

rosie383

Thanks for the helpful info. The letter you refer to was drawn up by and signed by the neighbours and given to us. We asked them to put in writing that they were happy for us to go ahead with the build as planned.

rosie383

Just had a look at the links which you helpfully provided. To do a determined boundary the plans wouldn't even show this difference. The scale of 1:200 required by Ordnance Survey would mean that the line would be 0.5mm wide. So no difference in the drawing.
So going down the route of defining the boundary isn't really an option, unless we can only put in writing that the accepted boundary runs down the line between the two extensions.
Have I got that right?

Land_Registry

Many thanks - so that pre dates the actual build so helpful to a degree in establishing some discussion beforehand and therefore relevant re future claims/disputes

The Guide sets out the requirements for the determined boundary plan but it might be easier to look at it from the defined feature aspect rather than the 10cm measurement.

For example if the plan shows the relevant features e.g. building, wall, building and explains which is which the 10cm point need not be shown. You are basically showing where the features are and how you and the neighbour are agreeing where the boundary lies.

rosie383

I was just reading up on adverse possession. It seems pretty clear that because this strip of land has been on our side of their extension for many years, then we can rightfully claim it even if they can show legal title to it.

I'm not sure exactly how many years, but the neighbours said that they have lived there for around 14 years and the extension was built quite a while before that by the previous owner. No idea how long.

Am I right in this thinking? And would we need a legal document to show this adverse possession?

fezster

You say their extension was built on their side, rather than building up to the boundary. If you build to the boundary, that wall effectively becomes a party wall.

Did you have a party wall agreement drawn up? What does it say about the boundary and building up to it? Surely the outside wall will be on the boundary, but YOUR extension will be inside your boundary (especially so if it is a cavity wall).

rosie383

We didn't have a party wall agreement drawn up. Spoke to the neighbours about it and the wife actually works in a property solicitors firm and said that they were happy for us to go ahead as they trusted that we would make good any damage which may be caused. The letter was drawn up by them agreeing to this extra wall which would be built on the strip of land.
The internal wall of the extension is within our boundary.