Neighbours lean to destroying garden wall

Steph1078

Hi all,
Hoping for some advice on what to do

We moved into a new house in August - had done viewings on 2 very dry days and I think the current owners had tidied up and hid very well that the neighbours lean too was destroying the garden wall.

It’s a detached house and there is a wall which runs down the length of the garden the plans show it as our wall however the current owners wrote on the information form that it belonged to next door. Relevant but not sure how much it helps.

So after a wet few days we noticed there was lots of moss / Mould growing on the wall because the neighbours had put a lean to - only a few feet wide plastic sheeting which attaches at the top of the wall. There’s no guttering or water drainage so in effect all the bloody water goes down this garden wall. Hence now after all the bad weather the bricks are now starting to come away in the support posts our side - but I bet their side looks bloody brilliant being covered from the elements.

I approached the neighbourly in a friendly way to ask who owned the wall and she offered to split the cost 50/50 to repair - great ! Except then went on to say she wouldn’t remove the plastic sheeting which was causing the blinking issue...

I’ve tried to approach them again after they never arrived to look at the wall & they are now refusing to even open the door. I am going to try to knock again tomorrow and post a nice and polite letter saying we clearly keep missing one another and can they come to discuss.

But basically I don’t know where I stand because I’m not 100% sure who owns the wall and even if I stomach the cost for the repair the actual root of the issue won’t have been resolved. I’m concerned with all the Mould growing but also concerned that loose bricks are going to fall and hit the dog or god forbid my child. But they’re refusing to engage with me over it.

Can anybody advise on what I can do ? Surely even if it’s a shared wall they can’t put something up over the top of it which is then damaging the wall? Or they have to maintain it if it belongs to them?

I don’t want to fall out with them !! But I need this fixing.

docmatt

If she’s offered to split the cost 50/50 then have a roofer in to sort out diverting the flow of water away from the wall.
It will be a lot cheaper than going legal.

Any pictures?

Steph1078

Well that was her original response but now they’re just point blank refusing to talk to me which is frustrating ... they were sat in their living room when I rung the doorbell and knocked on the door today!
hopefully this works - it won’t let me put a link in ! : https /ibb.co/gcQu7G

elsien

https://ibb.co/gcQu7G

docmatt

Ok well it’s an easy fix albeit a bit heath Robinson. There is already a wall plate to fix 4” gutter to. You’ll have to decide where the pipe goes though. Then you could waterproof the top of the wall yourself.
Good luck.

docmatt

Just noticed the dog. He seemed annoyed with the wall too. Tell him you will sort it.

missile

Looks like the neighbours lean to sheds the water into your garden?
That is not acceptable and I would not be happy.
I would speak with the council. I doubt they would approve that and may force your neighbour to remove or modify.

Steph1078

Haha she was busy barking at next door 😂
There’s not really anywhere for the water to go my side and I’ve already suggested to my fella about putting a gutter on but he’s insisting he’s not allowing them to put gutter on our side of the wall... no compromise with him unfortunately! The space above the wall our side belongs to us and they’re not over hanging it...
He just wants to feud with the neighbours I think 😂

Davesnave

It does look as if it's your wall, as the supporting columns are on your side, but in any event, it's not right for a neighbour to discharge water directly onto your property without permission. However, it seems that the previous owner of your house didn't raise an objection.

Unfortunately, as it's been there for some time, it's also a problem you bought-into. Regardless of the weather when you viewed, the problem and lack of a gutter would all have been clearly visible then; it just wasn't spotted. What level of survey did you have? A buildings survey should have flagged this up.

Copies of your/your neighbours title documents from the Land Registry might indicate whose wall it is and where the boundary lies, but equally, they may not, so tread warily.

If the wall returned to form your external gate support, this would also suggest your ownership, but there seems to be a gap between the two behind the gas cylinder, so this isn't clear either. It's a real dog's dinner.

Situations like this need patience and skill to resolve amicably. The simplest here is what docmatt says; attaching a gutter to take the water and deciding between you where it drains to a soak away. As it's their water, so it should be on their side. Yes, this isn't ideal, because it would overhang your property, but it's cheap and easy. However, it wouldn't solve the issue of an easement being created (see my second post below.)

The hardest and most expensive route to a solution might lead to a boundary dispute, if it can't be easily proved who the wall belongs to. This could easily run to £thousands, so you don't want to go there. I don't think you'd have to though, because the bottom line is that their water shouldn't be landing in your property, especially where there's no drain to cope with it.

Furts

That is not a pretty wall, but it is not structurally dodgy. OK, the piers may not be tied in, but that is a common defect and not the subject of the post, nor a concern voiced by OP. Which in itself may tell a story ...?

The location is sheltered, so there will not be excessive rain. The bricks look like Flettons, so if it is in a frosty location there can be an issue with spalling. But again the sheltered location will minimise any risk. Regardless, no concerns on this appear to be raised by OP.

The wall is built as if it belongs to OP, but the lean to has been there years, may have been built with the previous owners permission, and is not causing great problems.

It was clearly like this when the house was purchased, so that was the time to weigh up the issues.

Steph1078

We had a homebuyers report image of the relevant part of the report is : https /ibb.co/h7gojw

So he didn’t notice either - but I know it wasn’t a full structural survey so that’s our fault.

Yes I understand we should have seen it - we didn’t and I take full responsibility for this.

On talking to the previous owners it looks like they didn’t want to start a dispute and left it and kept repairing the wall themselves; fine that’s their prerogative but I don’t want to do it.
Like I say I’m happy to keep relations with the neighbours - even though they don’t want to engage with me over it - and I want a quiet life. A gutter, small one which soaks back onto their side will resolve. Ultimately OH wants it removed which I think is a bit unreasonable of him. But that’s his stance. I was just wondering what action we could take without starting a long legal battle over it which I can’t take.

It’s annoying but it doesn’t alter our life massively - as long as they keep the wall in a good state of repair which it doesn’t seem they are doing.