Encroachment and overhang

BossyFlossy

Please can someone help?
We are trying to sell our house. We had it built attached to our old house 7 years ago and we have since sold the old house to a family who had no trouble getting a mortgage.
So, previous to us building the house, we had a a ground floor extension on the original house which stepped out 1 metre at the back and overhung the original building by 21cm. When we then built the new house, we extending the overhang by 3 metres, keeping the same line of 21cm.
When we split the title, the encroachment and overhang were declared in the transfer deed.
So the solicitor our buyers are using has a massive problem with this and has actually told our buyers to pull out and buy another house (is this allowed)?
Said solicitor told our conveyancer yesterday that she was satisfied with all the evidence we provided last week and was going to report to the mortgage company on the encroachment. Today she changed her mind and wants our buyers to get a land surveyor to visit our property.
In addition to this, she sent our buyers to visit the property last week and unbeknown to our agent, they took photos of our overhang and shared them with their solicitor. Legal?
Our solicitor says there isn’t a problem as this is all declared in the transfer deed but the buyers’ solicitor will not let it go.
Who is right?

davidmcn

BossyFlossy wrote: »

So the solicitor our buyers are using has a massive problem with this and has actually told our buyers to pull out and buy another house (is this allowed)?

Are your buyers allowed to pull out and buy another house? Yes
Are their solicitors allowed to suggest they do so? Of course, why wouldn't they be? You don't have any right even to know what advice the other party is getting from their solicitor. Although your other statements suggest that isn't in fact what their advice is anyway.

In addition to this, she sent our buyers to visit the property last week and unbeknown to our agent, they took photos of our overhang and shared them with their solicitor. Legal?

As far as we can tell, yes. And seems quite a helpful thing to do.

Who is right?

We don't know, because we haven't seen the deeds and it's not entirely clear to me from your description what the issue actually is.

BossyFlossy

Thank you for your response, I’m sorry if I haven’t been clear.
Our solicitor doesn’t see that there actually is an issue as everything is declared in the transfer deed of 2012.
The buyers’ solicitors’ issue is this declared encroachment and overhang. Upon their visit, the buyers reported back that the overhang was 2 foot.......I measured and photographed it as 21cm.

teneighty

Are we talking about the roof eaves overhanging the boundary?

If so this is not that uncommon, it's called an "eaves drop easement". It can either be documented in the property deeds or if it has been present for 20 years it becomes legal automatically.

If it is not documented in the property deeds and is less than 20 years old it is technically trespass.

BossyFlossy

Thank you, it is the original ground floor extension which we then further extended along the same boundary line which overlaps by one brick over the boundary. It has only been there for 7 years but is clearly declared in the transfer deed.

da_rule

I’m just trying to picture this in my head. Are you saying that the entire wall of the extension is one bricks width over the boundary and that the roof then further overhangs?

teneighty

So the actual wall of the extension encroaches over the boundary? That is unusual. Unless the wall sits astride the boundary and can be classed as a shared Party Wall I think you will need to officially move the boundary to remove the encroachment.

BossyFlossy

Gosh, I’m rubbish at this. The boundary is the wall which encroaches our neighbour, the fence line then follows this line down the garden between the 2 houses. Hope that’s clear.
The solicitor who drew up the deeds 7 years ago didn’t find a problem with it, neither did the solicitor who conveyanced for the sale of the old house, nor did the council as the wall has planning permission and building control completion.....don’t know if that’s relevant.

da_rule

So the wall is encroaching too? Encroaching means that it is on the wrong side of the boundary line.

Or, is the outside of the wall the boundary (in place of say a wooden fence for example)?

BossyFlossy

Yes, the outside of the wall is the boundary that we created when we built the new house, in place of a wooden fence.
What do you think?

teneighty

OK I'm totally confused now. I'm out.