Garden room placed up against neighbours wall

SS999

Hi
I am considering getting a garden room which I would like to place against my neighbours wall. The neighbour has a drainpipe on this wall and also a kitchen extractor vent are there is approximately 2-3" of his 'land' before the boundary.

As he has built up to the boundary line and I am wanting to place a garden room up against the same boundary do I have to leave enough space for access (he didn't chose to leave room to maintain the wall)?

Thanks.

stator

When was his wall built?


Unles it was built really recently, then you've just got to live with what is there. If he has stuff on your side, then you've got to work around it.

SS999

He extended in around 2 years ago. Would we have to leave access in our garden to his wall?

unforeseen

As long as the vent and drainpipe is on his side of the boundary there is very little you can do about them.

I would think that would also include blocking the vent output by building a wall tight against it.

davidmcn

unforeseen wrote: »

As long as the vent and drainpipe is on his side of the boundary there is very little you can do about them.

I would think that would also include blocking the vent output by building a wall tight against it.

He won't have acquired rights to use the OP's airspace for his vent simply by installing it on the boundary - if the OP chooses to stick a wall immediately in front of it that's the neighbour's problem (though obviously not great for neighbourly relations!).

pinkshoes

Tea and cake and discuss it with your neighbour.

I'm pretty sure you will be allowed to build up to your boundary, although may require a party wall agreement.

The fact that your neighbour has his vent there is not your problem. He will need to move it.

Doozergirl

You can't attach to his wall as a right if his wall is on his side of the boundary.

This is why party walls are useful - you can both use it, but this isn't a party wall. You'd specifically need his permission - if it were a genuine party wall they'd you'd pay him half the cost of building that wall. Perhaps he could be persuaded with the promise of that kind of money.

Otherwise you'll need to leave a decent gap for you both to be able to maintain your properties and large enough to not to provide a nice trap for debris and damp.

harz99

Around 2 feet gap if the new builds by me are anything to go by..

Beenie

I am intrigued by this 2foot gap the OP has to leave between himself and the house next door. The neighbour built up to the boundary and didn't concern himself with leaving space for maintenance etc. Why should the OP have to worry about it? Is it a legal requirement or just a neighbourly thing to do?

Doozergirl

It's not a legal requirement, but you can't maintain a house if you can't access it. That's equally as important to the OP as the neighbour.

The OP should have spoken to the neighbour initially about building a proper party wall, but this seems to be the way it works for many people.

unforeseen

Beenie wrote: »

I am intrigued by this 2foot gap the OP has to leave between himself and the house next door. The neighbour built up to the boundary and didn't concern himself with leaving space for maintenance etc. Why should the OP have to worry about it? Is it a legal requirement or just a neighbourly thing to do?

He who builds first gets to use Access to Neighbouring Land Act to carry out maintenance? Not leaving a gap is technically obstructing his rights under the act.