Who is responsible for retaining walls?

SameOldRoundabout

Curiosity more than anything really. We own a house that faces down a hill, behind our garden is a house that is side on to the hill, so we border their driveway. Their house is considerably higher than ours, we have a 7ft ish brick retaining wall and then a 6ft fence on top of that. We don’t know for sure who is responsible for the boundaries as our lease plan is for some reason not held by the land registry. Seller just said all boundaries were ours so not overly helpful. I may download the neighbours plan eventually, but I’m more wondering about who is responsible for the whole height? If it’s us are we wholly (or jointly) responsible for his fence? If it’s him I’d he wholly (or jointly) responsible for the wall that’s actually holding up his land? 

AdrianC

Is your garden basically cut out of the hill? That would tend to suggest the retaining wall was your responsibility.

Ownership of the fence may very well be completely separate from the wall.

RelievedSheff

Assuming that the property boundary wall is the face of the retaining wall, then unless stated otherwise in the title deeds I would assume that the retaining wall belonged to the neighbour as the construction thickness of the wall will be wholly on their property not yours. All you are seeing is the facing on the wall.

MoneySeeker1

It's always been my understanding that, in this sort of situation, the lower property bears the responsibility - because their garden was cut out of land the higher property is on so to say.

RelievedSheff

MoneySeeker1 said:

It's always been my understanding that, in this sort of situation, the lower property bears the responsibility - because their garden was cut out of land the higher property is on so to say.

That isn't always strictly true though. The ground could equally have been raised where the higher property is situated hence the need for a retaining wall.

Highway retaining walls are slightly different as well in that where an adjacent highway is higher than a property the local authority will (almost always) own the retaining wall as it protects their assets. 

MoneySeeker1

There can be instances where it is different and so, I gather, it gets taken into account which property got built first so to say. 

It should be possible for OP to see the general "lie of the land" in the area to judge whether their house got chopped out of an existing "hill" (ie down to them) or whether a new "hill" got built for the higher house (ie could be down to them).

SameOldRoundabout

Our garden is definitely cut out of the hill so I guess the lower portion would be ours. His fence sat on top should be his responsibility though I’d think? There’s currently no issue at all but when we eventually landscape the garden I think I need to be prepared, currently a previous owner seems to have built a second (ugly breeze block) wall inside the line of where the actual retaining wall is. I don’t know why but given the rest of the house I’m not looking forward to finding out. As long as it’s likely to be ours I can plan for it.