Neighbour being difficult about removal of wall

sma1990

I have a wall separating mine and my neighbours garden - the wall is attached to and in line with my house and so I assume it is mine. The wall is very old and poorly constructed, in heavy winds bricks have started falling off and so has now become a hazard.
We have engaged a landscaper to renovate our garden and this includes removing the wall and putting a fence in its place - I let the neighbour know of these plans and she has since come round to ask to keep the wall, just replace the falling down bit etc. To which I have said no, I would like the wall replacing not only for safety reasons but cosmetically too. They have now started asking questions around digging up the foundations and how this is going to impact them (they have plants and a greenhouse against the wall). In all honesty the foundations will be minimal and will only be digging up where the fence posts are going, which is all on my side anyway.

Is there anything I should be aware of about what I am doing that could cause me to be in the wrong or end up in a formal dispute?

thanks

Mickey666

The simple answer is that if it's your wall then you can replace it.  Indeed, unless there is anything in your deeds to the contrary, it's not even a requirement to have a wall or fence on your boundary at all.  Your property, your choice.

But of course it's not as simple as that when neighbour sensitivities are involved.  Depending on the personalities involved your proposed works could cause some mid disappointment or could be the start of a long and nasty feud.

The neighbour's concern is understandable if they have a 'greenhouse against the wall' - not that that makes them right of course.  Is the wall a structural part of the greenhouse such that the greenhouse would be affected or destroyed if the wall is removed?  If so, would it be feasible to retain just that section of the wall?

Basically, you should be firm in your resolve to remove the wall and replace with a fence, emphasise it's your legal right to do so as the owner of the wall, but ask them for suggestions about how you can help to minimise the temporary disruption, ie try to get them on board with the planning so that they have a stake in the work and don't feel you're just bulldozing them without caring what they think.  Basically - let them know you're going to do it anyway but you'd welcome any suggestions about how to minimise the impact on them - with the emphasis on 'minimise' rather than eliminate.

Apodemus

Some pictures might help.  I think if I was your neighbour I, too, would prefer that the wall remained in place, so you will need to be really sure of your case before doing anything.

FreeBear

Good luck driving holes through the existing foundation strip - Hopefully, the guys doing the work will come equipped with some heavy duty breakers (I've had to put posts in through concrete using just hand tools. Not easy).

Tip - Use concrete fence posts and gravel boards - They will outlast timber posts, and possibly you.

theoretica

Point out the level of disturbance and cost needed to rebuild the wall to be safe?

unforeseen

the wall is attached to and in line with my house and so I assume it is mine.

Don't assume! Check the deeds for both houses. 

TELLIT01

If it is your wall explain to your neighbours that it is deteriorating and you have a legal duty to remove an unsafe structure.  Further explain that you simply cannot afford to rebuild the brick wall and that it will have to be replaced by a fence.  If the wall is yours the neighbours should not have attached the greenhouse, or anything else, to it unless they had the permission of the previous occupants.

Mistral001

You first need to establish whether you own the wall or share it.  The neighbour might even own it.   If the greenhouse is built against the wall then they might own the wall as people usually do not attach greenhouses to walls they do not own.   Some neighbours will do their own thing and will attach all sorts of things to walls they do not own.    

sma1990

just to confirm the greenhouse is not attached to the wall, it just sits on the other side of the wall.

separately, my house and it’s wall are Victorian, the neighbours house was built on the 80’s which leads me to believe the wall forms part of my property, in addition to it sitting in line with my property 

twopenny

Please get confirmation that the wall is yours.

I moved into my house and the neighbour had replaced my 4ft fence panels with 6ft cheap ones (she said she assumed it was hers) that blew down in the first gale leaving me exposed to her cats toilet habits and shifting fence panels in 30mph winds, she was nowhere to be seen. Said she'd pay half as she but when done said no.

If I hadn't just been through a terrible year I'd have charged her the whole fee as what she did was not legal.she had removed my fence.

Believe me making assumptions can create a lot of problems

Apodemus

sma1990 said:

The wall is very old and poorly constructed...

sma1990 said:

my house and it’s wall are Victorian...

If the wall is Victorian, then it has been there for at least 120 years, so I suspect it wasn't that poorly constructed! I would also wonder if it wasn't a better option to repair it, so that it can last another 120 years rather than replace it with something that will probably need replacing another ten times in that period. A bonus would be continuing to be on good terms with your neighbours, which should never be undervalued.