Neighbour being difficult about removal of wall

Davesnave

knightstyle said:

Just a thought, if the wall is falling down then repair/replacement is probably covered by your house insurance.

House insurance doesn't cover 100 year dilapidations.

This is an example of a thread which would have benefited greatly from a picture or two. I know the wall is Victorian, but most of us aren't!

macman

If the wall is on the boundary line and is attached to your property, then you should be serving a Party Wall Notice on your neighbour a month before you commence any work. If the works are within 2m of their property then it comes under the jurisdiction of the PWA. 

Jeepers_Creepers

What?! A garden wall?!!!

TELLIT01

Jeepers_Creepers said:

What?! A garden wall?!!!

From reading this https://www.meaby.co.uk/q-i-want-to-repair-my-garden-wall-do-i-need-to-comply-with-the-party-wall-act-1996/ it would seem that some form of written agreement is required but not a formal PWA.  That being the case the OP would seem to have a problem if the neighbour doesn't want it removed.

twopenny

Victorian bricks can bring in some extra cash.....depending on what they are, some more. some less.

Also a landscaper could do the fencing and charge for it plus sell the bricks (we'll clear that for you), they'd have to get a brickie to do the wall so loss of income on the job. I'd guess that's why they both agreed, and also maybe the OP's wishes.

And my comment about the fence was not that the greenhouse wasn't needing support but that fence panels blow down and potentially through the greenhouse. Sorry if there was a misunderstanding.

Jeepers_Creepers

TELLIT01 said:

Jeepers_Creepers said:

What?! A garden wall?!!!

From reading this https://www.meaby.co.uk/q-i-want-to-repair-my-garden-wall-do-i-need-to-comply-with-the-party-wall-act-1996/ it would seem that some form of written agreement is required but not a formal PWA.  That being the case the OP would seem to have a problem if the neighbour doesn't want it removed.

I see, TELLIT.

Fair do's - that applies if the wall is literally sat on/astride the boundary line, and it does therefore make sense in such situations. Not sure what the OP's situation is. I hope that when he says it follows his garage wall, he means the outside edges of both are in line, which would almost certainly make it his wall.

I, too, love traditional walls and would most likely prefer this, but it's the OP's call here. He should, tho', keep a few bricks back after demolition. That greenhouse must be tempting.

Phil4432

TELLIT01 said:

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.

He doesn't have a legal duty to remove it, he has a duty to make it safe. 

The OP is 'assuming,' the wall is his.  That's potentially opening a dispute more than anything.  This needs to firmly be established.  If it is indeed his, he can indeed replace it with a fence if necessary.

I'd just maintain the old wall, get more privacy and durability than with a wooden fence and rest assured that the neighbors are happy.

Phil4432

David713 said:

sma1990 said:

 all 3 landscapers I had come to look at it have advised the wall will need minimal labour to take down, with two of them saying they will simply push/pull it down as it is that structurally unsound, it should be light work.

If you do this, make sure that you get plenty of photographs of the greenhouse before any work is undertaken just in case your neighbour claims that during the wall removal, damage was done to the greenhouse or other areas of their garden.

It's not his greenhouse, not on his land.  Taking pictures of other peoples property without their consent can escalate a situation.

Mojisola

sma1990 said:

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 

It's hard to see how the wall could be anything but wholly owned by sma since it was in place for so long before the other house was built.

David713

Phil4432 said:

David713 said:

sma1990 said:

 all 3 landscapers I had come to look at it have advised the wall will need minimal labour to take down, with two of them saying they will simply push/pull it down as it is that structurally unsound, it should be light work.

If you do this, make sure that you get plenty of photographs of the greenhouse before any work is undertaken just in case your neighbour claims that during the wall removal, damage was done to the greenhouse or other areas of their garden.

It's not his greenhouse, not on his land.  Taking pictures of other peoples property without their consent can escalate a situation.

Provided that the greenhouse is visible from the OP's land, there is nothing wrong or illegal in taking photographs of the area before any work is carried out on the wall.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that doing so is a sensible move just in case there are any damage claims raised during or after the work and taking a couple of photo's could probably be done without the neighbour even being aware.