Neighbour saying my garage is in his Garden

GoogleMeNow

Does the OP have the current official Land Registry titles and title plans for 50, 52 and 54?  It would be much easier for any of us to give accurate advice, since the official title and plan are what solicitors will refer to if OP has to get legal advice.  The first photo OP posted is from an old conveyance or deed and cannot be relied upon as land/boundaries do change over the years.  The map given to the OP by his neighbour is a Land Registry Map Search which shows the outline in red of that particular title number, but does not detail any rights of way or where the garage is situated.

theoretica

Section62 said:

prowla said:

Based on that picture, the OP's garage is in the wrong, but if they removed it the neighbour would gain nothing as they couldn't use the land exclusively anyway.

The neighbour would gain the ability to build right up to the edge of the RoW without having 'party wall' type issues of attaching their new structure to the OP's garage.

Although hopefully the neighbour is just planning some kind of outbuilding rather than an extension to the house.

Also - might counting in the right of way, and without the garage, increase the area of the garden for permitted development and the rules about only building on x% of the plot?

Section62

theoretica said:

Section62 said:

prowla said:

Based on that picture, the OP's garage is in the wrong, but if they removed it the neighbour would gain nothing as they couldn't use the land exclusively anyway.

The neighbour would gain the ability to build right up to the edge of the RoW without having 'party wall' type issues of attaching their new structure to the OP's garage.

Although hopefully the neighbour is just planning some kind of outbuilding rather than an extension to the house.

Also - might counting in the right of way, and without the garage, increase the area of the garden for permitted development and the rules about only building on x% of the plot?

Good point, but I think the planners would probably take the view that it doesn't form part of the curtilage of the dwelling, even though the land is legally part of the property.

The neighbour might not be aware of that though, and think the plan would work.

[Deleted User]

prowla said:

xmeenax said:

Just to give you a clearer view of where the garage is located, I've taken this screen shot from google earth. The black cross is where my garage is and the black line is the right of way that leads to a main road. Number 54 is mine, 52 his. He also owns 50. The car park you see belongs to aldi.

It looks to me like the OP's garage is indeed on the neighbour's land, but the neighbour couldn't build onto it without blocking the OP's right of way.

However, the OP's garage is blocking the neighbour's access to half of their back garden.

Based on that picture, the OP's garage is in the wrong, but if they removed it the neighbour would gain nothing as they couldn't use the land exclusively anyway.

If the garage was removed they could build their own without sacrificing too much of their garden. The door needs to be to the side where the OP's garage is now, otherwise the neighbour's new garage would have to extend quite a way towards his house and leave an annoying gap on the right.

xmeenax

Hi guys, an update.

My neighbour has took it upon himself to build a fence at the back, making his garden bigger and has now blocked access to my garage.

My solicitor is still waiting for my title deeds but she managed to access his (52) and it clearly outlines that I have right of way to the back - which he has now obstructed. While the land is his, there is a clause in his title deeds saying neighbours should be able to use the roads and access points.

She has sent me all documentation outlining this and advised me to send him this, which I have.

He didn't address any of this but just banged on about the garage being in his garden. He demands that I remove it at my cost, so he can extend the fence even further so he can have more garden space.

The cheak!

Anyway my solicitor said if he still refuses then I have to take official action.

He had more sand delivered to his house today and my worry is he is going to ignore everything I've said and build some kind of outer house, which will make it worse for him when he is forced to take it down.

Does anyone know what cost estimate I am looking at in terms of legal action? He did not acknowledge what I said it looks like he has no intention of standing down on this.

He even said speak to the neighbour about this, when it's his tenant and he is the owner. Surely it should only concern him as the property owner?

Any advise you can give me on this would be great. Thank you.

Ath_Wat

Had you told him you were going to take any action about your garage that appears to be on his land?  Where had that got to?

FreeBear

xmeenax said: Does anyone know what cost estimate I am looking at in terms of legal action?

Could be £10K, £20K, £50K, or even more - Property disputes can get very expensive if it ends up in court. At the other end of the scale, he may cave in after getting a letter from a solicitor (maybe at a cost of £250 to you).

GDB2222

Even if you win an expensive case, and get awarded costs, you would usually only get 70-80% of your legal expenses paid. This could easily cost £50k for each side in the High Court, so the winner could well be £10k out of pocket at the end.

Your best course is to get your solicitor to write a letter to the other person, and hopefully that will end the matter. 

If, in practice, you never use the ROW, is it worth defending?

Norman_Castle

GDB2222 said:

If, in practice, you never use the ROW, is it worth defending?

If its not worth defending the op should push for a payment for it to be removed.

Norman_Castle

xmeenax said:

Any advise you can give me on this would be great. Thank you.

Take multiple pictures showing all fences and boundaries. If you know what he's planning to do contact your planning office. They're unlikely to defend your access but may find fault with his plans.

If you plan on defending the access start to use it regularly. Your garage shouldn't be on his property, if it was moved or removed there's the potential to rent out the space.