Neighbours extension overhanging boundary line

shoe_dog

ryan7 said:

Are you proposing they remove the guttering and as a result the water pours onto your property? 

No of course not, i'm proposing they build what was in the plans i was shown and approved. 

jvjack

@shoe_dog , maybe use edit and split photos. Just worked out theres three. All the best. I know nothing of this sort of thing. 
But just noticed there is a camera icon when hovering over pics with link to  "visual search" 
Just mentioning as its new to me and might be to anyone else.

Edit ...   oh no.  Its on all images everywhere. Ignore me. I'm behind the times.

shoe_dog

As a slight update i've just visited our councils planning portal to check what drawings were approved and it's the same ones i was given in the party wall notice, i.e. not what has been built. 

FreeBear

A couple of things stand out to my eye...

The downpipe from the roof above is discharging (badly) in to the gutter - It could be that the gutter isn't big enough to handle the volume and it is also splashing out close to where you have damp render.

The guttering also needs extend a little further back so that it collects the last few dregs from that tile embedded in the wall - The builder has yet to install some flashing for that tile, so the guttering could be rejigged then.

They should have used a concealed box gutter if they were going to do away with a parapet wall (which is what I suspect the original drawings specified). But that would push up the cost, and they can be pigs to get right.

sevenhills

shoe_dog said:

The boundary line is where the two buildings meet and you can clearly see in the last photo (taken from above) that the guttering is overhanging the flat-roof aluminium coping of my kitchen. 

If you share a party wall, does that mean that the gutter must overhang?
If you also built an extension up to your neighbors, then there would be no need for a gutter.

Bendy_House

Shoe_Dog, I'm afraid I just don't know the correct procedure to take. You 'can' get an injunction to stop the build, but that is a route best avoided as it could backfire - expensively.

So I'd suggest a couple of things - investigate it tonight, and sort it first thing tomoz; one is, do you have Legal Protection on your house insurance? If so, call them up first thing. And, two, find some local Party Wall Surveyors, check them out as best as possible (as far as reviews might exist, see if there's any "This fellow really looked out for my interests, and sorted out my bolshie neighbour..." types.) Call them up first thing, explain you've previously agreed the work according to the official plans, but now they've altered these to your detriment - can a PWS be brought in now?

The boundary line between you looks to be unambiguous - it is surely clearly where your two houses join. In which case you did correctly with your fence, placing the 'fronts' of the posts (ie the sides facing the neighb) 'on' the boundary line; the complete posts and fence are 'yours' and on your land. I fear your 'ole of a neighbour has taken advantage of this, and probably tried to consider the gap behind the actual fence panels to be a kind of grey no-man's land, and invaded it with their guttering.

This will cause you long-term hassle: For a start, any problems with this guttering will require work from your side. And faults could cause your garden some damage. Should you wish to build your own extension, then you'd need to bear the extra cost of having a valley/gulley built between your properties to handle the water, effectively redoing what your neighb has done (to save cost). Should you wish to sell, then it'll almost certainly cause some concern to potential buyers, as they'll know they'll be taking on these two potentially annoying issues.

So, check your insurance docs, and Google local PW surveyors - get ready to hit the phones first thing tomoz

Argh - the presumptuous arrogance. Grrrrr.

shoe_dog

Bendy_House said:

Shoe_Dog, I'm afraid I just don't know the correct procedure to take. You 'can' get an injunction to stop the build, but that is a route best avoided as it could backfire - expensively.

So I'd suggest a couple of things - investigate it tonight, and sort it first thing tomoz; one is, do you have Legal Protection on your house insurance? If so, call them up first thing. And, two, find some local Party Wall Surveyors, check them out as best as possible (as far as reviews might exist, see if there's any "This fellow really looked out for my interests, and sorted out my bolshie neighbour..." types.) Call them up first thing, explain you've previously agreed the work according to the official plans, but now they've altered these to your detriment - can a PWS be brought in now?

The boundary line between you looks to be unambiguous - it is surely clearly where your two houses join. In which case you did correctly with your fence, placing the 'fronts' of the posts (ie the sides facing the neighb) 'on' the boundary line; the complete posts and fence are 'yours' and on your land. I fear your 'ole of a neighbour has taken advantage of this, and probably tried to consider the gap behind the actual fence panels to be a kind of grey no-man's land, and invaded it with their guttering.

This will cause you long-term hassle: For a start, any problems with this guttering will require work from your side. And faults could cause your garden some damage. Should you wish to build your own extension, then you'd need to bear the extra cost of having a valley/gulley built between your properties to handle the water, effectively redoing what your neighb has done (to save cost). Should you wish to sell, then it'll almost certainly cause some concern to potential buyers, as they'll know they'll be taking on these two potentially annoying issues.

So, check your insurance docs, and Google local PW surveyors - get ready to hit the phones first thing tomoz

Argh - the presumptuous arrogance. Grrrrr.

Thanks, and yes my home insurance includes legal advice. Will look into PWS's tomorrow. 

Bendy_House

shoe_dog said:

Thanks, and yes my home insurance includes legal advice. Will look into PWS's tomorrow. 

Fantastic :-)

Good luck. Please keep us posted.

Bendy_House

If/when you speak to your neighbour, be nice and calm, pleasant, but matter-of-fact.

Present it as questions when possible, and expect - wait - for answers. If they deviate rather than answering straight, bring it back round and ask again.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to change the plans?" "Why did you change the plans?!"

"Do you think it's ok to change your design so that you effectively take 5 or 6" of my land, when the plans I agreed with you did not encroach on my land at all?"

"Have I been a mug by not insisting on a PW Surveyor?"

"What if I also want to build an extension - what do I do about your roof and gutter?" "Ah, so I need to fit the roof gulley that you should have done?"

"What do I say to a future buyer of my house?"

"What about when your gutter blocks and overflows, as it almost certainly will at times? Who cleans it out - me?! Or do you pop round to my garden every time that's needed?!"

(Obviously you tailor these to suit how you would approach this issue. But bear in mind - THEY have done wrong. YOU have not.)

Possibly also worth having a chat with the neighb on the other side?

theoretica

Does a party wall get built with the outer face along the boundary - so whoever builds second gets slightly more land, or does it being a party wall mean the boundary should go right down the middle of the wall and it should encroach on the neighbour's land a little so it is equal when (if) the neighbour builds an extension too?