Can neighbour ask us to move a retaining wall?

deannagone

As the neighbour (previous neighbour) at some point built an insufficiently strong retaining wall, I'd suggest it is totally their responsibility to fix the problem.  Not yours.  The boundary is yours, not the wall they built.  That it is defective is their problem, not yours.

diystarter7

OP
You may recall my earlier post re my thoughts re our son's house a detached house being a few feet higher annd though the fence is next doors responsibility according to the deeds we came to the conclusion if the retaining wall ever needed work to shore up his land, our son would pay for if advised to do so.

Just found this on the net.
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a landowner who owns a retaining wall that supports his own land is under a general duty of care to maintain the wall in such a condition that his land is prevented from collapsing onto his neighbour's lower land.15 Oct 2021

Party Walls - boundary-problems.co.uk

theoretica

diystarter7 said:

OP
You may recall my earlier post re my thoughts re our son's house a detached house being a few feet higher annd though the fence is next doors responsibility according to the deeds we came to the conclusion if the retaining wall ever needed work to shore up his land, our son would pay for if advised to do so.

Just found this on the net.
------------------------------------------

a landowner who owns a retaining wall that supports his own land is under a general duty of care to maintain the wall in such a condition that his land is prevented from collapsing onto his neighbour's lower land.15 Oct 2021

Party Walls - boundary-problems.co.uk

Indeed - but the paragraph just before says

"a landowner who owns a retaining wall that supports his neighbour's higher land is subject to an implied (unless it is expressly stated in a deed) easement and owes a duty of support to his neighbour's land;"

- and at present it seems to be agreed that the retaining wall is on the neighbour's side of the boundary, so another reason for the neighbour owning it.

Section62

diystarter7 said:

OP
You may recall my earlier post re my thoughts re our son's house a detached house being a few feet higher annd though the fence is next doors responsibility according to the deeds we came to the conclusion if the retaining wall ever needed work to shore up his land, our son would pay for if advised to do so.

Just found this on the net.
------------------------------------------

a landowner who owns a retaining wall that supports his own land is under a general duty of care to maintain the wall in such a condition that his land is prevented from collapsing onto his neighbour's lower land.15 Oct 2021

Party Walls - boundary-problems.co.uk

Which doesn't alter the position for the OP one bit.

The key words in bold above are "who owns".

The quoted text is stating the somewhat obvious point that if you own something property-related then you have a general duty of care to others, including yuor neighbours.

It says nothing about who owns a retaining wall in any given scenario.

Mojisola

arielsmelody said:

Our house is higher than next door. When the houses were built 60 years ago the neighbour built a wall along his side of the boundary which is the retaining wall for our garden. This wall was too thin and is failing, and the current neighbour has asked us to rebuild it. The deeds say that boundary is our responsibility so we agreed. We planned to build a new wall twice as thick but with the extra on our side so on his side nothing would change. He is now asking us to rebuild completely on our land so that he reclaims the strip that the old wall stood on. Does he have any right to ask that? Space is tight on our side and we are already losing the space due to the extra thickness of the new wall.

He can ask but my answer would be that the line of the replacement wall will match the current footprint - after 60 years, that's a well-established boundary.

Bendy_House

diystarter7 said:

OP
You may recall my earlier post re my thoughts re our son's house a detached house being a few feet higher annd though the fence is next doors responsibility according to the deeds we came to the conclusion if the retaining wall ever needed work to shore up his land, our son would pay for if advised to do so.

Just found this on the net.
------------------------------------------

a landowner who owns a retaining wall that supports his own land is under a general duty of care to maintain the wall in such a condition that his land is prevented from collapsing onto his neighbour's lower land.15 Oct 2021

Party Walls - boundary-problems.co.uk

IF the OP (ie, the original builder of the OP's house) had landscaped their garden or plot to increase it's height relative to the neighbour's land, and as a result needed to prevent this change in level from moving on to the neighb's land, then, yes, the OP would be liable for a retaining wall on THEIR land to prevent this from happening.

IF the NEIGHBOUR (ie, the original builder of the neighb's house) levelled their plot, reducing the bordering height to the point where the OP's ground might start moving on to theirs as a result, then, yes, the neighb would be liable for a retaining wall on THEIR land to prevent this from happening.

I think it's that clear. And it would 'seem' as tho' the latter situation is the case here.

_Sam_

Bendy_House said:

From what you've said, Ariel, what is written in your deeds would appear to be just this general clause. It carries no actual 'obligations'. And - more importantly - it makes no reference to a 'retaining wall'.

So, the fact that this boundary is your 'responsibility' has no bearing whatsoever on this retaining wall.

From what you have described, on balance of probabilities, the current retaining wall was built by the neighbour's builder, for the purpose of providing a level plot for their house. Ie - it is theirs. It was put there for their benefit. It is their responsibility.

I too think the above is most likely the case. As your deeds specifically mention to "maintain a fence", it is likely that when your house was built there was a slope where the fence would go and no wall, and the wall was built later when the neighbour decided to level their plot. It also makes sense in this situation that the wall would be on their plot. If it were your house owners who built he wall, the wall would have been on your plot.

Out of curiosity you could download the neighbour's deeds, to see if it shows when their house was built. If it was built later than yours this could further support the argument that the wall is theirs.

(It is possible the deeds may not give a clue but also possible they may - for example on our street the plots were sold at different times so our plot was sold in 1949 for the purpose of building a house, and the neighbours's in 1955 for the same purpose, making it likely that our house was built first)

_Sam_

From a solicitors' website (https://alwenajonesbright.co.uk/retaining-walls/)

It is generally accepted that the person whose land is retained by the wall is responsible for its repair and maintenance. ...There are some exceptions to this general position however: [1] if the owner of the lower land has excavated a way to his own land to provide a lower but level area, or [2] if the owner of the land on the lower part of the retained wall had undertaken repair works that can indicate they have assumed responsibility for maintaining that retained wall.

As above it is likely that your situation is [1] and the wall is your neighbour's responsibility. But it is interesting also to pay attention to [2] as I think it applies to either lower or higher land owners: if you do decide to repair/rebuild the wall, you risk assuming responsibility for it.

Mojisola

_Sam_ said:

As above it is likely that your situation is [1] and the wall is your neighbour's responsibility. But it is interesting also to pay attention to [2] as I think it applies to either lower or higher land owners: if you do decide to repair/rebuild the wall, you risk assuming responsibility for it.

If it was my house and land that was being held in place and the cost wasn't a problem for me, I'd prefer to be in control of the new retaining wall - knowing that a proper job was being done would give peace of mind.

The neighbour would have to accept that the new wall would be in the same place and they would have no say in the style - if that stretch no longer matches their other walls, so be it.

markin

Most importantly make sure you have good photos showing the current wall from all directions and that they show that the bricks are the same as his house, and the position of the wall at the far end, measure the width and take photos. If he end up doing it or simply takes it down one day in anger you will have to make sure he's not trying to steal a foot.