party fence wall repairs - how to approach this?

Jab88

Hi All 

FTB here and absolutely clueless! We recently completed on our first home which was a probate sale in need of renovations. One of the first things that needs to be tackled is the wall in the garden which has fallen apart, there are big sections missing and it’s a health and safety hazard as more bricks might fall down at any time. Aside from his, there is no privacy as the garden is completely exposed to the neighbours on the right hand side. 

We found out that the adjoining neighbour is a landlord who rents their house out to students, when speaking to the students, they said they rent through an estate agent. 

Speaking to our surveyor, he advised that it’s a party fence line wall and there will be a 50/50 shared repair responsibility with the adjoining owner. 

I believe we can speak to both the landlord (owner of the property) or the estate agent, but wanted to check the best way to approach this as we would want them to pay for half of the repair cost. 

As it’s a probate sale, we can’t ask previous owner how they dealt with this in the past. 

We were planning on doing the following: 

• Have an informal conversation with the landlord/estate agent. The wall cannot stay as is as it’s a health and safety hazard. It needs to be repaired and we need to agree on who to hire for the job, how payment will be split and arranged etc. Ideally we want to have a fence put up on top for privacy (can we request them to pay for half of this as well? 
• Do we have to serve them with a formal notice where they have two weeks to respond? Hoping if we could come to an agreement via the informal discussions, is this needed? I’ve had a look at templates online but didn’t see anything that relates to our scenario. 
• Is it just a builder we need to appoint or maybe also a structural engineer? The current party fence wall is completely gone in certain areas. 

I really we do not want to appoint a party wall surveyor as this would be added cost. There is so much work that needs to be done on the house so we would like to save money on areas we can. 

Any advise and recommendations are much appreciated! 

Brie

Can you find a local brickie to give you a quote for the wall?  It may be that it's not that much to fix, or possibly it's something you can do yourself.  

But frankly I would be more concerned about the lack of privacy with students living next door and the wall being only 3 feet high.  I doubt that a landlord will be concerned about your privacy so you may find you want to erect a fence just inside of the wall although an addition on top may be possible.  Likely all at your own expense. 

Meanwhile good luck with everything and I hope you enjoy your new home!  Exciting times!!!

Slinky

Students next door........is that a traffic cone I can see?

Jab88

Slinky said:

Students next door........is that a traffic cone I can see?

@Slinky oh dear I hadn't noticed, it looks like it is! 

Giddypip

Check your deeds to see who is actually responsible for maintaining the wall before making any approach to the owners.

theoretica

Jab88 said:

As it’s a probate sale, we can’t ask previous owner how they dealt with this in the past.

From the looks of the wall, they simply didn't deal with it.  Either because neither owner cared, or because they could not agree.

eddddy

Maybe get a quote (or 3) first...

Than say to the agent "It's a party wall/fence, it needs repairing, I've got a quote for £x, is the landlord prepared to pay half - or would they like to get their own quote, etc"

If you just ask the landlord to pay half - without having a quote - the landlord might be a bit reticent, as they won't know if they're agreeing to pay £250 or £2,500 etc.

Jab88

Giddypip said:

Check your deeds to see who is actually responsible for maintaining the wall before making any approach to the owners.

@Giddypip our surveyor said it’s a party fence line wall and there will be a 50/50 shared repair responsibility with the adjoining owner. The plans aren't very clear to be honest, I know I'm supposed to look out for a 'T mark' on the plan as it's an indication of who is responsible for the boundary but I can't see anything on there. 

Jab88

theoretica said:

Jab88 said:

As it’s a probate sale, we can’t ask previous owner how they dealt with this in the past.

From the looks of the wall, they simply didn't deal with it.  Either because neither owner cared, or because they could not agree.

the house has been empty for over two years, the owner passed away in 2020 and was older lady that suffered from dementia for many years prior to her death. I don't think she wouldn't have cared but more so that her age and illness took over.  

Jab88

thanks @eddddy that sounds like a good idea. seeing it's owned by a landlord, they probably just want to get it done as cheaply as possible. 

eddddy

Jab88 said:

@Giddypip our surveyor said it’s a party fence line wall and there will be a 50/50 shared repair responsibility with the adjoining owner. 

The surveyor probably concluded that because of the location of the wall.

If it's on the boundary line (i.e. half on your land and half on the neighbours) - it will be a party wall.

If it was completely on your land - it would be your wall.


To double check, see how the garden wall is aligned with the party wall in the house. Does it line up with the party wall in the house, or is it fully on your side of the party wall in the house, or is it fully on the neighbours side of the party wall in the house?