Neighbours extension quality and boundary issues

ThisIsWeird

Embea said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Hopefully Building Control will condemn it and insist it comes down.

Do you have Legal Protection in your house insurance? Call them.

Yes I have legal cover. Do you know what’s steps they are likely to take once I get them involved?

They should be legal experts, just like finding your own property/property damage solicitor.

So they should be able to guide you with this issue. If civil action is justified/required, then they should take that on too. The latter based on the chance of success being greater than 50%.

Calling them doesn't cost anything (none of it should), so see what they say.

womble12345

Is it definitely your wall that is upright? Have you run a spirit level against your wall and theirs?

macman

Was a PWN served by your neighbour before work commenced? if so, a schedule of condition would have been drawn up and a post-works survey will clearly show that the work is sub-standard and breaches the boundary.
Why didn't you object during the construction process when the issue first became apparent?

Embea

womble12345 said:

Is it definitely your wall that is upright? Have you run a spirit level against your wall and theirs?

It’s a valid consideration, there is quite a difference in quality of work looking at the two walls though. Haven’t had the spirit level out yet! 

Embea

macman said:

Was a PWN served by your neighbour before work commenced? if so, a schedule of condition would have been drawn up and a post-works survey will clearly show that the work is sub-standard and breaches the boundary.
Why didn't you object during the construction process when the issue first became apparent?

I haven’t seen a PWN, only the planning application. The work is still ongoing inside the extension. I did notice in general the pointing was poor and notified the owner and builders during construction. They assured they would fix this but haven’t been round to inspect it. This part though is really tucked into the side of the building and you can only see it if you lean closely into the fence, so it’s not something that’s noticeable by just being out in the garden and I haven’t been out there much over winter. The reason I looked more closely recently is because we have had a lot of rain and I was concerned about the lack of drainage in that area. Perhaps I should have inspected it earlier but I'm just not experienced in anything like this. 

mi-key

Embea said:

womble12345 said:

Is it definitely your wall that is upright? Have you run a spirit level against your wall and theirs?

It’s a valid consideration, there is quite a difference in quality of work looking at the two walls though. Haven’t had the spirit level out yet! 

I did wonder that as looking at the original bottom part that was their garage it seems the gap is wider at the bottom than further up....

robatwork

Real shame the OP hasn't been back on MSE as I would love an update on this one

Embea

robatwork said:

Real shame the OP hasn't been back on MSE as I would love an update on this one

Apologies I haven’t posted any update for some time, life got in the way for a while. But better late than never, so here goes. As soon as the neighbour realised I had contacted the council they sent their builder round to fix the issue, photo attached. They have removed the item that was between the two walls which was apparently a piece of wood. I don’t have a photo of this unfortunately, it was my partner that checked it and he said that he was happy that it had been removed. They have covered up the brickwork with a facia and fitted a drainpipe. I’ve had the building inspector round and he said structurally the extension is fine and would be signed off, he was not concerned by the quality, lack of airflow or potential for damp problems. He said if anything the wall would protect our property from weather damage!? I also spoke to the planning department who agreed the extension was built off plan, but as it was only a minimal change they would sign off the plans. If I want to take anything further I need to go down the legal route. I have considered this but I’m concerned about the implications of having a legal battle with the neighbour. 

robatwork

Thanks for updating. I'm not sure I'd be happy with this solution - in fact that bit of gutter looks preposterous - but I guess it's a matter of choose your battles.

nyermen

robatwork said:

Thanks for updating. I'm not sure I'd be happy with this solution - in fact that bit of gutter looks preposterous - but I guess it's a matter of choose your battles.

Yeah agreed, looks like the gutter is over the boundary (assuming the wooden fence at the forefront is on the boundary line).