New build garage built over my property line

neverbuyanewbuild

Our home builder has finished the last home in our estate and has put the neighbours garage over our property line. 

The roof is so low that both myself and my husband have to duck when walking down our side of the house.   We cannot open our gate fully    We have sent photos to the builder as well as our own solicitor and the council.  Our solicitor and the council have both responded that this is in fact a trespassing issue.  However. The builder is saying it’s perfectly acceptable. We cannot get them on building regulations but we have a solid case of trespassing as the garage itself (base) trespasses by almost a foot. The builder never sent anyone out to see this issue and has completely fobbed us off.  

So now we have to take them or our neighbours to court.  Anyone had any experience with this? All help and advice is greatly appreciated 

km1500

in my view you forget the builder you don't have a contract with them and are not their customer 

you should concentrate on the neighbour as presumably they commissioned the work.

 you should ask them to redo the garage so that it is over their property not yours. if necessary consult a solicitor with regards to legal action

Okell

This isn;t a consumer rights issue.

You should be posting on this board:  House buying, renting & selling — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Aylesbury_Duck

Surely if you already have a solicitor on it, that trumps any advice you'll get from a load of strangers on the web?  It seems pretty clear from your description that something's wrong, so let your solicitor sort it out.

TELLIT01

If the solicitor and the council have confirmed that this is trespass, the solicitor should be able to tell you what action you can take.  If the roof overhang is a hazard, presumably it can be cut back to the boundary.  Confirm that with the solicitor before taking action.

gwynlas

If you were already in residence why did you noy challenge this before building completed?/

Alderbank

I am impressed by your confidence that you can define the boundary to an accuracy of 250mm or so?

How have you done that? Accuracy is crucial to your case.

You can't use the red line drawn on the land registry entry. LR themselves say that can't be used to define a boundary and it is just a general indication of where the boundary lies.

If you are quoting from a statement made by the builder as part of your conveyancing documents that would be good, but it would then be strange that the builder is now saying what they have done 'is perfectly acceptable'.

Often in boundary disputes litigants have to contract a land surveyor to deliver an opinion but even they can't always be sure.

Developers are notoriously careless about precise boundaries between plots. Let's hope the final outcome is not that your plot encroaches by 250mm onto your neighbour's land!

Grumpy_chap

neverbuyanewbuild said:

Our home builder has finished the last home in our estate and has put the neighbours garage over our property line. 

The roof is so low that both myself and my husband have to duck when walking down our side of the house.   We cannot open our gate fully    We have sent photos to the builder as well as our own solicitor and the council.  Our solicitor and the council have both responded that this is in fact a trespassing issue.  However. The builder is saying it’s perfectly acceptable. We cannot get them on building regulations but we have a solid case of trespassing as the garage itself (base) trespasses by almost a foot. The builder never sent anyone out to see this issue and has completely fobbed us off.  

So now we have to take them or our neighbours to court.  Anyone had any experience with this? All help and advice is greatly appreciated 

There was a thread a few months back about what sounds to be very similar to your situation.  It was the Developer having built the neighbour's garage up to the boundary line so the roof overhung into the path.

It might be worth searching the forum (I think it was the House Buying, Renting, etc area).

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

km1500 said:

in my view you forget the builder you don't have a contract with them and are not their customer 

you should concentrate on the neighbour as presumably they commissioned the work.

Sounds more like OP purchased the house from the developer and may not even have a neighbour yet.

Certainly reads as if the developer has built this garage rather than an existing neighbour putting up a garage. 

MSE_ForumTeam5

Okell said:

This isn;t a consumer rights issue.

You should be posting on this board:  House buying, renting & selling — MoneySavingExpert Forum

If you think something's on the wrong board, please use the 'report' button to flag it, and we can move it as appropriate.  It's better to keep things in one thread that can be moved as needed rather than to encourage people to start a second thread on a different board. 

Section62

neverbuyanewbuild said:

Our home builder has finished the last home in our estate and has put the neighbours garage over our property line. 

The roof is so low that both myself and my husband have to duck when walking down our side of the house.   We cannot open our gate fully    We have sent photos to the builder as well as our own solicitor and the council.  Our solicitor and the council have both responded that this is in fact a trespassing issue.  However. The builder is saying it’s perfectly acceptable. We cannot get them on building regulations but we have a solid case of trespassing as the garage itself (base) trespasses by almost a foot. The builder never sent anyone out to see this issue and has completely fobbed us off.  

So now we have to take them or our neighbours to court.  Anyone had any experience with this? All help and advice is greatly appreciated 

It is common on new build estates for the buildings on one property to overhang another, or for boundaries not to be straight lines.  I suspect your solicitor and the council mean that this could be a trespass (i.e. a civil matter, rather than being criminal or contrary to planning consent) rather than confirming that it is a trespass.  Councils wouldn't normally get involved in determining civil trespass.

You need to check the plans you were given when buying your property, and also check the contract very carefully.  Developers very often give themselves rights to make alterations even after a property is completed and sold, and it may be that even if the garage wasn't originally intended to overhang your property, the developer may be allowed to do so under the terms of the contract you agreed with them.

Also, bear in mind whilst you think the garage is on your land, it is also possible the fence was put in the wrong place and is almost a foot into the neighbour's garden. Again, your contract with the developer may allow them to move the fence to the 'correct' position if a mistake has been made.

So before going down the 'trespass' route, make doubly sure all the facts are correct.