Confused about whether is a boundary wall or nothing of the sort, please help!

lincroft1710

For a start it is not a back wall, but a side wall. It is not a party wall. The wall would appear to denote the left hand boundary of your property and usually would wholly belong to you and nothing should be attached to it without your permission (or that of a previous owner). 

christineperseus

and you definately don't want the ivy climbing up your wall.

Misthios

lincroft1710 said:

For a start it is not a back wall, but a side wall. It is not a party wall. The wall would appear to denote the left hand boundary of your property and usually would wholly belong to you and nothing should be attached to it without your permission (or that of a previous owner). 

Thank you so much for the response and the information you have provided. You are correct, it's the side wall and not the back wall. My English is not very good.

Misthios

christineperseus said:

and you definately don't want the ivy climbing up your wall.

Yes, they have scarred the building, and I had to repair holes there. Ivy went up to the gutter and the vents. I need to look into it as a civil matter, I suppose, because I think it is fair that the neighbour should repair the damage to the vents and paint the walls. We've been away for business for a year and a half, and we found the house in that state after the ivy was removed.

Misthios

Jellynailer said:

I suspect the neighbour may have built the extension without planning permission - check with your local authority or to keep on good terms pretend concern about damp and ask to see their plan.  Also check whether your deeds provide for access for maintenance purposes {mine do).

You are correct and this is what I did. I explained to them that I can't have my house's wall covered in soil and dampness. Why they don't build it on their wall instead?  They refuse to remove the stone/cement raised bed. My deeds provide access the maintenance but since they refuse to remove it so I contacted the council and they replied as follows:

''We can investigate the stone/cement raised flower bed which you refer to, however the investigation will not include whether any damage has been caused to your property or whether any party wall agreement should have been in place as these are a civil matters. What we would look at is whether the works constitute development and if so, whether planning permission is required. If we identify a breach of planning control we will then consider what, if any action, is required. ''.

Am not sure if they will take into account if the neighbour has the right to build on my wall or ask them to remove it but just if the neighbour needed planning permission to build it. It doesn't make sense to me. 

lincroft1710

Planning permission only looks at what complies with or contravenes the current planning policy of the council and any planning laws. It does not look at whether the applicant for PP has the right to carry out what is proposed.


For example I could apply for PP to demolish your terrace of houses and replace with a 3 storey apartment block. If my plans complied with planning law and local planning policy I would be granted permission despite not owning the houses.

Misthios

lincroft1710 said:

Planning permission only looks at what complies with or contravenes the current planning policy of the council and any planning laws. It does not look at whether the applicant for PP has the right to carry out what is proposed.


For example I could apply for PP to demolish your terrace of houses and replace with a 3 storey apartment block. If my plans complied with planning law and local planning policy I would be granted permission despite not owning the houses.

That's crystal clear, thanks so much. 

ThisIsWeird

Misthios said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Misthios said:

The main reason I am asking is, can the neighbour build or attach anything on my house's back wall without my permission?

Are they wanting to build an extension of attaching trellis or such to the wall?

@Doozergirl will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe an extension should be built right up to the wall so there's no gap because if there were a tiny gap it would be impossible to maintain the two walls either side of said gap.

If they are attaching trellis or such then no I don't believe they can do so as it's your house/wall but some more knowledgeable posters may advise otherwise  

Thank you so much. Well, I figured out that they have attached a trellis and built a stone/cement made raised bed 2 metres long, 70cm high and filled it with soil and plants all these attached to my house's wall. so my house's back wall is covered in soil and dump. So I am trying to figure out since my house's back wall is in their garden there's no fence or wall between me and the neighbour, is my house's back garden considered a boundary wall? Is the neighbour considered an adjoining or neighbouring property? 

Well if they want to go for an extension, again is that a party wall? Which I don't think so but not sure? 

No, they cannot attach anything to that wall such as trellis, or planters, or build up a level of soil against it - basically anything that could cause damage to your property.

Do you have Legal Protection included in your home insurance? Cool - call them up for guidance, and possible action.

As to whether it's considered a 'party wall' for the purposes of building a proper extension on to it, I'm really not sure. I think you can refuse, but the issue then could become one of an unusable, inaccessible, and debris-filled gap between the two of you. 

I still do not understand what is the extent of your property from these plans. There are three bits edged in red - what are these? Do you have a garden? If so, where is it on that map? I've asked you to check the pavement - does it have a kink in it where it changes direction slightly? If so, is there anything else there that could be a guide as to where your actual boundary ends up?

Jellynailer

Misthios said:

Jellynailer said:

I suspect the neighbour may have built the extension without planning permission - check with your local authority or to keep on good terms pretend concern about damp and ask to see their plan.  Also check whether your deeds provide for access for maintenance purposes {mine do).

You are correct and this is what I did. I explained to them that I can't have my house's wall covered in soil and dampness. Why they don't build it on their wall instead?  They refuse to remove the stone/cement raised bed. My deeds provide access the maintenance but since they refuse to remove it so I contacted the council and they replied as follows:

''We can investigate the stone/cement raised flower bed which you refer to, however the investigation will not include whether any damage has been caused to your property or whether any party wall agreement should have been in place as these are a civil matters. What we would look at is whether the works constitute development and if so, whether planning permission is required. If we identify a breach of planning control we will then consider what, if any action, is required. ''.

Am not sure if they will take into account if the neighbour has the right to build on my wall or ask them to remove it but just if the neighbour needed planning permission to build it. It doesn't make sense to me. 

It is not just planning permission required for the extension but also building control  - which works to building regulations including proximity to neighbouring property.  I don’t think it could be deemed to be a permitted development unless it was built more than 10 years ago (because it extends more than 50% of the width of the house and is too close to the road(.  The planners can invite the neighbour to make a retrospective application but then the building control process would then kick in.  Hope this is helpful. 

ThisIsWeird

Jellynailer said:

Misthios said:

Jellynailer said:

I suspect the neighbour may have built the extension without planning permission - check with your local authority or to keep on good terms pretend concern about damp and ask to see their plan.  Also check whether your deeds provide for access for maintenance purposes {mine do).

You are correct and this is what I did. I explained to them that I can't have my house's wall covered in soil and dampness. Why they don't build it on their wall instead?  They refuse to remove the stone/cement raised bed. My deeds provide access the maintenance but since they refuse to remove it so I contacted the council and they replied as follows:

''We can investigate the stone/cement raised flower bed which you refer to, however the investigation will not include whether any damage has been caused to your property or whether any party wall agreement should have been in place as these are a civil matters. What we would look at is whether the works constitute development and if so, whether planning permission is required. If we identify a breach of planning control we will then consider what, if any action, is required. ''.

Am not sure if they will take into account if the neighbour has the right to build on my wall or ask them to remove it but just if the neighbour needed planning permission to build it. It doesn't make sense to me. 

It is not just planning permission required for the extension but also building control  - which works to building regulations including proximity to neighbouring property.  I don’t think it could be deemed to be a permitted development unless it was built more than 10 years ago (because it extends more than 50% of the width of the house and is too close to the road(.  The planners can invite the neighbour to make a retrospective application but then the building control process would then kick in.  Hope this is helpful. 

I don't think an extension has been built, only constructions such as planters and trellis.
An extension could become a future issue, but is currently not.
Aiui, Misthios is concerned about damage being caused to their wall by the growing ivy and constructions such as trellis and planters.
It would have been useful to have seen these constructions - have you taken photos of them? If not, you should, in case this needs escalating.
Ok, a few wee issues here;
1) As you've said, you do (everyone does) have the right to gain access to another property in order to carry out repairs and maintenance, if that is the only reasonable means if doing so - as in this case. Usually, you'd only need to ask politely, agree a mutually-acceptable day and duration, and then leave their property unaffected. Sometimes, you need to force the issue, and this will require a court order - a pain. 
2) Since you have the right to access, then this allows you to keep any ivy growth under control. Yes, it would be nice if the neighbour, now that they are informed that you don't want ivy, to carry out the simple task of stopping any further growth in its tracks, but TBF I don't think that's their responsibility. Unless, if course, they planted it! Did they? So, if that is 'natural' ivy, then I wouldn't threaten them with action over damage to your house. From now on, either they help you by keeping further growth away, or you need access to do so.
3) We still don't know where the true boundary lies. It could either be along that diagonal 'boundary' line, or it could be straight along your end wall. However, even for the latter situation, your 'plot' - I could well be wrong here... - includes your roof overhang, so that means you at least own a 4-5" strip of ground along the base! Worth downloading a copy of their deeds, too - £3 from the LR. But don't bank on it.
4) They cannot, simply can not, attach anything to your wall without your permission. You can force them to remove it, certainly if there's any possibility of it causing damage. If you have LegPro, this should be straightforward, as your agent will know it should be a completely winnable case. Not only should they not attach anything to your wall, but they are theoretically 'trespassing' in order to do so; this could be 'trespass with criminal property damage', the key scary word being 'criminal'. Your LegPro should have fun putting the scaries on to your neighb if they aren't compliant - I can't see many folk being ready to risk a criminal conviction.
5) Obvs if you need to go this far, you ain't getting a Chrimbo card. But, you do need to do what is necessary to protect your house. You just do. They are the ones in the wrong. Once you inform them in an evidenced manner of the risk of damage, then they are liable should the worst happen. If that ivy is 'theirs', for example, and they allow it to grow again, then they would be liable.
6) I would be hesitant to pursue any action due to the old ivy, for the reasons I gave before. But, your neighbour does need clear information of what they can, and cannot, do close to your wall, and what the consequences will be if they breach this - all done nicely, of course, and under the guidance of your LegProt. If no LP, then get advice from, say, CAB on how to compose 'putting on notice' or 'cease and desist' letters in the correct manner.
6) A quite different issue will be if they wish to build an extension to their house which will encroach on your wall - I have no idea what could happen then. But that isn't being mooted anyway? If they wish to build a detached 'outhouse' there, then I understand that the usual Planning rules will apply, and that includes a min distance from boundaries - 1m?