Hoping someone can clarify

funnibunni

We have been in our house since 2002, when we bought it had a canopy across the front that we believe was constructed in 1970s, a rear extension constructed in 1988 & a garage to the rear built well prior to 1999.
the rear extension did cross the boundary line, had full planning permission & with the agreement of the then owners aunt who lived next door & had been there since the 1950s 
or now neighbours have suddenly decided that everything in “on thier property” ..(they have been in house for 8 yrs & nothing was raised durning surveys/ searches when the purchase was made
we have had a letter from her saying what she intends to do .. chipping off render etc ..she seems to think we are suddenly going to take her word for things & reduce the canopy etc …recently she decided to remove what she could of a 1m high fence we had constructed post etc on our side of boundary - all done at midnight & caught on cctv  , the police have been involved & have told her to leave us alone ..
today her and her boyfriend have removed what was left - it. Was constructed of decking board & two upright - and taken all wood into her property ,as she did with the other bits ..this has been reported to police …
does she have any standing ? We are desperate to sell our house but worry she is going to cause issues .. so we have no for sale board or told friend s in the street.. I’m finding the who,e thing extremely stressful having just lost my father & waiting to find out if I have cancer 

I would be extremely grateful for any advice 

_Penny_Dreadful

funnibunni said:

We have been in our house since 2002, when we bought it had a canopy across the front that we believe was constructed in 1970s, a rear extension constructed in 1988 & a garage to the rear built well prior to 1999.
the rear extension did cross the boundary line, had full planning permission & with the agreement of the then owners aunt who lived next door & had been there since the 1950s 
or now neighbours have suddenly decided that everything in “on thier property” ..(they have been in house for 8 yrs & nothing was raised durning surveys/ searches when the purchase was made
we have had a letter from her saying what she intends to do .. chipping off render etc ..she seems to think we are suddenly going to take her word for things & reduce the canopy etc …recently she decided to remove what she could of a 1m high fence we had constructed post etc on our side of boundary - all done at midnight & caught on cctv  , the police have been involved & have told her to leave us alone ..
today her and her boyfriend have removed what was left - it. Was constructed of decking board & two upright - and taken all wood into her property ,as she did with the other bits ..this has been reported to police …
does she have any standing ? We are desperate to sell our house but worry she is going to cause issues .. so we have no for sale board or told friend s in the street.. I’m finding the who,e thing extremely stressful having just lost my father & waiting to find out if I have cancer 

I would be extremely grateful for any advice 

Do you have legal cover with your home insurance? If yes, give them a call, if not I think you’ll need to find a solicitor who specialises in property disputes. A strongly worded letter from a solicitor might be enough to get your neighbour to back off. You would however have to declare the dispute when you sell. You might need to anyway since your neighbour has already written to you. 

GDB2222

You may well have an easement, so your property can stay untouched. Your choice is either to pay loads of money to a solicitor, or let the neighbours do what they want.  It’s not clear from your post what the neighbours are doing and how badly this affects you. 

If you agree to whatever the neighbours want, and they do it straight away, that should not cause many issues with the sale, except it seems like you would have less property to sell than you would like. 

Maybe post some pictures?

WIAWSNB

Removing your fence which was on your property is 'trespass with criminal property damage' and theft. Doing anything to the side of your extension would be criminal property damage, and most likely trespass too. 
The good news is that you have already called the police, and they acted to warn them to stop, and you have evidence that they continued. That was extremely foolish of your neighbour.
The police might be slow to respond, but nonetheless should do so, and now escalate the issue. Your task is to ensure they do!
Your contribution is to provide clear and ongoing evidence - well done for having the CCTV.
In all your reports (write out a concise chronological account of everything that's happened, and everything that was said by you both, and referring to the video clips as required), keep everything purely factual and unemotive.
Yes, do also tell the police officer how incredibly stressful this is due to your unfortunate current circumstances, add some facts to emphasise - trouble sleeping, little panic attacks, etc if true - but then don't 'over' egg. Keep the matter as one of a neighbourly situation that needs resolving. That's it.
To remove as much stress as possible, accept right now that this situation is happening, and that your neighb is an 'ole that needs dealing with. And it WILL be dealt with. It will not go away on its own - but you WILL sort it, and put your unpleasant neighbour back in their box.
This will need to be declared when you sell, but it's important it's done in the form of, "it was resolved like this...".
Get a crime ref from the police officer, and then send a 'letter before action' to the neighbour for the cost of redoing your fence. Get three quotes for this, and choose the cheapest as long as you have confidence in the company. Also, deduct the loss of the fence's value if the old one was oldish, and would need replacing at some point in any case,
Ie, you be unscrupulously fair. Leave the 'olery to the other party.
When they don't pay up, then MoneyClaim.gov them, using all your evidence, and the police crime ref. You will win. If they still don't pay, then get the 'Sheriff's Bailiffs' in. 
Teach this twit a lesson. They will feel the stress. Then they will stop.
Ditto re the extension; make clear to them in an evidenced way that if they damage that wall, they will be sued. It is not their property, and they must not touch it without your permission. If they do, you call the police again...
Ok, do they have a point re the rendering? Is it in poor condition - does it need redoing? If so, the right thing would be for you to redo it, as it's part of the upkeep of your property. You can even suggest, as a gesture of good faith, you are open to accommodate their preference of finish - eg, smooth render painted, textured, even clad, whatevs. That's the right and un'olery thing to do. Ie, make your response the polar opposite of their behaviour.
Finally, do you know any of the neighbours from the extension time, or surviving relatives? If so, would they be happy to write a 'Statement of Truth' regarding that permission for the small overlap was given? It's a very simple document. 
You should be home and dry if so. And most likely even without - you will have almost certainly gained a Prescriptive Easement over this time.
Finally, do you have LegProt on your policy? If so, use them as the font of guidance... Contact them now. 

Herzlos

funnibunni said:
the rear extension did cross the boundary line, had full planning permission & with the agreement of the then owners aunt who lived next door & had been there since the 1950s 

How far did it cross the boundary line? Are we talking about the building is to the line, but render/guttering overhangs, or is it further in?

Do you have written agreement of the owners aunt or evidence that it's been there since 1988?

user1977

funnibunni said:

We have been in our house since 2002, when we bought it had a canopy across the front that we believe was constructed in 1970s, a rear extension constructed in 1988 & a garage to the rear built well prior to 1999.
the rear extension did cross the boundary line, had full planning permission & with the agreement of the then owners aunt who lived next door & had been there since the 1950s  

So presumably the extension came up at the time you bought? The planning pemission isn't relevant, what sort of "agreement" was there with the neighbours? You should really have ownership of any land on which your buildings lie, this isn't the sort of thing where you can rely on an informal agreement with an (ex) neighbour.

If the solution was title indemnity insurance then you should be talking to the insurers about what's going on, or risk invalidating the policy.