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Ctbaines
Posts: 1 Newbie
Our garden is raised up approximately 5ft higher than our neighbours garden + separated by a wall which is supporting our garden. All the homes to one side of us are at the same level, the other side they are all lower & have basements below their house. The bit of the wall which is above ground level is deteriorating & we were concerned it may be unsafe,so contacted our council as the house next door is empty + not been occupied for 6yrs (it's in a bad state). When we bought the house we were under the impression that this wall was our neighbours responsibility, we have maintained the walk on the other side of our garden.
Who is responsible for this wall??
Can the owners (not living there) simply remove it and not replace it? This would leave us with a 5ft drop into their garden ( we have 2 small children + a dog)
Who is responsible for this wall??
Can the owners (not living there) simply remove it and not replace it? This would leave us with a 5ft drop into their garden ( we have 2 small children + a dog)
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Comments
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your deeds / title plan should have T marks indicating who is responsible for each boundary line
if they don't then you are out of luck since it sounds an expensive job so trying to rely on "convention" that the householder is responsible for the boundary on their left hand side when viewing the house from the front will be dependent on cooperation from your apparently absent neighbours.
why do you think the council should be involved when next door is privately owned?
radical thought - if it bothers you that much then hang the cost, fix it yourself, since you are the one complaining.0 -
If there's no indication of who owns it in the title documents of either property, then you could also look carefully to see if it is built in line with, or to one side of the party wall.
In the absence of any clues, legal or physical, I'd suggest it will be viewed as your wall, as it's retaining your land, not the neighbours'. It might also be protecting your foundations too, so you have the greater motivation to keep it in good repair.0 -
'T' marks on Title plans are rare.
Assumptions about ownership being 'on the left' (or right!) are an urban myth.
Ownership of a fence/wall lies with the person who paid for/erected it.
Boundary responsibility is often based on historic precedence and or mutual agreement.
Council would only care if it was council property or a threat to health 'n safety.
You are worried about your land and your family - your neighbour does not care or (perhaps) even exist.
Fix it yourself.0 -
There are two potential problems here:
1/ it'll all give way and your house will follow it.... that's something to delve into deeds about and get on top of.
2/ with an open border your dogs/children might fall down there.... that's something easily fixable by you with you installing your own fencing/bush along that side. This is easily done by you and, as it's been empty 6 years, I'd go down that route.0 -
Hi
I would contact your Council to see if they have an Empty Properties team. They could try to trace the owners to either get tenants in or the house sold.
It may not solve your wall pro elm but it could help someone who needs a home.Find out who you are and do that on purpose (thanks to Owain Wyn Jones quoting Dolly Parton)0 -
I'd go for a combination of posts 5 and 6.
If the Council Empty Properties Team takes on the responsibility for this property - then, logically, they'd need it to be safe for anyone living in it (ie the wall not collapsing down onto their heads). So, if it is the responsibility of that house - then it would be down to them.
I believe there is also the question of "Which house came first?" when it comes to who deals with retaining walls. Worth checking if that's the case and, if so, which of your two houses got built first. I "think" it may be the case that if their house was the 2nd one built that the retaining wall would have been put there in order to be able to build their house (thus making it their responsibility). I can't be sure on that one - but worth checking if theirs is the "2nd house built" to see.
Re the owners of the house simply being able to remove the wall - that would mean them going against the legal position of your property has a "right of support" (can't recall the exact legal terminology) of your ground and they can't just do that legally.0 -
Found info. re that "right of support" for your property.
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Right_of_support0
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