The court would presumably look at the value of the property had the encroachment not taken place, and then the value of the property now. The difference would be the compensation due.
Unauthorised building on your property
- Thread starter ikearns
- Start date
The court would presumably look at the value of the property had the encroachment not taken place, and then the value of the property now. The difference would be the compensation due.
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The implication you're making is that anybody can go and seize a piece of land for their use, and worse case scenario is that a judge makes them pay market rate for it? Are you sure that's right?
No.
1. If the OPs friend was aware that the neighbour had started to build the extension partly on his patch, he could tell them to stop immediately and remove the works. If they ignored that and continued building, he could apply for an injunction to stop the trespass, and would in all likelihood succeed.
2. The problem lies in the fact that the OPs friend wouldn't have had reason to know about the work because he was away. But by the same token, he would find it difficult to prove that the neighbour had been sly. The judge is then faced with a difficult decision, and would probably be very wary of telling the neighbour to remove the extension, in the absence of evidence of deliberate wrong doing.
Hence he would probably just award damages and costs
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Okay going to have to be a very brief update on this as a solicitor in civils and property has advised that making public spectacle of the issue might not help the case (even though I have purposely been vague; only mentioned Derby, have not named anyone and also not posted photos even though requested!!).
Local radio had my mate on air yesterday and again later in the afternoon after a few people had called in; he is now the local celeb in the street.
The neighbour didn't come home yesterday evening and my mate has been told that he is staying with family as 'he fears for his safety'; what a crock!
Two builders came round. One was another friend of my mate and the other was as a result of the radio interview. Both have said that the outbuilding does not have proper footings to support the brick structure and it simply has paving slabs underneath it to level the ground. Some of those around the rear of the building have already cracked and show sign of sinking. We are talking a sizeable brick building about 3m x 4m. One gable end if complete brick, as is the rear wall and the other gable end and front wall are about 6 courses high with a timber frame sitting on top.
The builder who turned up as a result of the radio interview says he knows the chap who did the work and says he is a good guy and wouldnt have done this knowing he was going against the wishes of my mate. Whilst we cant say otherwise, why would a builder construct something that was visibly over a boundary?? Also I cant comment on the skills of the builder who done the work but why not put in proper concrete foundations??
All in all it looks like it is going to be a legal mess. The legal advice so far is that a letter will be presented to the neighbour asking him to move the brick gable end 1m so that it is not on my mates property and also allows the fence to be reinstated with no further risk of boundary issues. However from what I saw, if he does this then it will a] cost an absolute arm and a leg to do and will b] make the outbuilding a lot smaller than it is now. The other option is to dismantle the structure completely.
On the basis that there isnt any proper foundations and the paving slabs are already cracking, the solicitor has also suggested that a proper survey is carried out to see if the building is safe and not at risk of moving. There are a few mortar cracks visible but I dont know enough if that is a serious issue.
So whilst I will update where I can, it looks like everything is in my mates favour at the moment and I cant see how the neighbour is going to get around the issue that he has to resolve the issue quickly
Local radio had my mate on air yesterday and again later in the afternoon after a few people had called in; he is now the local celeb in the street.
The neighbour didn't come home yesterday evening and my mate has been told that he is staying with family as 'he fears for his safety'; what a crock!
Two builders came round. One was another friend of my mate and the other was as a result of the radio interview. Both have said that the outbuilding does not have proper footings to support the brick structure and it simply has paving slabs underneath it to level the ground. Some of those around the rear of the building have already cracked and show sign of sinking. We are talking a sizeable brick building about 3m x 4m. One gable end if complete brick, as is the rear wall and the other gable end and front wall are about 6 courses high with a timber frame sitting on top.
The builder who turned up as a result of the radio interview says he knows the chap who did the work and says he is a good guy and wouldnt have done this knowing he was going against the wishes of my mate. Whilst we cant say otherwise, why would a builder construct something that was visibly over a boundary?? Also I cant comment on the skills of the builder who done the work but why not put in proper concrete foundations??
All in all it looks like it is going to be a legal mess. The legal advice so far is that a letter will be presented to the neighbour asking him to move the brick gable end 1m so that it is not on my mates property and also allows the fence to be reinstated with no further risk of boundary issues. However from what I saw, if he does this then it will a] cost an absolute arm and a leg to do and will b] make the outbuilding a lot smaller than it is now. The other option is to dismantle the structure completely.
On the basis that there isnt any proper foundations and the paving slabs are already cracking, the solicitor has also suggested that a proper survey is carried out to see if the building is safe and not at risk of moving. There are a few mortar cracks visible but I dont know enough if that is a serious issue.
So whilst I will update where I can, it looks like everything is in my mates favour at the moment and I cant see how the neighbour is going to get around the issue that he has to resolve the issue quickly
Thank you for the update.
Indeed, and best of luck.
All through this I've wondered why the neighbour would decide to do that - it seems barmy to think "I'll just build into his garden when he's not looking and I'll get away with it".
Are you sure that there's no boundary dispute going on, and that the neighbour's position is that he's built on his land?
He's done it in retaliation for something by the sounds of it - quick build, not spent to much on doing it properly (no footings), and obviously over the boundary even to the casual observer. He'll be fully expecting to take it down but wants to cause as much aggro for the OP's mate along the way as he can.
Is there more to this than meets the eye, perhaps?
If there isn't then IM(admittedly non-medical)O the neighbour must be barking mad.
He's in breach of the Part Wall Act 1996 - legislation set out to protect neighboring properties from such issues so although it's not enforceable it does mention about sending a letter first. If the building is unsafe then get the Local Authority Building Control out to have a look and they might be able to take it further.
In my experience, solicitors are the LAST resort - they WILL, WITHOUT ANY DOUBT - BLEED YOU DRY!
If the structure is unsafe and you have the BC backing it up then it will eventually fail - if it's 'nudged' along then there wouldn't be cause for criminal damage as you have already established it's potential for failure. Once demolished (read accidentally fallen down) then ensure that the Party Wall Act is followed so that an injunction may be sought halting the further work.
As far as the fence and who owns it, the owners side is where the nails are driven home - meaning that the pretty side is on the neighbors side and the ugly side on the owners.
In my experience, solicitors are the LAST resort - they WILL, WITHOUT ANY DOUBT - BLEED YOU DRY!
If the structure is unsafe and you have the BC backing it up then it will eventually fail - if it's 'nudged' along then there wouldn't be cause for criminal damage as you have already established it's potential for failure. Once demolished (read accidentally fallen down) then ensure that the Party Wall Act is followed so that an injunction may be sought halting the further work.
As far as the fence and who owns it, the owners side is where the nails are driven home - meaning that the pretty side is on the neighbors side and the ugly side on the owners.
If he builds over the line again the trespassee can get an injunction whether or not the neighbour has complied with the PWA.
Does it have proper guttering on your mate's side? Maybe your mate can do his neighbour a favour by building an anti-splashback/french drain against the 'foundations' - 2ft deep ought to do it, with some nice membrane and loose gravel.
Oh and stake out a sheet of tarpaulin to catch the wall on it's way down
Oh and stake out a sheet of tarpaulin to catch the wall on it's way down
Just had a thought - as the outbuilding was not within the curtilage of the neighbour's house (unless we are being misled about where the boundary actually is) then it would not have been Class E PD.
Did he apply for Planning Permission?
Might be a way to force him to take it down. Worth a try.
Did he apply for Planning Permission?
Might be a way to force him to take it down. Worth a try.
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