Refusal to sign partwall agreement

[GRP100]

Hi,
I live in a terrace house in E10 Leyton London. The house next door was sold to a so called landlord who lied to me saying he is going to live in the property, this did not happen, he decided to convert the loft I asked for an agreement and he got violent,so I called the council, they did nothing and the loft was converted, it overlaps on my fire wall and is higher than the ridge of the roof. The council have refused to help and this is because this person is of a certain religion and starts to make threats. I want some help please to get this thing taken down or to be able to take this man to court as he has point blank refused to sign any form of agreement and now the loft ext is in total disrepair. Please can any one help PLEASE

Gary

 

[^woody^]

If the work has been completed, then the Party Wall Act is of no use to you

The councils building control dept should check that it is constructed properly, and the planning dept that it has any required planning permission. If the council refuses to act when you think that they should, then complain via their formal complaints system

Otherwise, you'll have to speak with a Solicitor and see if there are any remedies for trespass or suchlike

 

[GRP100]

Dear Woody,
Thank you so much for your reply, it was useful. I have been down all of those routes but still got no help even though the inspectors say it is an illegal construction. It is all because this man is very good friends with our local councilor, and has done this to quite a few people on our estate and got away with it and I want to out a stop to it. Can you help with that one?

Thank you again.

Gary

If the work has been completed, then the Party Wall Act is of no use to you

The councils building control dept should check that it is constructed properly, and the planning dept that it has any required planning permission. If the council refuses to act when you think that they should, then complain via their formal complaints system

Otherwise, you'll have to speak with a Solicitor and see if there are any remedies for trespass or suchlike

 

[^woody^]

The council has a duty to investigate any possible breaches of planning or building control. They cant get out of that

Regarding planning permission, the council has no duty to enforce breaches, and this means that whilst it could be acknowledged that permission was required, if it is not "in the wider public interest" to take action, then they don't have to.

For building regulations, the work must be built in accordance with b/regs. Minor breaches are normally ignored, but enforcement must be taken in instances of H&S, structural or fire safety issues.

Use the councils complaints procedure, and escalate the complaint to the next stage if you are not happy. Once you have exhausted their system then you can take the complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman if need be. But you must go through the councils system first and have a valid complaint

No amount of friends will prevent the council having to formally deal with a complaint and record the process.

Read their complaints procedure, follow it, make sure they follow it themselves, and record everything.

For civil action you need to speak with a Solicitor. Or, if you can find a suitable expert surveyor (as in "expert witness" and who can deal with legal issues) then consider if a report from him would be worth while

 

[Nige F]

Hi,
The council have refused to help and this is because this person is of a certain religion and starts to make threats.
Gary

 

[Peter1919]

You will have more than one local councillor quite possibly there is another one from another political party who will be more than happy to take up your case with the relevant council officers and in the process no doubt expose the apparent corruption of the original councillor

 

[JohnD]

he got violent,so I called the council

violence is a police matter.

It is all because this man is very good friends with our local councilor, and has done this to quite a few people on our estate and got away with it and I want to out a stop to it.

corruption is a police matter.

Proof will be needed.

Local newspapers are always interested

 

[SimonH2]

... it overlaps on my fire wall ..

Are you saying that part of it is actually on or over your property ?
If so, then I believe you are legally allowed to remove it.

 

[GRP100]

Thank you for your information, yes it does come on to my fire wall it part of the side of the loft ext it like a covering and he had brought the side of the ext right up to the party wall so leaving him with no room to put on the protective layer so he has laid over my fire wall. If I could remove this it would really get up his nose as it is now in an appalling state and the sides of the ext is now peeling off. Again thanks for all your help.

Gary Potter

 

[^woody^]

You can't just remove it. It may well be deemed criminal damage/vandalism to his property, and you will be arrested and prosecuted if you attempt to remove part of a fixed structure

Its a complex area, but you will have to go to the county court to prove that the offending item is in fact trespassing on your property. The neighbour may well believe that he has a right to have done what he has done

Its not like just something put or dropped over the garden, which you can pick up and throw back over the fence

 

[SimonH2]

True, you can't "just remove it". Second step would be to send a letter by recorded delivery stating that it's on your property and requiring him to remove it. First step would be to find out what the legal situation actually is - rather than going from what "some bloke on the internet" says !

Then see what the response is.
However, given the previous comments about him getting violent, you'd need to consider what his reaction might be and whether you can deal with that. You can get pens with a tiny camera in them, I'd be tempted to buy one of those and always have it with me if I was "going into battle" with the sort of person the neighbour sounds like. Get him on video making threats and the police might just take an interest.

 

[big-all]

worth contacting trading standards in case they have had any dealings