Boundary rear wall neighbour wants it replaced

Asking for a relative
My brother purchased a house
Rear boundary wall is very old and the rear neighbour is saying.its unsafe.

We sent a builder around and the builder said it needs a few replacement bricks and repointing some brick faces have shalled and it's.lime mortar
As a few bits of the mortar has dropped out.
Neighbour would like a pristine replacement wall
And won't allow us to repair as a good will gesture

He sent a so called structural engineer around who did not show any Id or company details and the neighbour accompanied him on the visit who did not take photos and came armed with a spirit level

Can I get the local council to inspect the wall ?
And if they say it's structurally dangerous
(Which I doubt)
can I take the wall down and replace it with a 3 ft picket fence as the boundary.
The wall in question predates the 1830s
And is around 11ft and made of stone 26 inches thick with a second brick skin on the complainants side. He has also fixed a building to the wall with a.
Lean to roof and channelled lead flashing into it.
Can this be claased as criminal damage as my brother has no paperwork for permission for this building to be attached.

Obviously if it was unsafe he would do something about it but he really thinks the neighbour just wants a nice new wall to match his nice garden.

Thanks in advance

The land owner can do what he likes with his wall, and replace it with what he likes, or repair it how he likes. He is not obligated to do what other people want.

Councils don't inspect walls, but if a structure is reported as dangerous and good reasons given, then they will inspect to see if it is dangerous, but it's not a general survey of its condition to tell you what to do with it. You may be charged if they find it dangerous and call out their emergency contractor.

Anything fixed to another's property without permission is a trespass. But permission can be implied/acquired over time. If unauthorised it can be required to be removed.

But first, ownership of any boundary wall needs to be confirmed. Responsibility for the boundary does not mean ownership of anything on the boundary.

Dicky mint said:

can I take the wall down and replace it with a 3 ft picket fence as the boundary.

Click to expand...

i think it's a very good idea to tell the neighbour (in writing) that you are not aware of any reason to rebuild the wall, but if it is proved to be your responsibility, you are willing to maintain it as you consider necessary; and that if it is officially declared a dangerous structure, you will have it demolished and put up a chicken-wire fence or whatever else you consider appropriate.

[QUOTE="He sent a so called structural engineer around who did not show any Id or company details and the neighbour accompanied him on the visit who did not take photos and came armed with a spirit level[/QUOTE]

So what did the structural engineer's written report say?

As Woody suggested establishing the exact position of the boundary and ownership of the wall is the most important thing. The fact it is a stone wall with a brick skin on one side would suggest that maybe it straddles the boundary with possibly the stone wall being original and the brick skin added later by the landowner on that side?

Oh and the neighbour's building attached to the wall opens another can of worms as that makes it a party wall by enclosure. How old is the building?

Just had update
The neighbour has not been in touch since he sent the fake surveyor around with a spirit level