Advice needed!

[Kolakubez07]

Hi there,

My aunty and her partner currently live in a 'semi detached' house. I put semi-detached for a reason in quotation marks.

The property my aunty is in does have a garage attached, but the neighbours who are detached have added a garage to their property but attached it to my aunty's property and the guttering is now running through the inside.

Therefore, my aunty's 'semi-detached' house is no longer semi detached, she is now also registered disabled and the only exit point from the house is the front door. They can go through the garage to the backgarden and vice versa, but as she heavily relies on a walker this is not an option for her due to lose boxes and the garage being a storage room like most garages are, so if the fire was in the front of the house she can only get in to the back garden via the kitchen but then no clear route for moving from there especially on her own as she wouldnt be able to lift her walker over the step into the garage or lift the garage door.

Anyway, the neighbours are now wanting to do another extension on to the rear of garage and also make it higher - she is consulting with a solicitor about this but just wondered if anyone would have any ideas about this garage being suitable under building regulations in the first place?

 

[Kolakubez07]

Just to make it more visual to understand... My aunty's house is 2, the house who built the garage and now wanting to extend at the rear is 1 and the gardens to the rear back on to other gardens so no exit points this way either.

 

[Diver Fred]

Party Wall Agreement needed. But garage foundations are not necessarily as deep as house foundations - that strikes me as a lot of work and could affect your Aunties garage as well.

 

[Diver Fred]

I can see problems already.
Their existing garage wall and foundations is most likely on your Aunties property unless that have suitable arrangements including PWA. May even be using your Aunties garage foundations.
How is the surface water dealt with in the val!ey. Who keeps it clear?

A part of the agreement to the work is resolve the surface water (that is the rain water) disposal from your Aunties garage roof. I'd say as part of the work is they have to change the direction of fall in your Aunties garage roof - in fact I'd that should have been done when the neighbours erected their garage.

 

[Kolakubez07]

Hi there, thanks for your speedy response, My aunty has just phoned and is also sourcing advice from a local builder as well as a solicitor...

Said neighbour wanting to extend (1) had extended the garage to my aunty's and also because they didnt want the guttering in their garage, despite it them having it extended, the guttering is in my aunty's garage which is also causing issues too...

Just thought I'd jump on the forum and see what other people thought.. (I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to building and extensions) so any info that I can pass on is good.

Like I say they are seeing a solicitor monday to view the deeds and get some advice, but I believe that the extended garage is on my aunty's foundations.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Said neighbour wanting to extend (1) had extended the garage to my aunty's and also because they didnt want the guttering in their garage, despite it them having it extended, the guttering is in my aunty's garage which is also causing issues too...

If the gutter projected over the boundary, that was reasonable - if not, then it should have stayed put.

 

[Kolakubez07]

Hi Harry, the neighbour I believe had the garage made wider, so my aunty's at the time didnt have the gutter (all this was done, before they bought the house and moved in from what I can gather!) so the guttering the neighbours didnt want it going through the extended garage so had to be put in my auntys.

 

[Diver Fred]

Was there a PWA made when the neighbours garage built?
So when the neighbours garage was built they took the gutter down on your aunties garage. Built up to your aunties garage on reasoning that it stops a 4 to 6 inch muck trap and damp walls.
What I cannot see from your pictures - cause your black line obscures it - is the replacement an attempt at a valley gutter although it sounds like a bodge. Valley gutters are not a job regularly undertaken by Builders/Roofers so it's easy to have a bodge job.

Hi Harry, the neighbour I believe had the garage made wider, so my aunty's at the time didnt have the gutter (all this was done, before they bought the house and moved in from what I can gather!) so the guttering the neighbours didnt want it going through the extended garage so had to be put in my auntys.

Who moved in first? your aunty or the neighbours? did the existing neighbours build the garage?

 

[Kolakubez07]

My aunty moved in after... the existing neighbour extended their garage to aunty's

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

My aunty moved in after... the existing neighbour extended their garage to aunty's

Judging by the vertical line in the brickwork....

Neighbour's roof discharges over aunt's roof, and so extending over the boundary. That would suggest to me, that the gutter would need to be located in neighbour's garage.

 

[^woody^]

My aunty moved in after... the existing neighbour extended their garage to aunty's

Then she probably has accepted the arrangement. Consult a solicitor specialising in land and property law.

For any future work on or near the boundary, the Party Wall Act may apply. Research that. Whilst this won't stop work, it can control how it is carried out.

Planning permission may apply. Again research that, or post specific details of proposed work.