Party wall issue?

[Regis]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but I've got a bit of an issue with a neighbour I can't seem to get a hold of.

Some years ago, my neighbour built an extension and due to the remnants of a coal store wall on my property, built their roof over the top of that wall, and made a bit of a mess of the lead guttering between the adjacent roofs. I never really noticed until now when I'm redoing my own extension and replacing my roof.

If I remove the coal store wall, there will be no place to put the gutter because their rafters extend into my property.

Now, however, a developer has purchased the property and is renovating it for letting. I've tried to speak to the contractors doing the work, but they just nod and make promises to speak to the owner but never get back to me. I don' actually know who the owner is. The coal store wall is crumbling away due to their poor building work from years ago so I need to remove it!

Anyone have any idea how I can get this resolved?

 

[Diyisfun]

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

 

[Regis]

Yeah, I've actually done that and the owner appears to be a sort of conglomerate holding company.

I can write to them and maybe in a year or so my letter might end up in the right department, but what if they never bother to reply? What are my options? Leave it as it is? I can't really cut their rafters but if I take down the wall, it will leave their block wall exposed and there will be nothing to attach a gutter to.

What about the lead gutter between the two pitched roofs? If that has to be replaced, what are the implications of that?

 

[Diyisfun]

You could try the council & ask who is paying council tax.
Maybe a solicitor would be worth it, as if you try to sell your property at a later date you may have issues.

 

[Regis]

So, what are the options? If I find them, ask them to fix it or go in half? What if they refuse? Does it mean I can't fix the gutter Or take down the coal store wall? I'm not clear on how this works.

 

[Diyisfun]

I think I would find them first.
Then explain the problem & see what they say.
I cant help any further.

 

[^woody^]

Push some of the wall down. The owner will soon be in touch.

 

[Regis]

I appreciate the responses.

If I push the wall down, it will leave the concrete block wall exposed. They are already experiencing damp, according to the contractors who I have persuaded to look at it from my side but the conglomerate doesn't seem interested (at least no one has ever got in touch when I give my details to their builder), which is my concern.

My building work is due to start soon, so not sure what to do if I can't get them to respond.

 

[algas]

Stick a hose pipe into their cavity, should bring on a few damp probs for them, they may want to come onto your property to take a look, then you have bargaining power " send your boss " round no one else gets access.

 

[Regis]

Still struggling to get the property owner to contact me - their contractor tells me they’ve given them my number and sent photos. Not quite sure what to do next.

Can anyone tell if this former coal store wall in the photo is a party wall? It’s (mostly) fully on my side. I have no idea why or when this monstrosity of a roof/gutter combo was constructed. Probably more than 10 years ago. It’s definitely not anything I’ve done.

 

[^woody^]

Your deeds will tell you where the boundary is or will imply where it should be. Generally if a wall is on the line between two properties then it's shared and a party wall. If it's on one side of the line then it is likely owned by that landowner.

But party walls under property law are not party walls under the Party Wall Act - which can mean that a wall becomes a party wall where it was not otherwise.

Over hanging gutters and eaves may well aquire an implied easement due to the time period they have been there. So will be allowed to remain unless removed by the neighbour who owns them.

 

[Regis]

So basically, I need a party wall surveyor?

 

[^woody^]

So basically, I need a party wall surveyor?

No, not unless you are seriving notice on the neighbour for work in accordance with the Party Wall Act 1986. And even then, a surveyor may not necessarily be required to be involved, and if they were they would not deal with boundary and ownership issues.

I'm not clear what you want to acheive or what the actual problem is in terms of what work you want to do. But if you are complaining about neighbours building crossing your boundary, then it will be a Solicitor you need and he will advise you about appinting a suitable expert to a report on boundary and ownership.

 

[Regis]

I'm not surprised it's not clear. The builders who came around said they'd never seen anything like it.

For anyone who's interested here's an illustrated view of the problem I am not sure how to solve:

Problem A. - I'm having a new roof on my extension (building at right) and the roofer is suggesting he re-do the valley lead guttering. Is this a party wall bit of work?

Problem B. - When the next door's extension was built 15 years ago or so (building at far left), they made a right mess of it all and next door's contractors have said there's existing water damage, but I can't confirm that since the property is owned by some big company that won't call me back. My builder said they may blame me if I don't get some sort of proof that the damage pre-dates the roof I'm going to have replaced.

Problem C. - When they built the extension at far left, they never contacted me and laid their slates over my old coal store wall (E.), leaving a void between the coal store wall and their extension cement blocks (D.) Those slates aren't actually attached to anything - they just rest on the gutter because there's no battens underneath to nail them to. Crazy weird. Also a nice place for squirrels to nest.

I expect the reason for the damp on their side is a combination of B+C+D. Ideally I'd pull down wall E and they would fix their roof C and brick up the void D, but since they won't contact me back, that's unlikely to happen. If I pull down wall E without them fixing their roof there won't be anything to attach the gutter to, leaving me with potential damp problems. Plus it'll be really ugly 'cause it's just cement clock on their side.

My inclination now is to leave it all as it is and tell my roofer not to touch the valley lead guttering and hope for the best.

At least the squirrels will still have a nice place to live.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Oh the joys of boundaries. Were you living in your place when the neighbours built their extension? Did you object at the time to their trespass?.
Whatever, chasing them in real court will be expensive. I'd be very tempted to rebuild the coalhole wall a few courses higher than it is now- any overhanging timbers, slates etc. belong to the neighbour so should be passed over the wall or deposited on their front step.
Given their reluctance to communicate, I'd also be tempted to open a small claims dispute- you need to claim for whatever it will cost to get rid of their overhang and install some means of surface water disposal from their roof such that it doesn't damage your property (and doesn't land on your property) and any other consequential costs incurred due to their trespass. As long as you have an address for the owner (Land Registry details are fine) then proof of posting is deemed sufficient under CPR. If they ignore it and fail to appear at the hearing then you win, if they fail to pay then you can put a charge on the property to encourage them to pay. Which may screw up their finances massively......Have fun