Party Wall Query

[kieranward89]

Good Morning,

Just after some advice after a slight disagreement with the landlord of a property next door. We had a garden wall on our property which was falling down, so we arranged to have the wall removed and a fence put in its place. We told the tenants next door but maybe naively didn't get in touch with the landlord, this was because we were told if the wall is indicated with a T in the officials deeds then that boundary is the sole responsibility of my property. At the bottom of the wall is a small retaining wall, the builders carrying out the work planned to strengthen the retaining wall. The landlord is now trying to dictate exactly how the wall is repaired citing the party wall act, adding considerable cost. Another reason we didn't think it would be an issue is that the landlord built a Dorma over the house party wall without serving us any papers a few years ago. Am i able to proceed with our plans for the wall repair or could this all turn into a legal mess which we really don't want. Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[^woody^]

Boundaries, responsibility for maintaining it, and maintenance or ownership of any wall or fence on it, are all distinct.

ie, a wall is not a boundary.

A wall on your side of a boundary is not a party wall structure or party fence/ wall.

The PWA does not apply to garden walls or fences on one side of a boundary.

You need to be clear on
- ownership of existing things on the boundary
- responsibility for maintenance (which is not implied by ownership)
- the boundary line position

 

[wessex101]

Does the neighbour realise that if it is a party wall/fence then he has to pay half of any repair costs?