Party Wall, Party Fence Wall, or Neither?
Discussion
Good morning!
We have been granted planning permission to replace the existing conservatory and garage, yay. The existing garage sits either on, or up to (who knows!?) the boundary, and the eaves/gutters overhang the neighbouring plot. There is a fence attached to the north face of our garage which continues to the north corner of the plot.
The neighbour is, as per most stories, less than desirable and made it very clear when I first moved in that he doesn't welcome any work and will be giving no permissions for anything. Therefore when I planned this work, I told him nothing about it. The first he knew was the consultation period. The new building plans have been drawn in a way that the back wall of our garage, that is on/against the boundary, stays where it is.
What I need to know is if the back wall of our garage is a party wall, party fence wall or neither, so I know if I need to serve any notices. Although the wall will be staying as it is, the roof will need to come off at some point so the new roof can go on.
Any guidance would be appreciate please, as I haven't been able to find anything that makes clear sense so far.
We have been granted planning permission to replace the existing conservatory and garage, yay. The existing garage sits either on, or up to (who knows!?) the boundary, and the eaves/gutters overhang the neighbouring plot. There is a fence attached to the north face of our garage which continues to the north corner of the plot.
The neighbour is, as per most stories, less than desirable and made it very clear when I first moved in that he doesn't welcome any work and will be giving no permissions for anything. Therefore when I planned this work, I told him nothing about it. The first he knew was the consultation period. The new building plans have been drawn in a way that the back wall of our garage, that is on/against the boundary, stays where it is.
What I need to know is if the back wall of our garage is a party wall, party fence wall or neither, so I know if I need to serve any notices. Although the wall will be staying as it is, the roof will need to come off at some point so the new roof can go on.
Any guidance would be appreciate please, as I haven't been able to find anything that makes clear sense so far.
Viperzs said:
OutInTheShed said:
Will your guttering be on his side of the boundary? Is it already so?
The existing guttering on the back wall overhangs. The guttering etc for the extended parts will not overhang as the new walls will be stepped back from the boundary. As others have said that's a party wall. My previous house had a neighbours garden right up to "My wall" which turned out to be a party wall. They extended their house on to this wall, I didn't want it but I had no choice so i went along with it. I was entitled to a surveyor to advise me at their cost which really upset them but they had not done their homework so that's one to watch out for in your case. I originally took advice from the Hillingdon planning department, I met them in person they first off advised me that it wasn't a party wall. I later got a written apology from them, the point being those departments are total cow boys, do your own research!
If I were you I would be quite open with the neighbour and try and keep it on good terms rather than springing surprises. Things can come back and bite you. Having said that some people are unreasonable and that's that.
If I were you I would be quite open with the neighbour and try and keep it on good terms rather than springing surprises. Things can come back and bite you. Having said that some people are unreasonable and that's that.
Thanks for the confirmations, I'll start reading the details of party wall agreements again!
Mr Pointy said:
If the roof is coming off presumably the guttering will need to be replaced, so will that give your neighbour an opportunity to object to it being over the boundary line?
For the guttering on the rear wall it would only be a replacement of existing, and not increasing any overhang so I suspect that should be fine. The builders might be able to leave the gutters where they are and just take off enough roof to be able to change the pitch as required. Aluminati said:
He’ll be a lot of fun come scaffolding time….
Yep, that'll be interesting. The builders have said that if he doesn't give permission to be on his land to do it, or is generally awkward, they'll still be able to do it, some aspects might not look great such as the pointing. If it's on the side facing him, that suits me fine! He's the typical cul-de-sac nimby, always getting involved in what everyone else does even when it has no impact on his life. I'm so excited...
blueg33 said:
Its a party wall. Serve notice under the act.
Best to appoint a party wall surveyor and get him to sort it. Reduces neighbour issues.
This is the right advice.Best to appoint a party wall surveyor and get him to sort it. Reduces neighbour issues.
RICS guidance note on party walls may be useful to you. They also publish a list of qualified party wall surveyors by region.
https://www.ricsfirms.com/residential/legal-issues...
Remember that, as the developing party, you are obliged to pay the reasonable costs of the adjoining party's PWS and the costs of the so-called third surveyor.
Edited by ClaphamGT3 on Saturday 20th April 08:33
Jeremy-75qq8 said:
I am surprised that it is a party wall given it is the op garage.
Not saying others are wrong just I am surprised.
If it forms part of one landowner's building and sits astride a boundary, it's a 'Party Wall Type A'. If it separates buildings owned by different landowners, it's a 'Party Wall Type B' (and if it doesn't form part of a building it's a 'Party Fence Wall').Not saying others are wrong just I am surprised.
For obvious reasons, they are treated slightly differently by the legislation, but they all fall within it's scope.
Remember the act is designed to enable works - in this case he can make it hard work, but he can’t stop you.
Don’t try to be clever to avoid triggering the act - build what you want and use the act for what it’s designed for - to manage construction on the boundary. The fees here shouldn’t be punitive.
I would be asking your PW surveyor to politely make the point to him that it’s in the neighbours interests to allow good access, given that the alternative is that he looks out at a wall that’s been built over hand for the next 20 years..
Don’t try to be clever to avoid triggering the act - build what you want and use the act for what it’s designed for - to manage construction on the boundary. The fees here shouldn’t be punitive.
I would be asking your PW surveyor to politely make the point to him that it’s in the neighbours interests to allow good access, given that the alternative is that he looks out at a wall that’s been built over hand for the next 20 years..
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