Party Wall, Party Fence Wall, or Neither?

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.

Will your guttering be on his side of the boundary? Is it already so?

its a party wall, PWA applies.

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.

He’ll be a lot of fun come scaffolding time….

Access to Neighbouring Act

That is for maintainence not building sadly.

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').

For obvious reasons, they are treated slightly differently by the legislation, but they all fall within it's scope.

Does PWA still apply if you bring the wall in by a foot or so?

I know you'd lose a bit of space inside, but may be a small price to pay if you can bypass PWA/your neighbor all together?

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..