Hopefully one of you legal buffs can shed some light on this.
My neighbour reckons the wall between our property is NOT a party wall as it's on his side of the boundary but the party walls act is confusing and almost contradicts itself:
Party wall type (b)
A wall is also a "party wall" if it stands wholly on one owner's land, but is used by two
(or more) owners to separate their buildings (see diagram 4).
An example would be where one person has built the wall in the first place, and
another has built their building up against it without constructing their own wall.
Only the part of the wall that does the separating is "party" - sections on either side or
above are not "party".
The Act also uses the expression "party structure". This is a wider term, which
could be a wall or floor partition or other structure separating buildings or parts of
buildings approached by separate staircases or entrances for example flats (see
diagram 5).
Walls that are not Party Walls:
These may include boundary walls (a fence wall/garden wall built wholly on one
owner’s land) and external walls (the wall of a building built up to but not astride the
boundary).
So is it a Party Wall type b or not a party wall?
*their house was extended about 50 years ago and we built a conservatory against it 8 years ago. We now have a dispute and he's saying we'll have to pull our conservatory down.....
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Comments
I think the 'Not a Party Wall' bit refers only to an extension built right up to the boundary which hasn't subsequently been used by a neighbour. It looks like the rule is that the moment a neighbour builds something against it (as you have done), it becomes party. Your neighbours ran the risk of you building against their wall when they built it in the position it's in. If they objected to your conservatory they should have dealt with that before you built it 8 years ago.
ps Bitcoins are the new GOLD!
Best I retire gracefully?
Sometimes, it depends on how much you value your relationship with your neighbour.
A few things occur to me though. Regardless of what the plans say, is it actually 3' from the boundary? And have you got the plans for your conservatory? If so, that might tell a different story.
I'd suggest you look at the physical structure to see if you are genuinely 3' into his property. Even if he's absolutely right, it seems a bit weird that he wouldn't have objected to your building 8 years ago, yet now he's telling you to pull the fecker down.
I suspect that, regardless of the distance to the boundary, he's been caught out by your 'party wall type b' definition and he's trying to bluff it out.
Like I said before, I'm no expert, but it reckon you're in the right and I don't think he can make you pull your building down.
Anyway, for the curious: We got back from holiday to find they have had their extension reroofed. The old roof had a neat finish level with their wall. The new roof sticks out over our conservatory and looks shite.
After showing me his plans he agrees it doesn't look too clever and has said he'll get them back to tidy it up and hopefully cut it back a bit. Last thing we want is to feed solicitors for months.
Why does he want you to pull your conservatory down if he's just had his extension re-roofed?
Tit for Tat.
Also, looking at your picture, you obviously did mean inches, not feet, which makes it all the more laughable - the 'party wall type b' you mentioned earlier says the wall is 'party wall' but anything above or built on either side is not. Therefore, the roof of your conservatory is yours, his structure is partly on your property without permission and he should sort it out and shut the fuck up. From what others are saying, the law is on your side here.
The real issue here is that your neighbour has carried out work on a party wall (and without doubt the wall between their extension and your conservatory is a party wall, then the re-roofing has been carried out illegally.
Before any work can be carried out on the party wall, then a notice has to be served on you so you can either agree to the work or raise any issues and concerns you may have to the work going ahead.
It doesn't mean you can be unreasonable and prevent any kind of work on the party wall, but it at least gives you the opportunity to raise your concerns. The 1996 Act is really quite clear on this, despite the legalise.
You are 100% in the right to request that the finish of his new roof stops at your conservatory. He has to apply for a party wall award to determine exactly what work he is entitled to do - so the Act applies to his improvements, rather than what exists already. A building owner proposing to start work covered by the Act must give adjoining owners notice of their intentions in the way set down in the Act. Adjoining owners can agree or disagree with what is proposed. Where they disagree, the Act provides a mechanism for resolving disputes.
From what you have said, you've had no such notice.
By the way, any development carried out without planning permission, requires to be in place for 12 years without being queried, before it's accepted.
Got the same myself with a bitch who moved in and replaced some of my garden fence.
Sadly the law is crap and only lines the pockets of lawyers.
I know that when we built our extension it came under permissible build and although the planning department of the council needed to be informed and plans submitted they said extensions or conservatorys that were not double or over x amount of meters came within that guideline
Our neighbours on both sides already had one
But the neighbour to my right had an extension and then had extended it again with a wooden lean too building that had windows that faved into my garden but were on the side of his addition to the extension
He tried to complain that my extension would block his window and he was correct my extension would cover two thirds of his window on the side of his house
When he complained to the council that told him he had no right of complaint as he hadn't sought permission for his addition however that because they had t discovered it within 5 yrs of it being built he could have it remain
However there was nothing he could do to stop our build
The RICS have a Party Wall helpline which will provide you with 30 minutes free advice on what you can do. They've heard of all the ruses before to get over the serving of a PW Notice and will put you in the right direction as to officially writing to your neighbour to rectify the issues. 02476 868 555
Although this Act only came out in 1996, it's been operating in London for over 100 years, so there's not a lot the RICS haven't dealt with.
Brilliant stuff.
Addickted parties on walls every night if anyone knows how to party on a wall it's addickted
What a night!