Neighbour built wall in our garden.

Taboola

Long story short - Our neighbour built a zig/zag wall in our back garden.

The wall was there before we purchased the house and we never saw a huge problem with it. We applied for planning permission for an extension and the plans were drawn to accommodate the wall. The neighbour objected to the plans and we're now redrawing them but I no longer want to accommodate the wall.

I may be being stupid here but to me, on the map (that I got from landdirect.ie) I am assuming the green line is the boundary wall?

We are house B. In the picture you can see where 'C's wall cuts into our garden.



What's the usual course of action here?

goldenhoarde

If it was there when purchased might be little you can do. Doubt it needed planning permission and they may have had approval from the previous owners and may have it in writing

FishOnABike

It's not clear from the picture where the zig-zag wall is and how it encroaches on your garden / proposed extension.

Pat Mustard

That map is not clear to me. I think that I might know what is going on but I can't be sure.

The first thing that occurs to me is that you are treating the land registry folio boundary as conclusive.

The second thing that occurs to me is that you may not be aware of where your boundary actually lies. You may need an engineer to carry out a boundary survey by reference to a copy of the maps which were originally lodged for registration in the Land Registry.

It also occurs to me that you plan to dispute a wall which has already been in existence for some time.

I think that you need to get a advice from an engineer and/or a solicitor.

EDIT: I see green hatching, which refers to leasehold property. Are these local authority houses and if so, where are the deeds or a copy of them? Perhaps there is something about not altering the walls/boundaries?

Taboola

goldenhoarde wrote: »

If it was there when purchased might be little you can do. Doubt it needed planning permission and they may have had approval from the previous owners and may have it in writing

Ah ok so if they have something in writing to say the previous owner gave them permission then I can't do anything?

Pat Mustard wrote: »

The first thing that occurs to me is that you are treating the land registry folio boundary as conclusive.

The second thing that occurs to me is that you may not be aware of where your boundary actually lies. You may need an engineer to carry out a boundary survey by reference to a copy of the maps which were originally lodged for registration in the Land Registry.

It also occurs to me that you plan to dispute a wall which has already been in existence for some time.

I think that you need to get a advice from an engineer and/or a solicitor.

Yes, sorry this is all new to me and I was taking the land registry folio as conclusive. I wasn't aware this isn't always accurate.

I've put a red dot on the map where our back garden is. Just above the dot is where the wall is.



But my understanding so far is that because the wall has been there for some time there's nothing I can do about it. Is that correct?

The other thing is. They have a flat roof and their gutters overhang into my garden. Can I ask for these to be removed?

Pat Mustard

Taboola wrote: »

Ah ok so if they have something in writing to say the previous owner gave them permission then I can't do anything?

It would really depend on what was agreed and if that agreement binds you now. That's a question for a solicitor to answer.

Taboola wrote: »

But my understanding so far is that because the wall has been there for some time there's nothing I can do about it. Is that correct?

The other thing is. They have a flat roof and their gutters overhang into my garden. Can I ask for these to be removed?

Again, it depends. There are a number of issues that could be in play. One might have to consider whether there was permission, what kind of permission, whether that permission binds you now, how long the structures are there, etc. There could be issues in relation to something called proprietary estoppel. These are issues upon which a solicitor could advise but where you might get incorrect advice on the web.

beechwood55

Did your solicitor not pick up on this when you were in the process of buying the house?

Metric Tensor

Agree with all of what Pat Mustard says ... Particularly that one can't rely on land registry maps as conclusive evidence.

Also be aware that not all solicitors who deal in property conveyancing are experts in this specific type of thing ... get good advice!