Can I Force My Neighbour to Give Me Access to Repair my Roof?

Question

I need some advice regarding re-roofing my house. I live in a semi -detached property and need to re-felt my roof. I understand that to do it properly i need to lift a couple of rows of tiles from my neighbours roof so a hidden valley can be installed (i have concrete tiles and my neighbour still has slate).

Unfortunately i do not get on with my neighbour and he is likely to refuse permission for me to do this. Is there anything within the Party Wall Act that i can use to “force” him to give me permission to carry out these works correctly?

Answer

The work that you describe would not come within the scope of the Party Wall Act. Your only option would be to apply for access under The Access to Neighbouring Land Act but that requires a court order.

Alternatively, wait until your neighbour goes on holiday to do the work ;-).