Rights of Owners

Question We have served a Party Wall Notice on our neighbour as we are proposing to build a small single storey rear extension. It does not require planning permission (permitted development) but it may require foundations which go into our neighbour's garden. He has acknowledged the notice and not consented to the work going ahead. He has a ... Read more >>

Question I live in a mid terraced house and my neighbours want to replace the fence between our houses with a party wall.  The wall would be higher than the present fence (a foot or so) and there would be a conservatory coming off it.  The conservatory is small enough to escape planning permission.  However, I want to object to the wall due to ... Read more >>

Question I live in a Victorian terraced house.  We are planning to remove a first floor conservatory which is at the back of the property, and replace it with a double pitch roof – this would be for storage only, ie not a loft conversion, no Velux windows, etc. The back of our property extends quite far back, and we are not looking to extend ... Read more >>

Question Am I correct in thinking that if a neighbour wishes to appoint their own surveyor and not an ‘agreed surveyor’, then I as the person doing the building work have no choice but to accept this, and the neighbour does not need to give a reason? Of course I seem to have the option to agree to use the same surveyor, although if it is one ... Read more >>

Question I have received notice from the Council about my neighbours planned single storey rear extension. Our Victorian houses are adjoining. We fortunately get on well with them. Do I need to appoint a Party Wall Surveyor for my own protection or could we do something less formal? Answer I would suggest that you first ask your neighbour to ... Read more >>

Question I am the property owner who has carried out the works.  My Architect served the PWA letters before commencement (September 2008).  One side signed and the other went in to "dispute". For the dispute, I verbally agreed to use my neighbour's Architect and to pay his fees.  Once the works commenced, I was sent a "draft" PWA via email ... Read more >>

Question We have planning permission for an extension to our house and the side wall extension will lie on the border between our property and the property next door. Having spoken to the neighbour I thought owned the side access and garden on the party wall boundary, I have found that in fact the side access and garden are communal to many ... Read more >>

Question We have recently had some roof repairs done on a flat roof of a terraced house.  This flat roof shares a parapet wall with our neighbour.    As part of this work our builder (unbeknownst to us) put a bit of leading over the parapet to stop water entering the party wall.    Our neighbour, for aesthetic reasons, wants this ... Read more >>

Question I live in an old house (Victorian). At some point in the past (before I bought my property) a house was built onto the side of my property, thus changing what was a semi-detached house into a terraced house.  When the house was built onto the side of my property, the builders did not put up an extra wall, they merely used the ... Read more >>

Question Here is the story. We live in a terraced house and the neighbour next door wants to build an extension at the back of his house. At first he said nothing will be on my side of the boundary which is all fine so long he can build what he wants on his land. Now he is saying that as he wants to have the outside wall ending just on the the ... Read more >>