Neighbour has built their wall half in our garden.

[Poppingmad123]

Thus the wall that is theirs is now a shared wall as its half on our house and half on theirs. Trouble is this now means if we want to make our driveway bigger, we have their wall in the way and can’t just build in our own grounds. Not sure if we can move their wall back to their side. Just don’t understand why they did this (other than greed for more space on their side) but they had plenty anyway.

I am so upset and angry about this. It doesn’t even match our other walls! It’s actually stressed me out so much that I can’t sleep and I’m thinking about this all the flipping time. I see it every time I step out my house so can’t just ignore it. I feel they have ruined the look of my house. I feel really resentful towards them now which I hate but just can’t help it! They never applied for a shared wall (party wall) or went through the process. They just acted as though they didn’t know what they were doing , didn’t seem to understand boundaries etc despite having professional builders. I can’t believe they wouldn’t have advised them. Also what kind of builders build walls not knowing where the boundary between houses is?

I just need some perspective as this is making me somewhat ill. Am I unreasonable for being so upset, is this normal that I’m letting it get to me this much or should I let it go? I know it’s just bricks and mortar but it’s my house! What would you do in my shoes?

By the way, we want to sell our house in the future so don’t want to be in dispute as that would put potential buyers off.

Are you seriously moaning about half a bricks worth of ground? Op, are you quite well?!

Get a grip my love!

This happened to a colleague I worked with (though her husband was the one doing the building) - it cost them (my colleague and her husband) an absolute fortune in the end as he refused to change it.

Thanks everyone. It’s really helpful to hear all your opinions. At least I am not totally batty for being upset about this. Having a hard time letting it go though so I will certainly check if we have legal insurance. I did speak to a surveyor and they said they were happy to write to tell them about this issue for £700 but this paper was not going to enforce anything so I didn’t see the point. Maybe a solicitor would have been a better approach but potentially expensive/money we don’t have.

No we haven’t spoken to them about it. We’re rubbish at confrontation and still need to live here.
Don’t want to share diagram or too much as it would be outing. Checked deeds. Unfortunately they don’t clarify boundaries although it’s visibly obvious.

As for not stopping them at the time, they didn’t tell us what they were doing until the day they starting cutting through our ground! Turns out they planned to build their wall completely in our garden! Hence it got built half way but we had no idea how it would look or had chance to take anything in or consider the future impacts. Just so shocked at the time. They had months planning their driveway and not once did they reveal they planned to build in our garden! We had 5 minutes to take all this in. In hindsight we should have said no, but we didn’t want to fall out, yes, more fool us!

I like the idea of sledgehammer but only in my dreams. I would never destroy another’s property like that. But it is soul destroying for us. Still can’t believe how inconsiderate people can be to not think about the impact their build has on neighbours.

No, we didn't start legal proceedings. The boundary has to be determined before that, we had a boundary surveyor come round to survey the boundary. It is a very complicated process as deeds are mostly unclear where all the boundaries are exactly.

Op do you live in a semi detached house and they have built a wall between the two houses to seperate the drive ways, so it’s a couple of inches into your property?

I doubt a hand drawn diagram of a wall isn’t going to out you 🤣 we have no idea of size of the encroachment at all.

This thread makes no sense to me

I'm so confused. If it's their boundary between the two of you and it's literally half a brick (lengthways) isn't it just a few cm? And wouldn't that be the norm? Or am I not understanding?

Honestly I'd just let it go. The cost of legal proceedings is extortionate and you'll have to declare a boundary dispute with the neighbours if you ever sell. Unless it has made it difficult to park, it's not worth the trouble.

An outing diagram.

I’ve heard it all today!

My neighbour paved her garden and took the paving right up to my edge of the path that dissects our gardens and the middle of the 2ft path of the boundary.
She was told in no uncertain terms to remove the paving slabs on my garden and was told she would be sued if she didn't.
The paving slabs were replaced placing the boundary where it should be.

Wow how wet. You've let them walk all over you. I'd have been telling them to rectify and make good as soon as the problem came to light. As you are moving the lesser of two evils is to hope you can pass thus onto the new owner and what they dont know wont hurt them.

You might have lost your change to argue this if you negotiated with them at the time of the build. It sounds like you gave them permission to build it that way?

Speak to them about it. I was inadvertently the CF neighbour in this case when I was having my garden redone, including a new fence.. My lovely, lovely neighbour sent me a very apologetic text asking if we could please get the landscapers to move the new fence back onto the boundary line as they were planning to put a gate in alongside their garage and they wouldn't have room if the fence stayed on their land. I hadn't even realised and got it corrected straight away, with profuse apologies.

Well, if you won't speak to them and don't want to pay someone to write to them, then there is nowt you can do!

The diagram doesn't need to be outing, you could replace your house with a giant cock or something.

The bit that is on your land - its actually your wall now and not theirs. You can take a sledge hammer to it any time you want. But it sounds like you wont do anything.

You need to either do something about it, or accept you arent and forgive yourself for not wanting to confront them. Dont stew, its not good for you.

That sounds so stressful.

My parents had CF neighbours who built a new wall entirely in my parents garden. Only 20cm deep, but my parents house was about 70cm from the boundary there, so it made the passageway to the side of the house too narrow to walk through. My parents challenged it, and the neighbours had to knock down the wall and rebuild it on their own land. Think they hoped my (already fairly elderly) parents wouldn't do anything, and they'd get away with it

That along with my parents successfully challenging their plans for a huge extension which would have completely cut light into my parents' kitchen meant the neighbours never spoke to my parents again, but my parents really didn't care and had no problem selling the house a few years later (not sure whether it was considered a dispute).

This is why we have planning laws and have to go through a process for building permission.

But I don't know whether by challenging it originally then agreeing a compromise (which you're still not happy with) you've now had your chance.

You guys are seriously wet blankets here

I’d get my ass round there pronto

Squirtle :)

Op this has happened to me too. If it’s any consolation I was there, protested, called the police,cried and got a solicitor to tell me he wanted £10k up front......

It’s really hard.

It’s not too late to write. You will have to say you had no time to reach a considered decision and you would like them to move the wall.

Don’t worry about this particular dispute when selling. Your buyer won’t care. But your neighbours buyer will care very much indeed!

Maybe I don't understand but is this a garden wall on the shared boundary?
I would have though that it as normal to build a boundary wall on the boundary line. And have the wall straddling the boundary, protruding several inches into both gardens?

@Poppingmad123

Thanks everyone. It’s really helpful to hear all your opinions. At least I am not totally batty for being upset about this. Having a hard time letting it go though so I will certainly check if we have legal insurance. I did speak to a surveyor and they said they were happy to write to tell them about this issue for £700 but this paper was not going to enforce anything so I didn’t see the point. Maybe a solicitor would have been a better approach but potentially expensive/money we don’t have.

No we haven’t spoken to them about it. We’re rubbish at confrontation and still need to live here.
Don’t want to share diagram or too much as it would be outing. Checked deeds. Unfortunately they don’t clarify boundaries although it’s visibly obvious.

As for not stopping them at the time, they didn’t tell us what they were doing until the day they starting cutting through our ground! Turns out they planned to build their wall completely in our garden! Hence it got built half way but we had no idea how it would look or had chance to take anything in or consider the future impacts. Just so shocked at the time. They had months planning their driveway and not once did they reveal they planned to build in our garden! We had 5 minutes to take all this in. In hindsight we should have said no, but we didn’t want to fall out, yes, more fool us!

I like the idea of sledgehammer but only in my dreams. I would never destroy another’s property like that. But it is soul destroying for us. Still can’t believe how inconsiderate people can be to not think about the impact their build has on neighbours.

Wait... so it actually did come up before the wall was built and it sounds like you agreed to have it built half on your property? I'm confused.

Very cheeky of them to plan to build the wall in your garden but it sounds like you knew what they were doing and let them go ahead and built it half on your land?

Have had experience of this in the past - get a solicitor to write to them as it is completely illegal. After a couple of solicitor's letters they removed the wall and rebuilt it on their land.

To those saying 'just leave it' - why?! Why let them get away with it? The neighbours are completely in the wrong. I would also be aware that as the wall is on your land, you're now liable for it. If someone was injured by it, or something happened to it, you'd be responsible too.

@SquirtleSquad 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

What was on the boundary line to start with? Was there a fence?