Would be hugely grateful for any thoughts/advice. We initially consented (by way of informal letter) to our neighbour using our existing garden wall as a party wall in order to extend her kitchen single storey, and roof terrace above this.
We have returned from holiday to find the exterior of her building coming across and over/up the back exterior of our house wall, so much so they removed slate tiles (without our consent or warning) to extend her wall up for the roof terrace.
Very foolishly we have since retrieved the letter which she lists a very confusing set of measurements and vague descriptions, as well as coming over “slightly” (surely this term too vague to be legally standing?) and we signed it.
We spoke verbally with her many times as were friends and she always just spoke about the garden wall and using this, not about the need to go across our boundary line
Seeing this now, and having had our tiles removed without consent (which cant be placed back as she is across the outside of our building) we are not happy.
We have expressed this to her, had meeting with her and builders but she is not budging and has since become emotional- running out in exaggerated/hysterical sobs and then aggressive/hostile to me.
I wander if you feel there is anything in our power to try to stop this and have the bricks taken back so they only go up/use the existing boundary and do not encroach over onto our house exterior?
Or because we initially gave our consent (to a letter we signed after she repeatedly hassled us to sign, going crazy with with a newborn baby (yes no excuse I know…) and we stupidly signed- although we feel it is not worded correctly, we did not date by our signatures and her printed date on the letter was not 2 months before building work started but much less) without fully realising this is what would happen- and now the building work is underway- should we just give up and accept this?
She has been able to widen her house at the expense of coming across our boundary line and we are really not happy about this, now we see the 3-d reality of this and how even smaller it makes our small courtyard garden appear/takes light away from inside.
I if you a surveyor could visit to assess the boundary line and if we have any rights top stop building work and ask her to move 2 brick widths back fully within the lines of the party wall?