Boundary wall - property built now developer wants money for wall

[JeffreyNeedsAHobby]

TIA for any help on this. My dad owns a Victorian property which had a house on the adjoining plot built some time in the 30's. From cobbled together history we think this used to be a grazing area for farm horses, possibly connected to our family. However at some point the land was sold and this new house built. The owner died 5+years ago and the house was sold. The couple who bought it began by chopping every tree down (in an environmental area - no idea how they got away with that) and knocking the old house down. They are now building in Victorian style.

Prior to the works being carried out they mentioned to my father that the wall between the two properties was listing slightly. He agreed to part fund the frontage where at the time it was most obvious. They then came after him, once the house was underway for money for the remainder of the wall and inadvertently sent him a copy of their surveyor's email suggesting brackets be used on their side to support the wall, as the foundations of their new property were close to it and could disrupt it further.

They are now asking for 14k for the wall to be fixed stating it is dangerous. The title deeds do not show who's ownership this wall falls under - there are no T marks or red lines.

As they have decided to build (nearly completed) so close to the wall with advance knowledge of this issue, surely they have to be responsible for the wall they have disrupted? My dad has a surveyor badgering him at the moment but we are suspicious of them for multiple reasons (the new owners, not the surveyor) as he appears to have links with the council...

Any help gratefully received!

I am not a property lawyer but possibly if your father has always been the one to maintain the wall that might suggest liability for it. Perhaps see if you can find out who has actually repaired it over the years (possibly no one and hopefully when your father did those smaller repairs he made it clear he was doing it without accepting any liability he had a duty to do so - that would have been extremely helpful).

Failing that I would just say he does not accept it is his liability, the previous owners used to repair it on the other side (if that is so) and that they should put up the supports on their side which their own expert has suggested and also say you fully reserve your rights to recover damages for damage to the wall (without prejudice to your claim it is not your responsibility) if their works damage the wall as their own expert has suggested their works might damage the wall.

No one really maintained it. Yes he was clear the work on the front was a one off and did not accept liability for the rest. Yes, I think the same - it feels as though they started building almost deliberately without doing work on it to ensure it would need re-doing. They are also suggesting that if they have liability they will knock it all down and put up a wooden fence...is that at all legal? We are in a conservation area and they've done a botch job at the bottom of their garden already after removing an established hedge (managed to annoy 4 neighbours in that process and skim an extra 5 inches from their gardens, plus the fence isn't high enough to block out their new property, etc etc). I think dad would insist they replace like with like, but if it isn't his, can he?

Thank you though Lucky - very helpful. I think my dad is a bit overwhelmed by it as he has received emails saying he has not been neighbourly and it's quite tense. I don't want him to cave in because they are bullying him.

If it is his and they have caused the problem to the wall he could ask them to do the works and then they pay and it should remain a wall. I would very much push to retain the wall. It will look at lot better than a fence. If it is in a conservation area they cannot remove a wall and replace with a fence as far as I know without planning permission for that which may not be granted - perhaps make sure they know that.

If it is not his he could still object. In our conservation area you cannot do work on trees without council permission even if they are not subject to tree preservation orders for example and there is an article 4 direction which limits other works and says eg in our area no new fence without planning consent - it is worth looking on your council website to see what the rules there are.

Yes, that is the same as ours, however he appears to have asked neighbours (he told dad he was "trimming up a few trees at the front" then 6 were taken down! This is partly why we suspect he has links to the council as they haven't fined him or done extra checks since this, among other flouting of regulations.

Unless there is a covenant on the deeds (that he is an original party to) that says he must pay to maintain the wall there is nothing they can do about it. Even if it's his responsibility to repair the wall they can't simply spend £14k and then demand he reimburse them. It doesn't work like that. He should get a lawyer to look at the deeds (or a surveyor) to work out who owns the wall. If it's him who owns it, he should write them a letter thanking them for the new wall, and warning them that if their property causes the wall to list again he will be demanding they repair it.

He should contact the conservation officer and the arboricultural officer at the council and flag up what is going on.

Thank you both. I really appreciate this as they've really been taking the mick and no one has stood up to them yet. I did email the council after they chopped a large yew down as it looked over 100yrs old and was told that as it was gone already there wasn't much they could do.

I've passed on the info to my dad. I think he's scared that if it is unsafe and falls over on someone in the garden they will be able to sue him.

Also councils cannot always act. We have al ot of planning breaches here. One has gone right to court with enforcement action so that worked but 4 others the council has decided are not priorities - there are just so many cases they cannot take them all down which is why we will physically go out there and try stop works before trees are taken down if people do not have consent. I have twice last year been asked to check by a neighbour if another neighbour has permission for tree works just as the works start so we can stop it at the time and we have even had the council come over in some cases to stop works which are just starting before it is too late. One neighbour spent 25,000 on a very expensive new front driveway and the council forced him to rip it all up as he had not had prior permission.

there's no documentary proof that your dad owns the wall - therefore THEY are liable for any repairs THEY need to support THEIR foundations.

They are bullies and need standing up to. Go and speak to the neighbours who have been affected by their landscaping, your dad needs some local support.

Let them claim ownership of the wall and put a fence up - you just respond by planting a hedge to cover the view from your side

put in a formal complaint to the council, report them to the police for intimidation and harassment of your dad. Ignore the surveyor - they can't force you to take action.

i really hate twat neighbours like this - especially when they're new!

Please can I suggest you read up on Party Wall agreements and the Party Wall Act 1996? RICS do have a telephone helpline for the public on their website. www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/professional-guidance/guidance-notes/party-wall-legislation-and-procedure-6th-edition/
There is also quite a good forum at www.gardenlaw.co.uk