Neighbour Builders - Access through house

[keyboardwarrior1]

My elderly father lives in a terrace of houses. Access to all the gardens is only possible through the houses themselves.

His neighbours want to build an extension to their home. This will come right up to the boundary between the two properties. They have told him/me that their builders will need access to his garden through his house for the duration of the build and that he is legally obliged to agree to this.

DF is in his 90s and has dementia. This will be profoundly disturbing for him. Does he have the right to refuse access?

I have suggested to the neighbours that they demolish part of the wall between the two gardens. This would allow their builders to access his garden to do any necessary work on his side but would not require them to enter his house. This would be bad enough, but they have said they do not want to do this. My suspicion is that they are not keen on builders having unfettered access to their home while they are out and are trying to see if they can use DF’s home as a solution.

I am actually so p off that I am now tempted to give them a flat NO.

Is that really legal? I can't believe it would be.

Er... I'm pretty sure there is no legal obligation. Not a legal expert but this just seems like common sense. Unless there is some kind of easement or right of way written into df house deeds and I have only seen this over land not through someone else's HOUSE!!

It can’t be legal. Even your own landlord doesn’t have unfettered right of access. They sound like absolute dicks.

Bumping for a legal person to hopefully see.

Ask them to provide you with the legislation they are referring and make sure you allude to your concern that they are trying to take advantage of a 90yr old with dementia to make their lives easier

I'm not entirely clear on the law, but the neighbours sound like major cheeky fuckers.

have they given party wall notice and has a surveyor given their opinion?

tbh after speaking to a party wall surveyor I would give to them in writing that you don't allow access through the house but that you allow them to temporarily create access through the garden wall which will need to be reinstated within 6 months time.

They have told him/me that their builders will need access to his garden through his house for the duration of the build and that he is legally obliged to agree to this.

^No, no and no! He is not legally obliged to do anything.

They have mentioned the Party Wall Act 1992 but my reading of that is that it refers to existing party walls - not walls that do not currently exist. Also it would not be a party wall.

Absolutely DO NOT grant access through the house. It would be dreadful for your poor father and leave him very vulnerable. You know what builders are like for leaving front doors swinging open.
It's bad enough having someone else's builders in your garden, believe me (I've been there). Given your fathers vulnerability I would deal with it through a solicitor to be honest and negotiate garden access for a limited time with clearly set out financial penalties for overrunning. But don't let them have access through the house.

sorry that should read 1996

Does he have legal cover on his house insurance? I would get a solicitors letter drafted up telling the neighbours to stop harassing your father.

They need to provide you with a party wall agreement and pay for your representation. You do not give them access for anything. It has to be built from their side. They can fuck off

Might they be asking for something off-the-scale-cheeky to distract you from what they’re doing with the extension itself? So that you’re so busy going “no! You can’t come through the house!” that you forget to check the extension plans and party wall agreement and so on?

They are totally trying to keep the builders out their house. If it needs to happen they climb over the wall and do that. They don’t step foot in his home

@JellyBabiesSaveLives has a really good point about distraction

I would check they are allowed to build right up to the boundary.
We had a builder come at the weekend to quote for an extension on our house and he said we would not be able to go up to the boundary because we had to leave room for the foundations as they stick out further than the wall. A bit like a upside down T shape if that makes sense.
Non of what they have told you sounds legit.

I am not a lawyer.

But.

I understand that the neighbours would need a Party Wall Agreement with your DF to be able to build right up to the boundary.

I don't believe there is any law requiring someone to give access through their house for works on another house, (except possibly in the case of emergency works like a gas leak). Certainly not an optional extension.

Does your DF still have his faculties? If he has dementia, do you (or anyone) have any kind of power of attorney from him, the power to act in his interests and make decisions on his behalf? Giving you (or that other person) the power to discuss the matter, see what might be feasible, and also ensure that neighbours are aware that they will not be able to just ride roughshod over a vulnerable person.

If not, is there any way to show that he does not have sufficient capacity to make decisions of this sort, and the neighbours would have to apply to the courts for the decision to be taken on his behalf?

In short, if neighbours want to build an extension to their own home, it is THEY, the NEIGHBOURS, who need to put up with the disturbance and be discommoded for the duration. Your DF would likely get disturbed enough even as a neighbour without people going through - when the builders need access to the side and thus into his garden for example, and just the noise and dust in general. But that doesn't mean he should be completely disrupted in living his life in his own home for their future benefit.

I'm not legally qualified but I've just had a read through the Party Wall Act and I'm failry sure it doesn't apply. If he is building only up to the boundary it won;t be a party wall. A party wall has to be agreed to by both parties after being served a notice and the wall is built half over one side and half over the other side. There is then the right to enter a property etc to make essential repairs etc stipulated in the act.

I’m a legal person - there is absolutely no requirement for him to allow access to his garden. Either through his house or via their garden.

Please make sure there is a party wall agreement in place before any work starts.

www.gov.uk/guidance/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance

Actually the frightening thing about this is that it does imply (section 20) that they can force access - albeit only after jumping through some legal hoops. But I would fight this as I think it will be disruptive. I also think they are being completely unreasonable in insisting on access through the house rather than through the existing wall.

I do not think they have received planning permission yet. Trying to get through to the local council to ask. Good point about trying to distract us.

In the event, if they try to force access to the house, DF will refuse to let them in. He has capacity to make this decision. They can then take him to court. And I wish them luck with that.

@keyboardwarrior1
Not legally qualified but DH is a builder and I worked with him for a time.
In our experience, building right up to or on the boundary will require a party wall agreement as the new wall forms a new shared boundary wall. Without agreement, the side of the wall nearest the boundary needs to be 150mm/6inches away from the boundary line.
It is up to your DF's neighbour to make arrangements for access, not your DF. They can ask for access but he can say no. In this case (as hubby has done on a number of occasions), brickwork etc has to be done from the 'wrong' side of the wall, but it can be done. Takes a bit longer and doesn't necessarily look as good (unless the bricklayer is as conscientious as my DH). The other option, as you've already said, is for them to take down part of the garden wall, complete the build and make good after, usually the better compromise. It will, of course, cost the neighbours more, which is probably why they don't want to do it...
Your suspicion is probably correct re the neighbours and they are just being CFs, trying to take advantage of an old man. Try to sort something amicably, but as others have said, make sure you know exactly what they're planning to do. You wouldn't believe how many times DH has got caught in the middle of neighbourly disputes when he's working!
Good luck, OP It's hard enough when you've got a DP with dementia.

It looks like they can force access to repair an existing party wall, not to make new wall.

The PWA does apply, but OP's father can require the neighbours to pay for a surveyor to act for him independently.

If he has dementia it's possible that he lacks capacity to deal with this himself. OP - do you have a power of attorney?

I cannot envisage any situation in which the neighbours builders could gain access through OP's father's property.

If the extension will have a significant effect of the light in the father's property that might breach his right to light.

They need to access the garden by removing the boundary between and reinstating it afterwards. Does anyone have poa for your df? Has he been sent a Party Wall agreement?

Did it need pp and are there conditions on it?