Party wall crumbling - neighbour can't afford to fix

[sadwallparty]

NC as not sure if neighbour is on here.

We have an external brick wall that's shared with our neighbour, which is crumbling apart. Needs to be partially rebuilt asap as mortar is beyond repair, it is unsafe and in a position of high traffic. The extent of the problem was hidden as it was covered in cement render, but this has recently started to come away, hence it is a surprise for both of us.

Neighbour has said they can't afford it (£7k total, so their share is £3.5k)(we got several quotes).

What happens in this sort of situation? Can we draft a contract to say they will pay us back their share (eg pay by X date, after which will charge interest), or is that asking for trouble? If we do, are there any tips on how to draft it - can we do so without cost of a solicitor?

Want to maintain good relations with neighbour, they have been great in the past with other matters (though nothing involving shared costs).

Absolutely, don't touch this with a bargepole

How is it shared if it’s facing traffic? Can you share a diagram?

If your house insurance has a helpline they might be able to advise.

I don't see how a contract would be helpful as if they are unable to secure finance for it how likely is their situation to improve? You can't get money from a stone.

What happens if they up and sell in a month or two? You really need proper legal advice, but I would be cautious of counting on the money.

If you go ahead and pay for it there is probably zero chance you will get any money back from them. Diagram needed.

We sort of had this. Neighbours wanted new drive (it’s a corner set up and all 3 drives would need to be done at the same time). We are in the biggest house so assumption was we could afford it… no, we have 3dc and needed 4 bedrooms and a study for dh to wfh. We don’t have the £3.5k neighbour wants. We kind of do but need to buy a new car (new to us) and wanted a family holiday as a priority over a boring drive. Don’t assume your priorities align with others. You cannot demand neighbours pay I’m afraid.

It sounds like it might be a garden boundary wall rather than structurally part our your houses ? Your neighbours are under no obligation to replace it like for like, but would be jointly responsible for ensuring it's safe. It might mean they could be enticed to pay half to remove but not to rebuild?

Terraced property, it's the fire-wall at roof level separating our properties, just above the entrance to both of our properties. No way of avoiding falling debris as don't have back entrance.

I would think they would be obliged to contribute then as if a buildings party wall needs maintenance repairs it's generally the responsibility of both parties to pay.

Sorry, meant to add...if you intend to do the repair anyway you should probably engage a party wall surveyor, they would also be able to advise on the legalities of payment responsibility

I really don't understand how an "external brick wall" can also be at the same time a "fire-wall at roof level".

A "fire-wall at roof level" sounds very much like an internal wall in the loft space, not an external wall.

Is this some vertical wall that goes up the front of your houses? I'm very confused indeed. I know that this is a real MN cliche but I really do think that we need a diagram here as I jut can't envisage what this looks like at all.

But, if this is something that is on the boundary line between the two houses and it is necessary to make good or repair the wall "on account of defect or want of repair of the structure or wall" (Party Wall Act, Section 2(2)(b) ) then it does come under the Party Wall Act.

If one party serves a Notice on the other party then the cost will be split depending on who caused the lack of repair and/or who uses the wall the most. In this situation it would likely be a 50/50 split as neither of you likely caused the damage and you use the wall equally.

This is specifically referenced in the Act (Section 11(5) ). It says:

(5) Where work is carried out in exercise of the right mentioned in section 2(2)(b) the expenses shall be defrayed by the building owner and the adjoining owner in such proportion as has regard to—

(a) the use which the owners respectively make or may make of the structure or wall concerned; and
(b) responsibility for the defect or want of repair concerned, if more than one owner makes use of the structure or wall concerned.

I would strongly suggest that you speak to a solicitor first (see if you have legal representation available under your home insurance for example).

From there you would likely have to give notice under the Party Wall Act that repairs will be done to the wall and that they are required to pay whatever percentage of the costs is appropriate.

Either that or, if you think that they won't pay, and you don't want to cause a dispute then just suck it up and either pay it all yourself or wait until it collapses.

Anyway, you may also want to speak to your home insurance company as they may well foot half of the bill anyway and look to your neighbour's insurer to cover the other 50% of the bill.

@Another2Cats this sort of thing (pic from google search).

That's useful to know re Party Wall Act. Would rather avoid the legal route so as to keep good relations in case we were to sell further on (eg having to declare any neighbour disputes).

Maybe we'll reduce the cost of their portion, as a gesture of good will. If they then agree to the works do we still need to engage a party wall surveyor / solicitor? Or can we just proceed if we have their agreement in writing? I would also take pics of the surrounding areas on both sides prior to the works, in case they were to claim damage to their side (though as it's a joint work I can't see why they'd have a claim).

How can it possibly be £7k

This! Our neighbours just replaced their whole roof for less than that!

In The States you would be able to put lien on their property for their share. Therefore it will show up when they try to get a loan/refinance or sell the home. This also ensures you will get paid from the proceeds before any funds are released to them.

Bottom line, see a solicitor.

I know... I was imagining £2-3k max, but no.
Maybe because we're in London. Maybe because they know it's unsafe and we have no choice.
And this is one of the cheaper quotes - one quoted £10k. Takes the piss honestly. I could do a bricklaying course and do it myself at this rate.

Surely only one side or the other is each house’s responsibility, what do your deeds say? You can’t all be half responsible for each one between each other’s houses?

And agreeing that £7k sounds loads, have you had more than one quote?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a roof wall. How odd - it’s to stop fire?

That photo makes so much more sense now. I totally get what you're talking about.

"Or can we just proceed if we have their agreement in writing?"

"Maybe we'll reduce the cost of their portion, as a gesture of good will."

If you can get their agreement in writing to cover whatever proportion of the costs are acceptable to you then go for that. That is by far the best way of doing things.

The Party Wall Act in this situation is a means of forcing the adjoining property owner to pay their fair share of the costs if they will not do so.

"If they then agree to the works do we still need to engage a party wall surveyor / solicitor?"

If you can get them to agree in writing to the works then that is great. It really saves you a lot of hassle. In that case, no, the whole party wall surveyor / solicitor thing goes out the window.

But then it all comes down to if they will pay a proportion that is acceptable to you. If they will, then great, get them to sign and you're good to go.

If they refuse to agree to pay whatever is acceptable to you then that is when the Party Wall Act comes to your rescue.

You would need to send them a letter referencing the Party Wall Act and they need to reply in writing. Examples of letters are included here:

https://www.lincoln.gov.uk/downloads/file/419/the-party-wall-act-1996

but there are plenty of other sources available online for example letters if you do a simple google search.

If they don't consent to that, this is when you need to get a Party Wall Surveyor involved. That really is the last ditch effort when everything else has failed.

"You can’t all be half responsible for each one between each other’s houses?"

Oh yes you can. That's life living in a terraced house; you have a party wall on either side.

@Another2Cats this is super clear and so helpful, makes total sense, thank you!

Firstly, I think we will pay to erect the scaffold, remove the loose bits to make safe, and protect the area from falling debris. Then we have a bit more time to figure the rebuild out with the neighbours, and try to negotiate some cheaper quotes without the pressure of falling bricks!

I don't think I'd ever have cement render on a brick wall - it hides so much. I knew mortar could blow, but never seen it so bad!

I live in London too and have never paid anywhere near that much for extensive roof repairs - let alone what is essentially a small brick wall

@Mirrorcat oh good! If you have recommendations please DM : )

Building costs are sky high now, way more than a few years ago. A party wall agreement might set out who should pay what but getting money out of people is the difficult bit. The surveyor won’t do it. It would be solicitor/court.

Can you ask them for their insurers details? I’m sure the insurer would like to know that the owners are “refusing” to do work that could impact the value of the asset they are insuring.