Who is responsible for maintaining wall at entrance to development?

[Moo31]

Here are the facts

• wall adjacent to our house and at the entrance to the development
• development built in 1993
• we bought our house in 2015
• told by neighbour opposite (who has a matching wall) that the walls were built approx 4 years after the development and the construction company who built the development maintained the walls for approx 5 years thereafter (repainting)
• neighbour has had many conversations with the company who claim they are not responsible for the walls
• walls need repainting (annually) and rerendering in parts - neighbour had a quote for 25k to remove and rebuild his wall only! (And this was a few yrs ago)
• another neighbour approached me today to tell me we are responsible and it will be "in our deeds" - spoke to neighbour opposite who has a copy if his deeds which shows our house (no1 on the pic) and shows the boundary line (thin yellow line on pic) which is before the wall (red line)
• we haven't painted it as the neighbour requested us not to so the company might come and do it

Who is responsible??

You should be able to do a land registry search by clicking on a map instead of searching for an address. I assume that would show who is responsible for that area. It only costs a few pounds to get the info. I assume it was adopted by the council along with other common areas, but the search should confirm.

Thanks we will do that. If adopted by the council are they then responsible?

Yes. However, it’s not always fully clear. Our deeds showed the wall and shrubs were ours to maintain. Luckily not rendered, but a hell of a lot of gardening!

Then someone came with no notice and cut all the shrubs back very severely, including one right on my house. I rang and complained and tried to get it stopped while the work was underway. Was told the path needed to be totally clear for the LA to adopt it, and they continued against my wishes.

So we stopped maintaining the shrubs completely apart from the one on the house. A different neighbour had taken it on. 🤷‍♀️

So start with the Local Authority. It may be a councillor will help you get it sorted out.

Yes, but they are unlikely to do anything unless it is dangerous or daubed in offensive graffiti.

Otherwise it won't be a priority. Most councils are short of funds.

Not sure if this has been mentioned but if you own the wall as in it is a part of what you purchased when you bought the house.....like owning the garden fence, then unless you are covenanted to retain it and maintain it, you are entitled to do what you like with it including remove it. Sometimes the retain/maintain covenant only lasts for a set number of years as was the case where I live.
To add that i have got lovely next door neighbours but I would be very dubious about taking their word for anything to do with property law!

so it's visually like a 'gate' to the development?
you need to check the planning application for the development.

we have one nearby like this and it's the developer's/leasehold maintenance responsibility to upkeep. (they don't do anything and it doesn't look nice tbh)

Yes it's visually a gate to the development - the pic I attached with the emojis is taken from the main road and shows our side. The neighbours is a mirror image on the other side. We have a contact who is a councillor. Going to get DP to give him a shout and see if he can help.

The development was built in the early 1990s - where would we get access to the planning application? Council records?

@Moo31 Every council responsible for planning permission has a web site you can interrogate. Personally I think this is nothing to do with planning. It’s whether you own it or have responsibility for it. Therefore it should be in your deeds. Or is there an estate management company for maintenance outside the curtiledge of the properties? This should be in your deeds or conveyancing documents. Don’t take the neighbours word for it!

Thanks @MeetMeOnTheCorner - DP has requested a copy of the deeds from our solicitor.

Who owns the strip of grass above your yelliw line boundary? I'd be inclined toput a fence up along you boundary, making it clear that the strip of land and the wall aren't part of your property.

Trying to ascertain that - the deeds show it isnt us but not clear whether it is the developer, council or Department for Infrastructure (roads and footpaths) ...

Has the estate road been adopted by the council? If yes the wall will belong to the council, the developer would have had to build it and maintain for a period, before responsibility passed to the council. The council won't do anything unless the wall is dangerous, then they'll probably remove it. Otherwise it will belong to the developer/estate management company, who won't be interested either. I am told by a lawyer friend that they have files going back decades about this sort of thing. At the end of the day, the houses are built and sold, the developer doesn't want to spend anymore money and the council won't take it on unless it totally meets their specification for construction and finish.

@Moo31 I would be surprised if the council would adopt gates or gate posts. They do adopt roads and might adopt grassed areas and verges, but if there’s a management company for the estate, the council might say it’s not their responsibility.

Regarding painting annually, there is a brand of paint called emperor which is guaranteed for at least 25 years and is self cleaning. We've used it on render which looked really tatty before and was costing a fortune in repainting every few years (had to hire scaffolding etc). Five years so far and it looks new, so if you do end up maintaining it that could reduce the burden

@Somersetbaker that's interesting as we're told the developer did maintain it for several years after it was built and then just stopped (sounds like this might have been when any obligations they had expired)

@MeetMeOnTheCorner it's a wall rather than a gate or gate post - not sure if that makes any difference. There is a footpath and then grass verge on the other side of the wall - someone comes once or twice a year to cut the grass but we dont know where they are from (council or DFI maybe?). There is no management company - I think if there was this would be simpler as they would take responsibility?

@Thatsanotherfinemess1 thank you that is a great tip! DP is happy to paint it but the condition is deteriorating - the bricks at the top and bottom were handmade apparently and they are crumbling. Our neighbour has a briefcase with lots if material on this matter including sample bricks!! He also got a quote to replace the wall on his side only which was £25k!

Thank you all - we really do appreciate all the responses and help!

Thank you all - we really do appreciate all the responses and help!

@Moo31 Ok. Someone is letting the mowing contract. This means some body is taking responsibility for the grass. Maybe the parish council will know? As the wall is flanked by grass and a path (Council responsibility?) I doubt the wall is your responsibility unless it’s within the curtiledge of your property.