Oops! Just started an accidental neighbour dispute

[tinytoessize4]

Any legal eagles reading? Advice please...

We have a shared passageway only with next door, enclosed at either end, and locked at our end (we did not put the lock on and have evidence to prove this). We thought we owned it outright, but this is not the case as it is a restrictive covenant in the deeds. Anyway, we propsed to move our kitchen downstairs into the passageway area, knockig down our internal wall to create an open room. Yes, we know the planning permission necessary and checked this out. Out of courtesy we informed our neighbour of our pending planning permission application. We have a small son and one bedroom. We only have 2k to do the alterations. I'll continue...we informed her of this, and that she had never utilised the right of access since we had been there and never since the previous owner of our house had been there either. She got a wee bit shirty. Saying that we admitted blocking our passage by placing a lock on the door (!) to which she didn't have a key (why? because she never bothered to get one when whoever put the lock on did it.) and that this was actionable nuisance. grr. she said she wanted monetary compensation for this. We said we didn't have any money. But we do have a shared right of access across the back of her property. We offered to exchange this. She hasn't yet responded. We said it would be best if we met face to face (terrible but we haven't met her and we've been here 2yrs! We were talking by letter). She's a litigation lawyer and though I am a law student, still have a year left. She quoted James v Stevenson [1893] AC 291 at me but I couldn't find it on Westlaw. Where do we stand with regard to the fact the right of access hasn't been exercised by her for about 10yrs? is there any precedent of lapsed right of access? Sorry its long ladies & gents....

Having my wall repaired for free is fine, providing I choose who does the work.

Having her wall repaired is irrelevant - you don't know that she wants it repairing! Also your definition of "repair" appears to mean turning it into your kitchen wall so instead of being an external wall, she will be listening to you plug in your kettle!

jimjam - if you don't get it, don't comment. that would be the best course of action.

discussion one on one would be the best in any situation, i would have thought.

clam - help, i don't know why im back writing here, but people keeping posting....

annh - sorry, i thought it was armarda that posted about the pwa, do you know something about it as well? didn't misinform, just when people keeping posting quick the reaction is to post back just as quickly.

Not if it's as a sop for agreeing to work that is against my best interests....

I heart this thread.

is she currently detached from you .. apart from a roof over a shared passageway .. and you are making her into semi-detached or terraced? or do the top floors adjoin and this passageway only takes up the ground floor

I'd be grateful for all the input tbh because any points your neighbour might raise may well be covered here and you can think it through first

has she accepted your invitation to chat over tea yet?

Unbelieeeeeeeevable!!!!!!!

annh - well, if it was structurally unsound id want something done about it! and if it wanted replastering.

Why should you want to choose the builder? you might choose a cowboy how knows jacks*it about walls. wouldn't trust anyone from....to get a reputable builder in.

Or perhaps you could answer my question abut whether her wall is now becoming your internal wall tiny- although don't worry as annh has so I totally get it. And stand by all my comments.

Communication skills are incredibly important to a lawyer you know.

If you didn't want to communicate in writing you should have ensured your first discussion on the subject was a chat.

you don't plaster outside walls.

why should she trust that you know how to choose a reputable builder though? That is a really bad choice of words

Oh sod it. I'm back in.
Why might she be less able to pick a reputable builder for her wall than you?

Tinytoessize4, for someone with that posting name, you have mighty big feet

Why is it so hard to see the following?:

A) You and you alone have assessed the 'worth' of the right of way to your neighbour.

Unsurprisingly to to your advantage, you have assessed this right of way as inconsequential.

B) You have decided that contrary to what every document I have found on the matter in my brief searches, and that of others, the fact that she has not used the access means that her rights of access have lapsed.

Although convenient, there is not a shred of available evidence that this is the case. But don't worry, by the time you have waited another 20 years (at least) to prove her abandonment of her easement, your son will be out of your family home, so the problem may no longer be present.

C) You have made huge assumptions that your initial letter to your neighbour was a polite formality, and that in fact you were doing her a favour by fixing her wall

D) You fail to see that whatever the odd nature of the joining of your homes on the first floor, joining the two homes will devalue her home by making it a semi-detached house (or even terraced - you don't make mention of whether there are other adjoining properties).

I can think of no other way to say this, other than you must be a terrible law student!

What is your current predicted grade? And what area do you intend to practice in? Because I hope it is one where people's lives aren't affected.

twig - yeah, i think i said that somewhere back in the mists of thread time.. the top floor is connected. she is a semi at the top.

and no, i did send:

Dear *

Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot, would you like to come round for a cup of tea on *** to discuss it properly and look at the proposed plans before we submit them?

got a letter back saying if we wished to take it to a land tribunal we could.

so that letter says "right, we're going ahead with our plans".

You started a reconciliatory email with 'Look" ??? You didn't really did you?

wish people would stop commenting personally on the OP being a bad lawyer

Quite frankly given she is not prepared to play ball I'd drop the whole thing as otherwise in 6 months you'll have spent the £2k and will have no extension to show for it. But something tells me tinytoes isn't going to listen to me.

There's still an implied assumption in that second note that this work is going to be happening and you're just being good enough to let her have a look.

soupdragon - you can plaster outside walls. its called rendering. but it wouldn't be an outside wall. it would be an internal wall. it is inside anyway as it is covered.

jimjim - would have gone for a chat but she was out (she's always out) and she doesn't use the front door anyway, its got a table in front of it. saw when i posted the last letter through the letterbox - wasn't snooping though.

lou - could you check your facts before posting, i know there over 250 posts but it might save some more being put up.

am on track for a 1st.

I am now laughing to myself like a loon over this thread! Tinytoes, yes I do know about the PWA but only because I worked in Operations for a large company with a lot of listed buildings (don't want to identify which sector)and it was something which we dealt with from time to time. However, I am not a lawyer so didn't want to offer advice on costs etc. even though our experience has always been that where we have instigated the work, we have paid the other side's costs as well. We did also once have a dispute (a very civilized, lawerly one - involving office buildings, not someone's home so no emotions involved) and we paid for the third surveyor as well.

Your opinion is that your neighbour's wall needs repairing but you can't expect her to fall over with gratitude because you are offering to repair it for her by turning her house into a semi-detached one! Also, I thought you said your husband was going to do the plastering so again I say, don't be surprised if she doesn't fall at your knees when she hears that!

jimjim - you obviously haven't paid attention as you'd know that i never emailed i wrote. get the basics right before adding anything else.

I really wouldn't want my external wall to become someone else's internal wall. Under any circumstances, actually, but particularly not when approached like this.

No, you don't plaster outside walls, you render them. That's why it's called rendering. And no, I wouldn't want the outside of my wall to become the plastered inside wall of someone's house. At the very least, you're going to have to shrink your proposed kitchen to leave a gap between the properties.