Boundary wall question

[WelshMammy123]

Hi,

Not sure if anyone can help but hoping someone might be able to.

We have planning permission to do a single storey extension to merge the existing kitchen with the lean to that sits alongside it to create a large kitchen/dining area.

Many years ago (well before us) when the lean to was erected a wall was built that runs alongside the right hand side of our house to support the roof of the lean to. In our street we all tend to 'own' the upkeep of the fences etc on the left so this wall is technically on our neighbours side.

We didn't think this was an issue as felt sure that the wall went up to the neighbours boundary but didn't cross it (our architectural plans supported this assumption). Admittedly though this wall now acts as the 'divider' between our properties and their fence runs directly out from it.

We gave party wall notice of our intention to knock down and rebuild the wall which has been met with massive resistance ('you're not doing it') from our neighbours as they say that the wall is theirs not ours.

Having looked again at the wall we do think that the wall does actually go across their boundary and probably straddles our property and theirs to the same amount.

So can anyone help with where we go from here? Where we stand legally? Creative suggestions of how we might do what we want to without having to knock the wall down?

I'd like to find an amicable solution but I suspect they will dig their heels in. Part of me thinks we could insist the existing wall is removed as it's on our property and technically their wall but that feels awkward given it was only ever put in place to support our lean to.

So it's a bit of a mess. I've attached a photo of the offending wall in case that helps. Thanks in advance!

Are you sure the lean to came first ? I'd say someone took advantage of an existing wall and made a lean to from it.

You need to identify the owner of the wall - it won't be anything to do with left or right sides or boundary responsibility necessarily. Have you checked your deeds ?

A good place for this kind of advice would be the forums at gardenlaw.co.uk

Thanks Badgercat. We know from the neighbours that there used to be a fence separating their property from ours but they agreed with the previous owners of our place that they (the previous owners) could build the wall to put a lean to in place. So it was definitely built by the previous owners of our place for the lean to rather than existing beforehand.

I'll check out that website you mention thanks.

If we don't own the wall, but it's partly on our land, and we have planning permission then just wondering where that leaves us in terms of the knocking down and rebuilding.

Thanks

Is it not a party wall? If it is, the Party Wall Act gives you the right to do lots of stuff to it without your neighbour's consent (you do have to notify, allow them to appoint a surveyor at your expense etc. but they can't prevent you from doing the work). What exactly do you need to do?

If you're in contact with them, ask the previous owners. If they agreed with the neighbours to build a new wall on the boundary I expect it is a party wall.

The planning permission is a bit irrelevant to all of this because you can get PP to build on someone else's land. It doesn't mean you can even if you have PP.

Not an expert but just dealt with similar situation myself.

I think you can even demolish and rebuild under the PWA. You can definitely increase the height and cut into it for beams and under pin it. Loads of stuff.