Next door’s lean-to attached to our house...

[owainsmum]

We bought our house 10 years ago, it’s detached but the house next door has a lean-to which joins onto our house. The wall of our house that it’s attached to is the boundary between the two properties. The lean-to was built years ago, long before we bought our house. We’re now selling and our buyer wants details about when the lean-to was built etc, but we don’t have any documents about it. It’s not that big so would it have needed planning permission? I suppose maybe it would as it’s attached to our house? Does anyone have any experience with this kind of situation? Thanks

I think this is something to do with Party Wall.
Your neighbours probably had an agreement drawn up with the previous owners

If you don't know, simply state you don't know and that it was there before you bought the house. Then see what, if anything, they come back with.

The party wall act was 1996 (England and Wales) if it was built prior (unless London) there maybe no documentation and even after it was introduced consent can be given without entering the award stage of the act. Your neighbours are probably going to be reluctant to help and your rights may depend on how long it has been built, you could do a planning search of your local council but this will be seen as a civil matter so they may not be much use even if they have information.

We have told the solicitor we don’t know anything about it, and a quick look on the Council’s planning website suggests it didn’t have planning permission. Oh well we’ll have to see what they say. I’m not sure what the buyer is trying to achieve through this, they still want to buy the house anyway!