What is this part of my house?!

[sanpelle]

I posted about this a while back but no one seemed to know any answer to my questions. I'm so confused! I'm living in a mid terrace private rent with a 3rd level bedroom that has half of the room cut off. So it doesn't extend to the full length of the house. There is a thin hollow wall blocking the rest of the 3rd level. I've never experienced anything like it. All the neighbours have bedrooms that extend to the length of the house (seen in rental listings pics).

There is no access to it anywhere for me and I'm just bemused at why anyone would have a large section of their house blocked off so they can't maintain it. I could hear workmen behind the wall when my neighbours had their roof done and I'm not sure why they would be in my house. I've never heard anything else. Do my neighbours own part of my house? I just don't understand and my LL isn't easy to contact.

If anyone needed to access that area from inside my house then the walls would have to be knocked through. It just doesn't seem practical if there's pipes or such behind there that might need maintaining. Might be the reason behind all the damp in the house though! Maybe it's just a room full of pipes and mould, my LL has been known to cut a few corners. There's no insulation in the house at all so can't be that! I'm so puzzled

Drill a hole? Spy through? I'm not very good with DIY things, but I would try that! X

Oh dear, I just ended post with a 'X'
Sorry!

Have a look on Rightmove at the sold house prices section. You will probably find pictures of your house on there if your LL bought it within the last 15 years

When you knock on the wall - is it hollow?

Perhaps it was a bathroom and the landlord didn’t want the expense of fitting a new one

Are you sure your neighbours' property doesn't include the Creepy Unknown Space? You might have a flying freehold situation

Turn your boiler off

Have you asked both neighbours on that floor whether their space extends into your house?

Possibly there was an ensuit in there that you ll couldn’t be bothered doing up so he just closed it off?

We had this, but downstairs in the kitchen - we realised what we could see outside and length of kitchen didnt tally; it turned out neighbours side extended sideways behind the end of our kitchen - maybe thats the case here?

I think racecardriver has got it

Have you got a water meter OP? It could help you work out if they’re using your supply

A botched ensuite that he just blocked off rather than finished?
What happens if you knock on the wall?

My version is that the space behind has asbestos. When he was doing house up he just put a wall to prevent access to it, it’s cheaper than removal.

Following for grand reveal

Imo the landlord couldn’t be bothered with the hassle and expense of doing up the en-suite so he just put up an internal wall.

Has Creepy Unknown Space been transferee to next door maybe?

I grew up in a central London street of Victorian terraces. The roof space initially had no boundary wall in- ie: one big open space along the length of the terrace - about 20 houses. This space gradually got seperated out as people wanted to formalised their lofts/convert a 2nd floor living space etc, but it wasnt always the just the space furctjy abive each house.Soace was bought abd simd on either side, leading to some very wide 2nd floors avd sime very narrow ones.

I have read a description of a street of houses like this in children’s literature, I think it’s “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”. I have also come across this set up in Newcastle upon Tyne, in a Victorian terrace of similar age and style.

BikeRun I know this from a book too - DH just confirmed it's the Magician's Nephew :)

I'm guessing flying freehold too. We viewed a house and got as far as making an offer. The cellar was converted into a downstairs reception room and we had assumed that it was just an odd shape with a square missing out of a corner. I even asked the vendor what was behind there and if it could be made into a cupboard and he said he didn't know. Turned out, when we got the deeds that it was part of next doors kitchen and was sold to them when the conversion was done...

When was the property built? If 1970s it maybe to do with the old warm air. System. A lot of builders instead of removing them just blocked it off. Or pulled all the stuff out but didn't open the room up. Also if it's in the loft maybe you used/have a hot water tank that's still there.

We used to have a warm air system that was removed but it took a chunk of our room. We just made an opening and put cameras into investigate

Can you see a window from the outside?

Thank you PopGoesThe Weasel. I was almost right!

That is very odd. I wonder if planning permission records might reveal something.

The noise of neighbour's water could be a water tank in the loft that supplies the input to the hot tanks (ours is in our attic), not just yours. Test it to see if it is tank which supplies cold water to boiler/hot tank by running first some cold (shouldn't hear it), than some hot (should hear it)

Are they old houses which were once tiny flats and this space was the stair well?