Damage by neighbours

[Obsc]

Our neighbours have built an extension, the wall of which is set back 25cm from our boundary line. The extension borders part of our driveway and part of our garden. The border used to be marked by our neighbours fence, which they removed at the start of the building work.
The front of the extension is by our driveway gates, which used to be joined to by our neighbours driveway gates before they removed them for the building.

The extension has now left a 25cm gap at the front between our gate and the new wall and at the back between the original fence and the new wall. There is therefore a gap from the road into our garden and from our garden into the neighbours garden.

There is also a trench filled with concrete, mortar and wooden boards (which are effectively concreted in and stick up above ground level) together with parts of bricks and other builders rubbish. This trench runs along the border beside the wall, technically it is mostly on their side of the boundary but it is not separated from our drive and garden at all - which is quite dangerous when our children’s toys go into it and they retrieve them.

Before the build started, we asked the neighbours what would happen about the gaps and they told us they would block them (we have this in writing). However, we have tried contacting them again to ask when and how this would happen and they are refusing to respond.

This is extremely stressful and we have had to temporarily block the gaps ourselves otherwise anyone could come into our garden. Not to mention how awful it is to have builders looking into the house and garden and all the noise, mess and dust of building during lockdown when we are trying to work from home and homeschool and we can’t even enjoy our garden. They have even been working on bank holidays...

Anyway- my questions are: Do the neighbours have to do anything to make good/safe the trench and block the gaps? Or do we now have to pay to fix the damage they have caused?

I will try and do a diagram...

You use the word "damage" but you seem to be describing gaps.

put your own fence up. If you wish, you can paint their side in repellent colours before assembly.

nobody can be compelled to fence their garden.

Took a while, but here’s the diagram.

I think you are just going to have to put up
your own fence along the boundary.

I don't think they can be compelled to build a fence- although if you have in writing they would I suppose you could try small claims court. Can you build your own fence on your boundary?

The damage is to the side of our drive behind the gate. The houses both used to have a drive behind the gate so it was basically a large tarmac area with a fence down the middle. When the foundations were dug, obviously their tarmac was removed and so the edge of our driveway now falls away down this trench. The very edge of our driveway has been damaged.

Do we definitely have to pay for the fence and erect it ourselves? Shouldn’t they have to make good the trench that has been left and block the gaps they have created, or do we have to sort out the problems they have created?

If we have to do it ourselves... Do we have a right to put up a fence along what was their boundary? Can they then take it down if we do that or interfere with it at all? It will basically block access to their wall...

Would the fence we erected belong to us or belong to them? If us, we would have a weird situation where half the boundary fence belonged to us and half to them. If it belongs to them, then we’re paying to put something up that they can take down or alter at any time they please.

It was their fence. They can remove it whenever they want and need never replace it. If you want a fence you must put one up yourself.

The bit about your drive falling in to the trench is a different matter. They may have to repair your drive, but it may be difficult for you to prove that it is your drive breaking up instead of their old drive.

You are free to put a fence up on your side of the boundary. If they have damaged your Drive then they should rectify it.

If you want your property fenced in, then you need to erect a fence? I can't see why you think that would be anyone else's responsibility other than your own? And yes, if you paid for it, and erected it on your property then you would own it. You cannot erect it on their property.

There is no requirement for anyone to have a fence on a boundary line. If they want to mark the boundary with a trench, or have a trench on their property that is up to them. You have control over what is in your own property, and only that. Personally, I'd suggest you erect a fence on your property a few inches your side of the boundary line for the full length of the boundary, and ignore what the neighbours do in their garden.

Is there a party wall agreement?

And if we erected the fence on the boundary line and joined it to the existing fence...?

No party wall agreement- they built within their boundary

Ask the council to come out and check they have stuck to their approved plans...

Good idea to ask the council to check if they have stuck to existing plans. If your neighbours are not responding and you think you have a case it looks like you will need to get a solicitor involved.

They have more or less stuck to their plans, so I don’t think going to the Council would help.

I was more asking if they were meant to fix what they have damaged and changed and if they had a responsibility not to leave us worse off as a result of their building. It would appear not from these answers. I would have thought, even without a legal obligation, neighbours would not want to make things worse for their neighbours- if it was our extension, I wouldn’t dream of leaving the neighbours to rectify something we’d caused!

So as it looks like we’re putting up a fence, can we put it along the boundary and if we do, do we own it?

If I understand this correctly, the building work is ongoing, is that correct? Having work done is stressful and add the current situation to that it's really stressful. As pps have said, there's nothing to compel the neighbours to reinstate their fence if they choose not to, but you can put a fence up as long as it's not on their land.

How have you tried to contact them so far?

As a suggestion, could you put something up temporarily to close the gap at the front - let them know you are doing this - both for safety for your children and security for your property?

So as it looks like we’re putting up a fence, can we put it along the boundary and if we do, do we own it?

Yes and yes

If you are not happy with the state of the edge of the concrete of your drive then you should ask that it is put right. This is the only damage caused. The lack of fencing and the gap are not damage.

If you put a fence up, you need to make sure it is on your land, not the boundary, if it is their boundary.

I think you should have had a party wall agreement- it's any works within 3m of your boundary from what I can remember. This would give you the legal protections needed.

You might want to look at this:

www.gov.uk/party-walls-building-works/when-works-begin

You would be within your rights to ask them to make good any damage to the edge of your drive. You can't, however, ask them to replace the fence. You might also want to talk to the Council's building inspector for advice on making the gap safe.

As @OliviaBenson says, you should still have had a party wall agreement.

Where is the gate on your plan, and road access? They are allowed to not have a fence, and why would they if they could not maintain it. What is the issue, the gap or damage?

The road is where I wrote boundary and the gate is the brown bit attached to our house.

I was under the impression that party wall agreement were only if they were to build directly on the boundary or went lower than our foundations. The extension is less than 3m from our house, but from what I understood that didn’t matter. The extension was a “permitted development” if that means anything.

For those saying we should have had a party wall agreement, I guess it’s too late to do anything about that now?

What would happen if we built the fence on the boundary?

For those saying they can do what they want on their land, well yes. But it really sucks being the neighbours and having to find a lot of money for a new fence (especially currently) for something that isn’t our fault or our benefit (actually our detriment).

So is there now a gap between the side of their house/extension and the gatepost? Are you sure there are no plans to seal it off at least by the road, as it will be as much an issue for their security as yours. Could the trench be for drainage, is it really dangerous or just unsightly from your pov?

Permitted development simply means it didn't need planning permission. A party wall agreement is completely seperate to that and you needed one.

I don't know about doing it retrospectively- you'd have to research that. It would be the avenue I'd go down rather than spending my own money on a fence...