Access required to perform hip-gable loft conversion

[David0203]

My neighbour has a lawful development certificate to perform a hip-gable loft conversion on their detached house. They do not have a side-return on the side of their house next to ours, with their external wall being the boundary. Their existing eaves overhang our side return (as do our eaves) and as such there is a very small gap between the properties. Their plans show these eaves will be removed to form one of the gable ends. Would they be able to do this work without access to our side return or above air space?

I'd expect them to scaffold over your side return. Expect a party wall notice soon. Do you get on with them?

Yeah I can’t see how they would do it without the scaffolding in our side return. My understanding though is that we only need to give access for maintenance/repairs and not for renovation?

They should issue a party wall notice including a section 8 access request. There is some debate about this section 8 access request for structures wholly on the land of the developer.

A pro-access view here: www.partywall.info/rights-of-access-onto-neighbour-s-land.html

The case for not allowing access is here: www.childandchild.co.uk/legal-guides/party-walls-rights-of-light-and-boundary-disputes/a-resolution-to-the-section-1-section-8-debate/

I think scaffolding is necessary in your neighbour's case due to working at height and to prevent things falling onto your property. Whether that is a right under the Party Wall act, or whether you could deny access (and any safe working) is an expensive legal argument.

To clarify their external wall does not separate our actual buildings and sits wholly on their land and is not shared. It marks where the boundary is rather than being across the boundary. Would PWA still apply?

Most party wall surveyors would say yes. Your neighbour will be building a wall adjacent to the boundary.
I've had this recently and am not happy that my party wall surveyor has allowed access to my garden for next door (for a ground level structure).

Most party wall surveyors would say yes. Your neighbour will be building a wall adjacent to the boundary.
I've had this recently and am not happy that my party wall surveyor has allowed access to my garden for next door (for a ground level structure).

Why not?

I don’t see the problem with letting neighbours have access to your property for maintenance, renovations as long as no damage is done and everything is cleaned up properly afterwards. Surely when you buy the property and see there’s a shared wall/ building etc that you know sooner or later there might need to be some work done to it ?

just get it done with as less stress as possible and move on.

The new wall will be below my fence height. The developer could build that wall overhand without involving me at all. I'd rather my fence and climbing plants were left alone and I don't get disturbed.