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Boundary Walls Versus Party Walls

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squidgelet10 | 13:39 Sun 06th Apr 2008 | Civil
5 Answers
Greetings each!
My house deeds and Land Registry plan state that "all boundaries form part of the property".
As the front boundary wall between my garden and the next door property is attached to my property only, how am I affected by the Party Walls Act?
I wish to avoid any future misunderstandings with my neighbour, and also don't want to pay my Solicitor for costly advice!
Can anyone point me in the right direction please?
Cheers.
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Suggest you download and read this helpful Government publication on the Party Wall Act. It's even available in Welsh.
Post again if that doesn't answer your question.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/pla nningandbuilding/partywall
You will find that the Party Wall Act applies if you are maintaining or building a wall astride OR CLOSE TO a party boundary. The actual ownership of the wall is not relevant - the Party Wall Act would apply if you wanted to tinker about with your wall.
What exactly are you wishing to do? - unless you are digging under it or wanting access from a recalcitrate neighbour who won't let you onto his land, you have no worries.
Question Author
Greetings buildersmate!
Thanks for responding.
>the Party Wall Act would apply if you wanted to tinker about with your wall.<
It's not my tinkering I am bothered about: it's his!
The wall was built with breeze-blocks by the last owner, but the neighbour decided to cement render his side of it a couple of years ago and also to cement-cap it at the same time, without reference to me.
I noticed recently that my virginia creeper had been cut along my top line, again without reference to me.
My main worry is that the neighbour thinks the wall is a "party" type with his side being his property!!!
Perhaps I am just being over-sensitive? I don't think so somehow. :-(
A few walls are actually astride the boundary. The best example is a link-detached house where the garage walls are clearly astride the boundary.
In your case you are saying that you own the wall. Technically of course he had no right to render it, but that is history, there is no point going back over that and it doesn't 'increase' his claim to ownership of any part of it.
The Party Wall Act would apply to you if you wanted to maintain or rebuild it, or to him in the even that he wished to build a wall or fence on his side immediately up against yours (unlikely, I realise).
He is of course, entitled to cut any part of your plant growing on the wall that pokes its way into his airspace - assuming that is where you regard the actual physical boundary to be. This is nothing to do with the Party Wall Act, of course.
Suggest you have a civil and calm conversation with him at an appropriate. Something alone the lines of - Hello Bert, please could we have a short chat about the wall? Then open up with 'How do you see the ownership of this wall?
Question Author
Thanks for that.
I shall just stay vigilant for the moment, although there is an old saying that "one cannot educate pork"!
I suppose I could always exercise my right to paint it...............Bright red!! LOL.
Cheers.
Saddleback Pink would be a better shade.

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