Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hello, I am seeking advice please on the best way to proceed regarding a garden wall problem involving three neighbours.

My elderly Mother's house backs onto two other properties (the spacing between the houses is staggered).  The other gardens are approx. 1m higher.  There is a  brick retaining wall along the whole length of the boundary.  On my Mother's side the wall is approx 2m high.  In one of the other gardens is a large tree close to the boundary of all three gardens.  My Mother has a small patio area with table and chairs by the wall.

During Spring 2023, the neighbour cut back the tree to just above the top of the wall.  However the tree thrived, putting out vociferous growth and during Summer 2023 the entire length of wall collapsed into my Mothers garden.  By good fortune there was a cool breeze that day and my Mother was not sitting on the patio.  Her chair was crushed to matchwood.

We cleared the area and most of the bricks could be salvaged for reuse.  The insurance company advised that the damage was not covered.  At an informal meeting with the neighbours we agreed to split the repair costs equally between the three parties.  My Mother made it clear that she wanted it rebuilt using the original bricks to be in keeping with the other garden walls.  The neighbour with the tree wanted to rebuild with concrete blocks for cheapness.  So we compromised on a composite wall with concrete blocks on the neighbours side and bricks on my Mother's side.  The neighbour with the tree was to remove it and properly grind out the stump to enable the wall footing to be rebuilt. They wanted to use their own builders for the wall.

The neighbour with the tree is a landlord who manages multiple properties. They don't live there. It subsequently proved difficult to get any progress on the tree removal. I eventually obtained a quote this Summer 2024 for rebuilding the wall and footings.  The bricklayer expressed reluctance to get involved due to three separate parties, and the quote was high.  However I forwarded this to the neighbours for comment.  The next weekend, workmen for the landlord neighbour turned up and completely removed the tree stump and roots.  A few weeks later, the landlord and a bricklayer showed up.  They dug out the footings, poured in concrete and rebuilt the wall with concrete blocks up to approx 1.5m. They did a good professional job. However, they gave no indication that they would complete the job by facing with the original bricks on my Mother's side. 

The landlord neighbour is now demanding that we pay half the cost  immediately and being vey pushy. (Not a third as originally discussed. The other neighbour says he was asked to pay a quarter).

My concern is that the neighbour has changed the original agreement and done the work the way they wanted without further discussion.  Whilst we are happy to make an interim payment now, I am not confident that the job will be completed now that the retaining wall is in place. So we will be faced with the full cost of the brickwork. It seems reasonable that we contribute towards a new wall, but this expense was only needed due to the neighbours unmanaged tree.

I don't want to antagonise the neighbours, but I also want a satisfactory outcome for my Mother who enjoys gardening.  What would you guys recommend?

Thanks,

   


           

Hi Mick,

Agreed, but we don't know which party owns the original wall.  I did look through the Victorian deeds, but could find nothing useful regarding this.  How  could we find out?  The wall was not in the best condition, although it was definitely the tree roots which forced it over. This is why we thought a three way split between the parties would be the fairest approach.  However, the neighbour responsible for the tree is not playing ball. 

Agreed, but we don't know which party owns the original wall.  I did look through the Victorian deeds, but could find nothing useful regarding this.  How  could we find out?

With a property that old, it's not surprising that the deeds are vague or silent about ownership of the boundaries. How long ago did your mother buy the property? In more recent times, a vendor has to complete a property information form stating (to the best of their knowledge) who owns/is responsible for the boundaries. Is there anything along those lines? Did the solicitor/conveyancer make any statements about it at the time? (This is all assuming there is any paperwork still around to be looked at. Maybe I am just assuming everyone is like my late father who had kept every bit of paperwork from property purchases decades ago, which does help when now selling.)

I still think ownership is irrelevant as he caused the damage. with the exception of how he finishes your mums side. if he repairs the wall to a good and safe standard he would have fulfilled his duty of care which I would suggest is all he is required to do if he is the owner. if you mum owns it she's entitled for it to be re finished as it was before.

Thanks,  I did check the house insurance. Sadly legal expenses not covered.

It's a tricky situation.  I agree that Mum shouldn't have to pay anything.  However, she is itching to pay for fear of upsetting the neighbours. I keep pointing out to her that she has not yet had the wall reinstated with the existing antique bricks as she wanted.  The only reason I can see for the revised 50/25/25% split is that is the approximate boundary length for each property.  The original 33.3% split was from the initial informal meeting and is not documented.  We are happy to honour the original agreement, but the change was decided by the landlord neighbour and not discussed. 

Another consideration is that Mum is 95 and we may need to sell the house soon to pay for a care home.  I understand that any neighbour disputes are now documented in the sales pack.  This may be one of those cases where a party wall surveyor would have been useful.  However, I presume it's too late now that most of the evidence has been cleared away?