Shared stone boundary wall

[red-charlie]

Hello, we share an old stone wall with our neighbours (the boundary line) and they have indicated they plan to take down this stone wall - can they do this without our consent? The wall is a very thick wall and the depth has mainly been built on their land but it does separate our land - the same wall goes all the way around the side of our property which would indicate it was built for our property and also for the next door as they have the same wall at their rear. I thought it is a shared wall and we would both need each others consent to take down? thanks

[echat11]

Hi Red

I can't answer directly, but here's some information - http://www.boundary-problems.co.uk/b...frontpage.html

des8 MIKE770

[Loughrigg]

Are you in a conservation area of your village or area? You may find that old stone walls are protected under local conservation area rules , not least so as to protect local stone etc from being removed from the vicinity . It would be worth checking. I'm only aware of this from our own situation , not commenting as an expert. We have a very old Cottage in an area of the village that is classed as a conservation area. The buildings aren't listed but there are certain rules about external aspects that we have to adhere to - such as Sky dishes for example. Also any dry stone walling that comes up to the highway , or runs along side it, cannot be removed. You'd be surprised how many people move in and don't even realise there are requirements. As an aside , do your deeds show the stone wall ( I guess not, just the boundary lines ). And as a general question to others who will know better - do deeds ever, never, or sometimes show a feature such as this ? We have a wall at the end of our land which adjoins another property and nobody seems to know whose it is !

[red-charlie]

Are you in a conservation area of your village or area? You may find that old stone walls are protected under local conservation area rules , not least so as to protect local stone etc from being removed from the vicinity . It would be worth checking. I'm only aware of this from our own situation , not commenting as an expert. We have a very old Cottage in an area of the village that is classed as a conservation area. The buildings aren't listed but there are certain rules about external aspects that we have to adhere to - such as Sky dishes for example. Also any dry stone walling that comes up to the highway , or runs along side it, cannot be removed. You'd be surprised how many people move in and don't even realise there are requirements. As an aside , do your deeds show the stone wall ( I guess not, just the boundary lines ). And as a general question to others who will know better - do deeds ever, never, or sometimes show a feature such as this ? We have a wall at the end of our land which adjoins another property and nobody seems to know whose it is !

Hi no we are not in a conservation area here. No the deeds do not show the wall, just the boundary line - as I mentioned the stone boundary wall is mainly on the other side but the face ie the divide is right up to the boundary line.

[des8]

Is the title register silent about responsibility for your boundaries?
If so then then responsibility for maintaining the boundaries is shared equally between you and the owner of the property next door.
Additionally The Party Wall Act 1996, altho' not applying to fences, applies to stone walls and basically he should be sending you a written notice of his proposed work. He may not proceed until your written agreement is received by him

[red-charlie]

Is the title register silent about responsibility for your boundaries?
If so then then responsibility for maintaining the boundaries is shared equally between you and the owner of the property next door.
Additionally The Party Wall Act 1996, altho' not applying to fences, applies to stone walls and basically he should be sending you a written notice of his proposed work. He may not proceed until your written agreement is received by him

Hello

Many thanks for your reply and advice.

No neither of our title deeds mention the boundaries - they just show the boundary line which is where the stone wall is built. It is a wide (around 30 to 40cm thick) wall and has been built flush to the houses gable end next door so most of the thickness of the wall is on their ground but as far as I know it is still the boundary wall and both would need consent from each other to take down ... well hopefully!

What should I do if they just start knocking the wall down?! This wall keeps our garden secure for our dogs so would be a nightmare if they knocked it down + we have a lot of mature planting/trees/shrubs on our side.

[des8]

Before he reaches for his sledge hammer, have a neighbourly chat with him over a cuppa, and let him know that you consider the wall as jointly owned and you do not agree to its demolition.
If he disputes ownership refer him anyway to the Party Wall Act 1996 and tell him he must give you written notice of his intention.
When you do not respond within 14 days (or if you do negatively) the dispute process commences which leads to the appointment of surveyors and the eventual drawing up of an agreement.

Best sorted with a friendly chat!

[MIKE770]

owned joint and several I bet?

[red-charlie]

Before he reaches for his sledge hammer, have a neighbourly chat with him over a cuppa, and let him know that you consider the wall as jointly owned and you do not agree to its demolition.
If he disputes ownership refer him anyway to the Party Wall Act 1996 and tell him he must give you written notice of his intention.
When you do not respond within 14 days (or if you do negatively) the dispute process commences which leads to the appointment of surveyors and the eventual drawing up of an agreement.

Best sorted with a friendly chat!

Thank you! Yes we have been around to see them and sent an email - all very friendly - we just said we did not want the wall to come down but they said they might just take it down anyway! They seem to think as most of the wall is on their land they own it but as faces onto our boundary line I feel we share it together as our boundary wall
We are in Scotland so I don't think the Party Wall Act 1996 is applicable here?

[des8]

Correct, no Party Wall Act for Scotland (or N. Ireland), so common law rules!
My understanding is that as the wall is built astride the boundary each party has a common interest in the wall so neither party can do anything which affects the other party's interest
Disputes are settled in court
You might find this website of interest https://www.rocketlawyer.com/gb/en/q...rs-in-scotland