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I would be grateful for some advice – please be patient with me on the content. We have new neighbours who moved in next door 18 months ago. We both live in detached properties and the common element we have is a boundary fence ( which both of us are responsible for), a partition hedge which divides our driveways, finishing with a boundary party wall which separates us from the public pavement. The boundary wall is the issue.
The boundary wall spans across the border of both drives made up of 3 brick pillars and 2 railings with two walls – the structure is one piece adjoined. The middle pillar is jointly owned dividing the boundaries. I noticed the central pillar has 3 cracks (one of which is quite large on the neighbours side facing the outside with the public pavement) – the other two cracks are matching going from the front of the pillar to the back of it – there is no movement. I feel the structure is compromised – instead of the pillars supporting the walls I feel the walls and metal railings either side is supporting the central pillar now. I had numerous amicable conversations about this with the neighbour face to face about my concern and how we should resolve it.
At the time the neighbour had a Ceoenthus ( California Lilac) hedge growing in front of his side of the wall – this was planted by the previous neighbours and the trunks of the plants were planted too close to the wall – the trunks of these plants ( forming a dense hedge) have got very thick in diameter and are only a couple of inches away from the wall. The wall is only low lying with the pillars 4ft high. The neighbours have not really maintained this hedge. Our final and last face to face conversation was uncomfortable and awkward as I highlighted the cracks had got worse with evidence of the mortar showing on floor of the public pavement – there are large gaps where you can put your finger in now indicating the wall is not water sealed. The wall is still firm however we live opposite a primary school and near a sports club – the footfall can be high at peak times with a lot of children.
Frustrating as it is I have witnessed school children sometimes sitting on the wall or pillars. I am concerned about the health and safety of the public but also I am not happy about the state of the wall now. I did ask the neighbours to consider doing something about their hedge – they were very reluctant in taking action as they liked the hedge and did not seem to consider my valid concerns despite the evidence the wall is getting damaged. I respectfully understood their desire to keep the hedge but did explain at the expense of damaging the wall it was not worth it. They appeared to come up with numerous evading reasons not to do anything and claimed the cracks could be due to traffic, speed bumps (even though the speed bumps are no way near the wall), the partition hedge that divides the driveways (this partition hedge is perpendicular to this middle pillar however the trunk of the closest plant is 1.5-2metres away from the pillar). I explained respectfully that despite their reasons could be valid the probability that their hedge was the culprit was very high as it is the next large structure against the wall/pillar. I left these thoughts with the neighbours however they asked me what I wanted them to do – respectfully I gave them friendly advice to say if that was my hedge I would remove it to prevent any further damage to the wall/pillar and I would repair the damage as it is not water sealed however I would do this after getting a surveyor to have a look to ensure it is the correct thing to do – it is very obvious the hedge is responsible. (please note we are in a row of houses next to one another with the same type of wall going along the street and there is not a single crack in either of their walls as they do not have such a heavy growth of a hedge growing next to it).
I also explained the reason in the best interest of the wall to repair it early as it is now not water sealed and would be much cheaper to maintain now - there is now going to be cycle of water ingress and winter freezing making it worse – damage and cost limitation now – equally I do not want to be liable for the wall failing further down the line if any public members get injured. The neighbours did voluntarily decide to remove the hedge ( without letting me know) without getting independent advice and have decided not to repair the wall. I have attempted to speak to the neighbour to follow up their action to understand their plan for the repair but they have refused to speak to me now in person or via text message. Their last text message made this very clear ‘ We do not want to talk about the repair to the wall.’
So I feel very annoyed the wall has been left like this – the purpose of this was to protect our property and now I have been left with a damaged wall. Luckily I had taken numerous accurate pictures of their hedge (including the proximity of the trunk of the hedge to the wall) before they removed the evidence ( after numerous early conversations I could sense they were going to be difficult). I reluctantly want to take this further legally ( and equally I understand once a legal dispute arises it is attached to both properties if we wish to sell them in the future) however I feel I am left no choice as there is now a breakdown in communication.
Equally the cost of the repair of the wall pillar would be much cheaper than engaging with solicitors (however there is a breakdown in trust now and I do not feel it would be appreciated if I took responsibility to make the repair as I would be liable for this especially as the repair would involve their side of the wall – also I do not feel anything on my side of my property contributed to the damage). I do have legal cover with my buildings insurance ( the small print of my buildings insurance will not cover boundary walls) and was going to seek advice. Is it worth it? I do not want to open a claim if the probability of success is low – however I do have photos of their hedge and the damage. How should I approach this and most importantly what is the correct way of engaging in such a matter? Should I speak to the local council to get involved? Would I have a good chance of forcing the neighbours legally to take responsibility for the repair?
At the moment I am not concerned about rekindling any neighbourly relationship as I feel trust has gone now. Any advice would be much appreciated – I do not want to leave the wall as it is with the damage.
Many thanks
The boundary wall spans across the border of both drives made up of 3 brick pillars and 2 railings with two walls – the structure is one piece adjoined. The middle pillar is jointly owned dividing the boundaries. I noticed the central pillar has 3 cracks (one of which is quite large on the neighbours side facing the outside with the public pavement) – the other two cracks are matching going from the front of the pillar to the back of it – there is no movement. I feel the structure is compromised – instead of the pillars supporting the walls I feel the walls and metal railings either side is supporting the central pillar now. I had numerous amicable conversations about this with the neighbour face to face about my concern and how we should resolve it.
At the time the neighbour had a Ceoenthus ( California Lilac) hedge growing in front of his side of the wall – this was planted by the previous neighbours and the trunks of the plants were planted too close to the wall – the trunks of these plants ( forming a dense hedge) have got very thick in diameter and are only a couple of inches away from the wall. The wall is only low lying with the pillars 4ft high. The neighbours have not really maintained this hedge. Our final and last face to face conversation was uncomfortable and awkward as I highlighted the cracks had got worse with evidence of the mortar showing on floor of the public pavement – there are large gaps where you can put your finger in now indicating the wall is not water sealed. The wall is still firm however we live opposite a primary school and near a sports club – the footfall can be high at peak times with a lot of children.
Frustrating as it is I have witnessed school children sometimes sitting on the wall or pillars. I am concerned about the health and safety of the public but also I am not happy about the state of the wall now. I did ask the neighbours to consider doing something about their hedge – they were very reluctant in taking action as they liked the hedge and did not seem to consider my valid concerns despite the evidence the wall is getting damaged. I respectfully understood their desire to keep the hedge but did explain at the expense of damaging the wall it was not worth it. They appeared to come up with numerous evading reasons not to do anything and claimed the cracks could be due to traffic, speed bumps (even though the speed bumps are no way near the wall), the partition hedge that divides the driveways (this partition hedge is perpendicular to this middle pillar however the trunk of the closest plant is 1.5-2metres away from the pillar). I explained respectfully that despite their reasons could be valid the probability that their hedge was the culprit was very high as it is the next large structure against the wall/pillar. I left these thoughts with the neighbours however they asked me what I wanted them to do – respectfully I gave them friendly advice to say if that was my hedge I would remove it to prevent any further damage to the wall/pillar and I would repair the damage as it is not water sealed however I would do this after getting a surveyor to have a look to ensure it is the correct thing to do – it is very obvious the hedge is responsible. (please note we are in a row of houses next to one another with the same type of wall going along the street and there is not a single crack in either of their walls as they do not have such a heavy growth of a hedge growing next to it).
I also explained the reason in the best interest of the wall to repair it early as it is now not water sealed and would be much cheaper to maintain now - there is now going to be cycle of water ingress and winter freezing making it worse – damage and cost limitation now – equally I do not want to be liable for the wall failing further down the line if any public members get injured. The neighbours did voluntarily decide to remove the hedge ( without letting me know) without getting independent advice and have decided not to repair the wall. I have attempted to speak to the neighbour to follow up their action to understand their plan for the repair but they have refused to speak to me now in person or via text message. Their last text message made this very clear ‘ We do not want to talk about the repair to the wall.’
So I feel very annoyed the wall has been left like this – the purpose of this was to protect our property and now I have been left with a damaged wall. Luckily I had taken numerous accurate pictures of their hedge (including the proximity of the trunk of the hedge to the wall) before they removed the evidence ( after numerous early conversations I could sense they were going to be difficult). I reluctantly want to take this further legally ( and equally I understand once a legal dispute arises it is attached to both properties if we wish to sell them in the future) however I feel I am left no choice as there is now a breakdown in communication.
Equally the cost of the repair of the wall pillar would be much cheaper than engaging with solicitors (however there is a breakdown in trust now and I do not feel it would be appreciated if I took responsibility to make the repair as I would be liable for this especially as the repair would involve their side of the wall – also I do not feel anything on my side of my property contributed to the damage). I do have legal cover with my buildings insurance ( the small print of my buildings insurance will not cover boundary walls) and was going to seek advice. Is it worth it? I do not want to open a claim if the probability of success is low – however I do have photos of their hedge and the damage. How should I approach this and most importantly what is the correct way of engaging in such a matter? Should I speak to the local council to get involved? Would I have a good chance of forcing the neighbours legally to take responsibility for the repair?
At the moment I am not concerned about rekindling any neighbourly relationship as I feel trust has gone now. Any advice would be much appreciated – I do not want to leave the wall as it is with the damage.
Many thanks
