37 years ago my nieghbour apparently built a breeze block wall between our slooping gardens..?

Question

At the house end of the garden this wall is only about a foot high but by the end of the garden(which is about 60 ft long) the wall is nearly 6ft high. He then levelled off his garden making it higher than ours. He then placed a 6 ft fence on top of the wall. The wall was built directly onthe boundary except in the middle where is is 3 inches inside his side. At the end of my garden I have a 6ft breeze block wall with a 6 ft fence on top...not very pretty. Legally can I paint this wall or attach a trellis to it? Also since the wall has been in exsistence for 37 years (according to the neighbour who built it) can he now reclaim the 3 inches back... the ignorant so and so is claiming my I can't place anything against the wall as it's inside his land!He now states he's going to place a width of gravel at the bottom of the wall on my side to mark the boundary!! where is the boundary now..at ground level on my side, or 6ft in the air between his fence and the top of the wall?

Answer 1

You need to consult a solicitor, or the Citizens Advice Bureau. You may also need to contact the Land Registry to establish exactly where the boundaries are.
He can't lay claim to land which isn't rightly his. Take advice.

Answer 2

Depending on where you live, it sounds like boomer is more or less correct.
Your neighbour can not set foot onto your land as this is illegal.
Assuming you bought your house after this breeze block/fence was erected then you are legally allowed to paint it or hang trellis from it as long as your intentions aren't malicious.
If the fence is the type where one side has the post showing then these post should be on your neighbours side as he built the fence and should have made sure that the 'clean' side was away from his garden.
37 years is a long time, too long for him to claim his 3 inches back.
Why did you not discuss this situation with the previous occupant of your house?
The only way to find out the exact boundary for your properties is to look at the original plans, but if your neighbour WAS the person who erected the block/fence then he has chosen where he want the boundary to be.
The law concerning this sort of matter is so complex and very expensive to go through the courts. Try talking to your neighbour, if that fails then paint the blocks and hang your trellis. If he steps on your property then have him arrested for trespass with intent to cause criminal damage.
Good luck.

Answer 3

As far as I am aware after a certain period of time which does not come anywhere close to 37 years but is more like 5 years then the property inside the wall is yours!
The question I would ask your neighbour is why he did not build the wall on the boundary in the first place?
If in doubt consult your title deeds and/or a solicitor to find out your legal standing but I would say after this time if you want to paint the wall or grow something against it then you are legally entitled to do so!
Tell him to go ahead with his gravel and you can take him to court!

Answer 4

That guy Boomer has got it right. Tell your neighbour to go away in double quick time. You can do what you like to the wall on your side, as long as you are not causing any damage to it. As to the claiming of 3 inches of land back by putting down a bit of gravel, tell him to take a hike, he should have laid his fence line out correctly in the first place 37 years ago, and after 7 years without any attempt by him to make claim to it he lost the right to it to you. Did he aquire building consent from the local planning office for the wall in the first place? If he did not then why don't you see if you can apply for him to have it removed. That should be a bit of fun.

Answer 5

This matter could well be the exception to the general rule that "good fences make good neighbors".

A fence/wall resting directly on the property line should belong equally to both parties, regardless of who erected it initially. The status of those 3 inches in the middle depends on your local regulations. A local government official should be able to answer that.

As a property owner, my greater concern would be that this wall was initially constructed to be a breeze barrier, not a retaining wall. But by filling in his garden, he is using it as a retaining wall. The construction standard for a retaining wall should be quite a bit higher than that for a breeze barrier. I wonder if its up to local code. If not, then this wall could easily give way and his garden would then be in yours. And it would be his responsibility, entirely, to make the matter right. Perhaps an appropriate local official needs to be called out to inspect the wall for compliance with local codes. If it isn't sufficiently strong, then your neighbor could well be ordered to either replace the wall appropriately, and at his expense solely, or to restore the original grade of his garden. I doubt he'd be too happy with either choice. And how much might it cost him just to fight such an action?

Not that you necessarily must go through with all that. But if your neighbor wishes to be hard nosed, then you can play that game as well.

In the meantime, you should be able to paint or whatever on that portion of the wall that sits on the boundary, wherever the legal boundary turns out to actually be. And I certainly would see no problem with putting plantings on YOUR property. Should they grow over onto his, then he has every right to trim them back IF he can find a way to do so without coming onto your property.

Oh, and if you just want to get his goat, send him an invoice for the maintenance of those 3 inches for the past 37 years. While this wouldn't be seriously given or received, perhaps you could add a note on the invoice that you would be happy to sit down over a cup of tea and work this out agreeably and as neighbors. Maybe it would be just enough to break the stalemate.

Good luck.

Answer 6

If the wall has been there for thirty seven years and you or the previous owners have been using the land for all that time 'without let or hinderance, without permission or levy' then all the land on your side of the wall is yours. You're perfectly entitled to paint your side or to attach trellis. He isn't allowed on to your land without your permission so wouldn't be allowed to put the gravel in. If he tried pouring it over the wall that would be fly tipping.

Answer 7

If this is as important to you as I think it is, have a site survey done. You may find that with modern equiptment he could be totally wrong. My son bought a house and had to have a survey for title insurance and they found that his property line was way over in the middle of the neighbor's drive way. Technically, they had no access to their garage. They planted flowers clear to the edge of the drive and the owners dad came over and cut them down and the war was on. When my son showed them what he actually owned, they became the nicest neighbors anyone could ever imagine. It sure would be fun if you could take that whole wall out, wouldn't it. Good Luck and God Bless

Answer 8

In Ireland the land laws are very similar , and as one of the answers , the time frame may not matter if the error broke the law in the first place , this would be picked up on a site survey if the property went up for sale and could cause problems , if for no other reason than future proofing your property get this sorted through a solicitor sooner rather than later

Answer 9

1st he can't clam anything that makes up part of your garden and if the wall is more than 6ft he would have had to have planing permission.
2nd he can not stop you putting anything on the wall so long as it is planted in your garden.
3rd you need to make sure that when attaching anything to the wall you have to use screws and not nails.
Screws can be removed and there for it is not a permanent structiour.
Nail cab not be easily removed and therefore make it a permanent structiour.
Your first line of action is to contact your locale council.

Answer 10

pick your battles. really if you think about it, hes just improving his property. he has every right. you cant paint his wall or alter it in any way. think of how your values go up when your neighbors improve their houses. try and have a positive attitude and create a solution in a different frame of mind.