Lean to on a party wall?

[JPeck]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has had a similar issue to me re a neighbour's extension.

 

I would like to add a lean to on the side of my house however my NB extension was built on the boundary. I understand I can request permission to come off her wall under the party wall act but am concerned about potential for damage and costs etc and not sure where I stand legally and weather to just not bother. I'll list a few facts:

 

We bought the house 6 years ago with this extension in place. 

 

Their extension was built in 1995 by the houses previous owners

 

Plans show it was supposed to be built up to boundary so don't know how it was signed off. Their roof and guttering hang about 1ft into my garden. We knew this but decided we loved the house enough to overcome any issues.

 

So, should I ask to come off her wall or ditch the idea? The side is not massive so if I have to come in 1m from her wall it's not really worth it.

 

All thoughts gratefully received

[Temp]

1 hour ago, JPeck said:

I understand I can request permission to come off her wall under the party wall act but am concerned about potential for damage and costs etc and not sure where I stand legally and weather to just not bother. I'll list a few facts:

 

 

If the wall straddles the boundary then it's party wall and you have a right to build off it. If the wall is on their side the boundary then you don't. 

 

Their roof and gutter overhang is technically a trespass if they didnt have permssion from the owner of your house. In that case you could in theory  ask for it to be removed. If they refuse you could go to court BUT its quite common for judges award you modest damages instead of requiring its removal. This is a very common situation.. the plans show the extension will be built upto the boundary so that's where they start building the walls, conveniently forgetting the roof and gutters will overhang.  Chances are the owner of your house didn't even realise what was going to happen until the wall was up.

 

2 hours ago, JPeck said:

The side is not massive so if I have to come in 1m from her wall it's not really worth it.

 

You need to consider the effect on the value of your houses. The will no longer be "detached" so estate agents can't describe it as such. Building off would turn them into semi detached even a terrace.

 

Building off their wall....

 

This could be done. The main decision would be at what height should your roof meet the neighbours wall...

 

a) Below their guttering. You build a valley gutter on your side to deal with water from your roof. This normally only makes sense if the neighbours house is on higher ground?

 

b) Above their guttering. You remove their guttering and increase the height of the wall. You build a valley gutter on their side to deal with water from their roof. You have a conventional gutter which will overhang the boundary on their side. Needs their permission.

 

c) Same height as their guttering. You remove their guttering and build a valley gutter that takes water from both roofs.

 

With any option you need a builder who knows how to do valley gutters. Get this wrong and either you or the neighbour or both will have a leaky roof or damp wall.  It's not rocket science but needs a good builder, roofer or lead worker. It needs to be both designed and built right.

 

Building new wall on your side..

 

Ideally you would allow at least 800mm gap to allow for maintenance, gutter repairs etc. But you could build closer. If the gap is really small you get a problem with leaf debris collecting in the gap. If that builds up above the DPC it can cause damp issues. You probably want to allow say 300mm so you can get an improvised rake with long handle down there to clear it out every few years? If I was going down this route I would build my new wall just far enough away from their wall so it cleared their gutter by say 50mm. I'd build it a fair bit higher than theirs so my gutters were perhaps 1-2ft above theirs but dont overhang the boundary. I'd offer to replace their gutters and possibly their fascia boards with maintenance free.