Please help as I desperately need advice on a neighbour dispute regarding a party wall

Please help as I desperately need advice on a neighbour dispute regarding a party wall

"Alex"	5/25/2005 11:21:12 AM
Sadly my mum became very ill with a brain tumour about 2 1/2 years ago and at time my property developing neighbour made a hole in a ground level party wall to drain the gas fumes from their boiler into my courtyard, a few feet from my daughters bedroom window and about 10 ft from my bedroom window. To be honest, I wouldn't have noticed if they had built a fun fair in my bedroom as at the time I was travelling from Surrey to Wales on a twice weekly basis to visit my mum in hospital. The property was sold and as soon as the new owners moved in and turned on the boiler it became impossible for my daughter to open her bedroom window or for me to open mine without the room filling with gas fumes. After living in my house for 20 years, it also became impossible to sit in my lovely courtyard without being blasted with horrible fumes. I advised the owners of this but they have done nothing apart from fob me off. To make matters even worse, they opened a 2nd hole in the wall and installed a noisy and smelly extractor fan from their kitchen. They have kept promising to sort things out but it has now been nearly 2 years and nothing has been done! Their deeds state that 'they must not open any window, apature or other opening below first floor level in the wall' but this has been ignored. The title deeds also state that 'all division walls shall belong to the respective adjoining owners in vertically divided halves - blah blah', but this has also been ignored. I can't afford a solicitor and have written to my neighbours, who have now let the property to tenents who are intending to buy the property. The tenants have threatened to sue me if I close either hole but I have now given the owners 17 days notice that I will personally close the hole for the kitchen extractor fan and 2 months notice for them to remove the gas flue or I will block the flue putting their boiler out of action. Please tell me whether you think that this is reasonable? To be honest I am very scared and don't know whether I will end up being sued - although I feel that I am in the right and that they have taken advantage of the fact that I am a single mother in horrible circumstances. Unfortunately my business has run down due to having to look after my mum for 18 months (she has now died) and my cash reserves are virtually nill. I am terrified about losing my house if I am sued. However, I cannot live with the horrible gas fumes or cooking smells any longer and believe that if my neighbours were really going to do something, they would have done it by now. Environmental health were no help at all as they said that as their boiler was installed by a Corgi gas registered fitter, it must be legal. Please help as I am desperate for some advice. Thanks in advance



"David Chesler"	5/26/2005 8:25:07 PM
Alex writes that his neighbors are venting exhaust gas through holes in a party wall. The neighbors have threatened to sue him if he blocks off the holes, which would have been my first inclination. One wonders, what would be the consequences of making more holes in the wall and connecting them, via U-shaped pipes, to the offending holes? Or if one wanted to be nicer, could someone in this situation connect the holes via a 90-degree bend and vertical pipe so that they vent above the courtyard? I know nothing about British law, but I am assuming that the gases behave the same on both sides of the pond. -- - David Chesler <chesler@post.harvard.edu> Iacta alea est



sethb@panix.com (Seth Breidbart)	5/26/2005 8:25:08 PM
In article <ip5991ddjdhlpq2oj9ppeddcud0l1seaov@4ax.com>, Alex <alex@aitchison8.freeserve.co.uk> wrote: Their deeds state that 'they must not open any window, apature or other opening below first floor level in the wall' but this has been ignored. The title deeds also state that 'all division walls shall belong to the respective adjoining owners in vertically divided halves - blah blah', but this has also been ignored. That seems to indicate that you own the half of the wall on your side, which they illegally made a hole in. You should be able to force them to repair that hole; or you could repair it yourself and bill them for the repairs. You really can't afford _not_ to get legal advice from someone familiar with your local laws who can read and interpret your deeds. Or, you could drill your own holes back through the wall and duct their emissions back to their side :-) Seth



TOTE@dog-play.com	5/26/2005 8:25:10 PM
On Wed, 25 May 2005 11:21:12 -0400 Alex <alex@aitchison8.freeserve.co.uk> whittled these words: I can't afford a solicitor and have written to my neighbours, who have now let the property to tenents who are intending to buy the property. The tenants have threatened to sue me if I close either hole but I have now given the owners 17 days notice that I will personally close the hole for the kitchen extractor fan and 2 months notice for them to remove the gas flue or I will block the flue putting their boiler out of action. If you can't afford a solicitor to handle the situation correctly how are you going to afford one when you get sued for illegal "self-help"? Don't save money by throwing money down the well. Find a way to afford a solicitor or accept the risk that you may well lose much more than one will cost. Try to avoid taking actions that will cause you to be sued (like mucking with other people's property). You may be in the right, but you also have to handle it legally. You can (1) move (2) live with the problem (3) hire a solicitor to handle the problem (4) educate yourself on LEGAL actions to take (5) accept the risks of arrest / legal action. Life isn't always fair. Ok lots of time it is quite unfair. Don't make things worse by making bad choices. Act in haste, repent at leisure. -- Diane Blackman

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