Hi, Hoping some of you an offer wise words on this one. I'll try to be brief and not rant.
Eight years ago we bought a small house in Charente maritime. An old farmhouse divided in two. Before moving in the neighbour asked if he could have access to a wall of his house which needed some work. Our houses overlap and he needed to get into our garden "No problem" I said When we returned we found he had chainsawed through half a dozen wood beams holding up a roof on an outside hanger so he could finish building his wall. I guess it's easier than cutting breeze blocks to fit in and around the beams. When I asked him about it he denied doing it. So I think the faeries must have done the damage. The history continues up until the present day with a catalogue of events. I have never retaliated. Always remained polite. ( though its been hard at times)
So the latest one is, some years ago he constructed a dividing wall between our front gardens. The wall fall about 30 cms into his side of the property. After the construction I replaced some guttering and a down pipe. The mason who did the work ran the down pipe on my side of the dividing wall but its actually fixed onto the neighbours house. My neighbour is now asking me to remove the down pipe and take it of his wall. If I don't do it he says he will cut it off
I think that building regs say that a dividing wall should be constructed either exactly at the end of a property or 50 cms into the property? So maybe he has to move the wall.
So there you have it. All want is a quiet life. Any suggestions.................
Thanks
Gary
Yes, I know, but it could still be considered as a party wall.... depending on hundreds of little laws and rules... if the neighbour built it there, it probably was for a good reason.
Hi Tony,
About 2 meters. Can't tell you exactly as I'm not there at the moment to measure it.
Thanks everyone for some interesting ( also some crazy!) replies.
I think I will remove the down pipe as it was put there by mistake, apologise, maybe even buy him a bottle of wine as well.
once again . many thanks to all who replied
Hello again,
About the beams, you could seek legal advice, but, in the end, I don't think you will be able to prove that the neighbor cut them, as he denies it and you didn't see him doing it. Therefore, even if you hire a huissier to attest that the beam are cut, that will never prove (in court) who did it and when (even if the cut seems to be fresh.
I'm very sorry for what happens to you. I understand that you feel the need to remain polite, but after what this person did, he deserves no respect.
Bon courage !
I don't think the wall belongs to the neighbour, it's a party wall and to the best of my knowledge, if a pipe needs to go there, it does, whatever the neighbour thinks. It might, however, not have to go there...
I second this opinion, start with the mayor, see what happens, if you aren't satisfied, see a free legal advisor who will direct you to the right people. A notaire will be able to tell you what your rights are, but won't be able to do much in terms of making sure your neighbour behaves (and your neighbour might be a client too...) and a lawyer might be tempted to engage you in legal battles and run up huge bills for you without solving your problems. If you're lucky, a visit from the mayor and a couple of registered letters from the council will do the trick. If not, most probably your next step will be to engage a huissier who will establish a report for you, whatever you do, make sure you don't get into anything that will cost you too much as court cases, unfortunately, do not always solve problems.
Gary, you should contact your mayor at the Mairie, he is the first level of police and if he is like our mayor he can settle problems, be impartial and there is no charges, it is part of his duties.
The mayor has all the cadastre plans, can see where every thing should be and check if he had a building permit to build the wall!.
I hope this helps.
Marie-Antoinette
First check your insurance policy, it might have a paragraph which says that you are covered for lawyers fees. Then find a good advocat, not a notaire, who will advise you. You cannot reason with people like your neighbour. Find out definitely what are your rights and if your neighbour has overstepped his boundaries, sue him. He will then know you mean business. Court cases take years but it may solve the problem once and for all. Good luck
something like that happened around here also to a Swiss friend. First he engaged a mediator and as the mediator produced no result a excavator arrived, then the wall was history. Its not so expensive then a lawyer and all this hassle.
See your Notaire or Huissier de Justice for his advice on how to proceed or try explaining to the gendarmerie. In any case get legal advice.
Just kill him and bury him in the garden…ta dah…quite life…
I just wonder if this is the same story? Sorry it is in German, but Google will help.
British neighbors fighting
Gary, what a pain!!! first bit of advice I would give is "No more mister nice guy!" 1 things for sure we are dealing with major cultural differences not only Fr-UK but also city-countryside! Living in the countryside, I have noticed this on many occasions and just thank the Lord that we dont have any neighbours, coz neighbours = a lot of heartache!!
The guy is obviously not to be trusted and as you say you know he did it but cant prove it.....first thing i would do then is get a camera put up, even if its a fake one- that will keep him in his place for the time being anyway.
disputes about land comes down to who owns the land/plan which you would have got when you bought the property otherwise, if this isnt clear you might need to get a géomètre [land surveyor] in.
For interesting reading:
http://www.connexionfrance.com/avoiding-boundary-disputes-property-france-10600-news-article.html
PS do you have legal cover with your HSe Ins. might be worth while getting it out and then letting the locals direct you..it can be so complicated that it would save you a WHOLE lot of trouble in the long term. hope that helps and chin up/ or should I say 'bottoms' up!!!!
Hi,
First of all, my opinion is not as good a legal practitioner's. Opinions on forums are for free, but, sometimes, you get what you pay for !
Anyway, It seems that the mason (roofer ?) shouldn't have fixed the pipe on your neighbor's house without asking you to ask your neighbor's for his consent. Otherwise, if you need to fix the pipe on something, you need to build it. And if your mason damaged your neighbor's wall, it's your responsibility. You can still sue the mason, but I'm not sure this is the way to a quiet life.
About the dividing wall, I surprised your neighbor built it so far from the limit. Maybe he was not so sure about it. The bad news is there is probably nothing you can do about it, as this seems perfectly legal. The good one is that those 30cm might eventually belong to you... one day, by acquisitive prescription (usucaption).
Again, I'm not a lawman. And I can only imagine the site from what I understood.
Bon courage !