Hi, thanks for your response. I believe she is suggesting this to prevent a gap if my neighbours ever decide to do a rear extension as well. This seems to be so complicated........

The joys of extending!

Thanks Jonathan. That's very helpful.

Jonathan is correct, your designer is recommending you remove the boundary fence and erect a party wall on that side of your extension. In effect you will be continuing your existing party wall from the main dwellings further to the rear, saving your neighbour the cost of one wall and foundations should they ever choose to extend.

Another benefit for your neighbour would be that in the fences place you would need to have a brickwork finish on your neighbours side, this will mean less maintenance in the long run.

We have a free PDF download for additional information with regard to the rules on Party Wall Agreements;

http://media.wix.com/ugd/065f9f_6640ab7fd482493fb0558876342727b0.pdf

Hope this helps,

New World Designers Ltd.

hi there. looks like you have all the advice you need here. as we have done this several times, the final outcome really depends on what you and your neighbour decides.

you can either do the above - erect a new wall and this becomes the new party wall. this is the ideal scenario as it means you can maximise the space within your new extension and also if the neighbour is planning to have an extension then he/she will use the same wall and contribute the cost of building the wall as and when they decide to do so. the other option, and this has happened is that the neighbour says that they do not want you to build a new wall and it must be left as it is. then yo have to build your wall inside the boundary existing wall. this of course takes up more space within the inside of your extension.

you can handle this matter in two ways - either a friendly chat with your neighbour with the drawings and proposed favoured scheme. you would need a letter of agreement between the neighbour in question saying you would agree to cover any damages that could occur during the build caused by the extension and take a schedule of conditions (pictures of the neighbouring property inside - where the extension will be built). this is both you and your neighbour know the existing condition of the property before the build. the advantages is that this process takes less time but is less formal

if you want to cover your backs completely and have the matter handled independently, then the best thing is to handle the matter with party wall surveyors (either you will just need one, or two depending on your neighbour). this would be a good idea perhaps especially if your neighbour is planning an extension. however the process can last up to 6 weeks easily, so if you are in a hurry to proceed this might not be the case.

hope this helps and message us if you need more information.

Hi yes you do. It's more an agreement between you and your Neighbour. However it can be that the bush for example actually belonging to you - the best person to ask might be a surveyor who can look at the plans and see who owns exactly what. Usually the case is if it is a fence or wall that you and the Neighbour own half of it ...

Your neighbours do not have the power to stop you doing an extension, but they can put barriers in your way. Don't be put off doing your extension purely because of your neighbours, we have carried out projects where an extension has brought them closer together... or at the very least amicable!

Hope you find a solution soon, let us know how you get on.