External Wall

[wemajewska]

Our terraced Victorian house became 'end' of terrace when (I presume) bomb damage took away the 'true' end of terrace. We bought the house about 15 years ago and there was a scruffy looking garage of sorts with a roof covering in the space where the house would have been originally. The owner of this 'garage' was very hard to liaise with and the council ended up removing the roof as they felt it was a danger and also they took out the rubbish in the area and secured it with metal doors and a lock. We now have a damp problem on our end wall. When I have looked at other terraces in London where bomb damage has occurred most of the houses appear to have a cement type finish over the wall. What do you think needs to be done to a wall that was not originally built to be exposed to the elements. My apologies for the long question. Additionally getting access will prove to be difficult as the council are now saying it is nothing to do with them and the land registry shows the owner as being the man who has proved difficult and aggressive in the past...

 

[plasticpigeon]

I assume that the wall is still a 9" wall. I don't suppose it is built particularly well as it was never meant to be on show. Perhaps that is why they are rendered. If the bricks look good and well laid then perhaps proper pointing is all it needs. Anyone else know much about this. regarding the garage. Is the owner absent. If so I think that if you take over the garage and for example rent it out or get mail delivered to it, after a certain time, I think 10 years you can lay claim to the property. That would serve him right for being awkward.

 

[MatthewC]

If there was rubbish on the site, have you been able to check whether there's any left, piled up against your wall? That would need clearing and there's no way anyone will notice or care, by the sounds of it. Also, if there was a house there then the odds are that the ground level is actually the old floor level, i.e. the same as your own, in which case a little trench (6-8 inches deep) along the base of your wall would not go amiss.

If the Council fitted the doors and a lock, do they still have the keys? Or could you quietly replace the lock with your own? If that stays fitted for years then that rather proves ownership, doesn't it?

 

[Penners]

Good points above. If the end wall was once a party wall, you do need to make sure that it is at least two bricks thick, even if it's not a cavity wall (which it almost certainly isn't).

If you've satisfied yourself of that, then you need to check Matthew's suggestion - what is the level of your floor compared with the level of soil/rubbish outside? You should try to ensure that your floor is a good 6in higher.

 

[worms]

An interesting situation, which raises all sorts of legal questions. I would wonder if the party-wall acts still apply and if the Council removed the roof to make the building safe, would they not be liable for ensuring that their action doesn't cause adverse effects to others? The issues around the best treatment of the wall are probably simpler than sorting out the legal situation and I think I would want to have a lawyer on board with the process.

 

[vicky whitworth]

Hello,
Does anyone know what the actual legal position with regard to claiming ownership of land? I can't believe it's true that if you can show useage over 10-12 years you can claim it legally. The farm track to our cottage has no known owner. Land registry records nothing, no one claims it, our solicitor could find nothing. We maintain it and drive over it every day, as have previous occupants going back years. Could we claim it?

 

[JohnB]

Hello,
Does anyone know what the actual legal position with regard to claiming ownership of land? I can't believe it's true that if you can show useage over 10-12 years you can claim it legally. The farm track to our cottage has no known owner. Land registry records nothing, no one claims it, our solicitor could find nothing. We maintain it and drive over it every day, as have previous occupants going back years. Could we claim it?

Once upon a time you could after 12 years, but now I think you can claim a kind of provisional title to it after that time, and eventually make it permanent. It's all on the Land Registry web site, but as it's a few years since I read up on it I've forgotten the details.

What you can't do is claim ownership of land that's already registered by someone else, unless you can prove it was done illegally I think. In the case of the OP, as the owner is known they couldn't register it in their name without buying it.

 

[wemajewska]

Thank you all for your comments. I think you guys are right about easier to ensure wall ok than engage legally. Will follow through on your suggestions. Great forum by the way!