The Pat Kenny case has got me thinking...
My house is semi-detached. Long before I bought it, at a time when there was no planning permission in Ireland, my (now elderly) neighbour built a rear extension. This was done by building up the garden wall which separates his house from mine. The whole thing is hugely amateurish and looks fit to fall down – it's no better than a lean-to really. It runs the full length of the dividing garden wall.
The point is, my official boundary runs down the middle of the dividing wall, which is about 18 inches wide, so the side wall of his house is now about 9 inches into my property, and when you take the overhang of the roof into account, he's taking about a foot and a half.
Now, he's just died and already the sons and daughters are talking about selling the house. My concern is that when they do, the very first thing the new owner is going to do is tear down the rear extension and rebuild, and I don't want them taking over land that should be mine. Apart from anything else, I want to build my own rear extension.
Presuming no amendments are made to boundaries on the deeds of either house, am I protected from new owners being able to claim adverse possession – i.e. would they have to own the protruding extension themselves for a fixed period of time without me objecting?
Any thoughts?
My house is semi-detached. Long before I bought it, at a time when there was no planning permission in Ireland, my (now elderly) neighbour built a rear extension. This was done by building up the garden wall which separates his house from mine. The whole thing is hugely amateurish and looks fit to fall down – it's no better than a lean-to really. It runs the full length of the dividing garden wall.
The point is, my official boundary runs down the middle of the dividing wall, which is about 18 inches wide, so the side wall of his house is now about 9 inches into my property, and when you take the overhang of the roof into account, he's taking about a foot and a half.
Now, he's just died and already the sons and daughters are talking about selling the house. My concern is that when they do, the very first thing the new owner is going to do is tear down the rear extension and rebuild, and I don't want them taking over land that should be mine. Apart from anything else, I want to build my own rear extension.
Presuming no amendments are made to boundaries on the deeds of either house, am I protected from new owners being able to claim adverse possession – i.e. would they have to own the protruding extension themselves for a fixed period of time without me objecting?
Any thoughts?