2 days ago
I'm worried my neighbours' leaning 6ft garden wall will fall and hurt someone: What can I do?
I live in a village in the East of England where lots of the properties are very old.
The problem is that some of the garden walls of these homes are staring to lean towards the pavement.
The walls are typically 6ft high, and at least double that in length. I worry that they could collapse and someone could get hurt if they are not sorted.
They also block my way when walking, as I usually have a buggy with me.
I think the walls should be replaced. Can I alert the council – and does it have the authority to make the homeowners take action?
Ed Magnus, of This is Money, replies: We've heard from readers complaining about their neighbours garden fence collapsing in the past, but your predicament notches things up on the danger scale.
You would hope any responsible homeowner or land owner might also be keen to avoid their wall collapsing and potentially seriously hurting someone.
That said, they may be trying to pretend the problem doesn't exist or isn't their responsibility. After all replacing a section of a brick or stone boundary wall won't be cheap.
But the owner may also not be aware, particularly if the property is rented out or they live elsewhere, so it could be worth being a responsible citizen and telling them about the danger. They may also consider the wall to be perfectly safe, even it it is leaning.
If that doesn't work, alerting the council is the next best option.
For expert advice we spoke to Kathryn Cooling, an associate in the property disputes team at law firm RWK Goodman and Olivia Egdell-Page, partner and head of property department at Joseph A Jones & Co LLP.
What can be done about a dangerous wall?
Kathryn Cooling replies: You are right to be concerned. Leaning garden walls, especially ones of that size, could pose a real risk if they were to collapse.
You can certainly alert the local council and in many cases, they do have the power to step in.
The key thing here is public safety when using footpaths. If a structure like a garden wall is next to a public footpath and it appears unsafe, the local council has a duty to investigate.
However, they depend on the public to report these things. Most councils will have a team who deal with these kinds of problems and have sections on their websites where you can report dangerous structures or highway obstructions issues.
If the council agrees the walls pose a risk to public safety, then they can usually serve a notice on the homeowners that they must make the walls safe. In some cases, the council may even step in and do the work itself.
It would be worth taking some photographs to show how much the walls are leaning and where they are. This can help you making the report.
At the end of the day, public footpaths should be free from obstructions. You can definitely report this to your local council.
Olivia Egdell-Page adds: In most cases, the council cannot force homeowners to maintain a property boundary.
The council's role is generally limited to addressing hazards and nuisances related to boundary structures, not enforcing routine maintenance.
The responsibility for maintaining boundary structures will be dealt with in the title documents for the property, and typically will be the responsibility of the homeowners.
If a boundary structure falls into disrepair and causes damage or injury due to neglect, the owner could be held liable.
Property owners are primarily responsible for maintaining the boundary itself, whilst the council or highways authority in the area will be responsible for maintaining the surface of the public footpaths and highways.
You may still wish to contact the council to see if there is anything they can do, as you may find the boundary walls in question are on council land, or that they are already aware of their deterioration.
It just may be that if the council states that it cannot take action, you may be limited in the further action you are able to take.
What if the danger was a leaning tree?
Olivia Egdell-Page replies: Where a property boundary is formed by a hedge or trees, the highways authority can ask you to cut these back if they are causing an obstruction in the road or a public footpath.
If the homeowners refuse, the highways authority can access the properties without obtaining permission to undertake the work and they may also charge the homeowners for this.
That being said, the Court of Appeal ruled in the case of Sumner v Colborne that a highways authority owed no duty of care to users of a highway in respect of overgrown vegetation on land adjacent to the highway, which affected visibility at a junction.
The case was brought following an accident at the junction, and it was claimed that the highway authority had breached their statutory duty and were liable for negligence.
Whilst it was held the highways authority held a duty of care to users of the highway in respect of dangers that exist on the highway, no such duty was owed in respect of the dangers on land next to the highway.
The court further confirmed that individual landowners of properties which abut (touch or lean on) the highway do not owe a duty of care to the road users in respect of the maintenance and upkeep of their land.
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