Retaining garden wall collapse

Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2003
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Scotland
Wondering if anyone here would be able to help with some info.
My wall at the bottom of my garden has collapsed. It's a retaining wall, so is a shared wall with neighbours.
I have a large tree near the wall that I'm getting removed now after the wall collapsed.
The landlord of the house that shares the wall is stating that it's down to me to get it fixed. He's saying the damage has been caused by the tree. But there's no evidence of that. it's not covered by my building insurance unfortunately.

Is it just me that's liable?

Any advice would be welcome

Rob
 
Caporegime
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23 Dec 2011
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32,910
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Northern England
Wondering if anyone here would be able to help with some info.
My wall at the bottom of my garden has collapsed. It's a retaining wall, so is a shared wall with neighbours.
I have a large tree near the wall that I'm getting removed now after the wall collapsed.
The landlord of the house that shares the wall is stating that it's down to me to get it fixed. He's saying the damage has been caused by the tree. But there's no evidence of that. it's not covered by my building insurance unfortunately.

Is it just me that's liable?

Any advice would be welcome

Rob

Is he a qualified structural engineer? If not ignore him.
 
Man of Honour
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Just to the left of my PC
A possibly useful first port of call would be the land registry which might show who's responsible for the wall. It probably won't, but it might. Oddly, there's no legal requirement for that responsibility to be fixed. But if there is an existing boundary agreement it will be recorded there.

https://www.gov.uk/your-property-boundaries

Oh wait, you're in Scotland. Different rules there. I have no idea if the exact boundaries and legal responsibilities for boundary walls/fences/etc are fixed and recorded in Scotland. But that site should point you in the right direction for Scottish rules and records...yeah, this looks like the right place for Scotland:

https://www.ros.gov.uk/services/search-property-information

It'll be a start. If it's your wall it's your problem. If it's their wall but they allege it was damaged by your tree that'll be more complicated. But finding out if legal responsibility for the wall is fixed and if so who bears that responsibility will be a start.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
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3,139
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Scotland
So, my garden is retained by the wall. There is around a 6 foot drop to the neighbours garden. But how can I maintain the other side of the wall, it's in my neighbours garden

Thanks,

Rob
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Jan 2010
Posts
21,947
So, my garden is retained by the wall. There is around a 6 foot drop to the neighbours garden. But how can I maintain the other side of the wall, it's in my neighbours garden

Thanks,

Rob
Its your retaining wall and your tree that damaged it. What is the question? Just be glad it didn't hurt anyone because of your lack of maintenance. 6ft is a huge drop and it should have been on your radar.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
17 Jun 2003
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3,139
Location
Scotland
Its your retaining wall and your tree that damaged it. What is the question? Just be glad it didn't hurt anyone because of your lack of maintenance. 6ft is a huge drop and it should have been on your radar.

No, the tree didn't cause the wall to collapse, according to the tree surgeon that's doing work on it & the wall looked okay to me before it fell.
Yes, I'm glad it never hurt anyone, but I had no idea it was going to collapse

Rob
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Jan 2010
Posts
21,947
No, the tree didn't cause the wall to collapse, according to the tree surgeon that's doing work on it & the wall looked okay to me before it fell.
Yes, I'm glad it never hurt anyone, but I had no idea it was going to collapse

Rob
Yeah to be fair when I need a structural survey, a tree surgeon and a wall looking okay are basically my go-to principles as well.

Let's totally ignore the 6ft worth of soil pushing against it and how typically walls don't fall down. Let's also ignore the fact that remediation work to a nearby tree is purely coincidental.
 
Soldato
Joined
5 Mar 2010
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12,305
How long has the wall been there? and how close is the tree to the wall?

Retaining walls don't just fall down, if the tree is very close than that'll be a prime suspect.

Is there much of the wall to repair? Is it a small repair, or has the damage compromised a large section of the wall and the entire section needs repairing/replacing?

I'd be cautious here in that if the repair bill becomes expensive, the landlord might go down a legal route to determine what caused the wall to collapse, and whether you were at fault for not preventing it sooner. Obviously if it's a small job/small repair bill then that's not worth the hassle.
 

Deleted member 66701

D

Deleted member 66701

So, my garden is retained by the wall. There is around a 6 foot drop to the neighbours garden. But how can I maintain the other side of the wall, it's in my neighbours garden

Thanks,

Rob
You have the right to access a neighbours land to maintain your property.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
17 Jun 2003
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3,139
Location
Scotland
There is a 6ft wall separating the gardens. My garden isn't 6ft higher than the neighbours. There is maybe 1ft to 2ft of soil against the wall. Maybe I've not explained that too clearly.

As far as the age of the wall, it's at least 50 years old according to other neighbours. I've not lived here that long. Its about 30ft that's went. I've got a stonemason coming to have a look soon

Rob
 
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