Boundary issues on a Link detached house

[Nick2]

Hi

I have a link detached house. My neighbours house (a semi detached) is attached to my house by the garage. He has recently decided to extend above the garage.
He came and ask me if i have an objection and i agreed for him to extend as long as there is a gap left (appf 250mm) between the extension and my house.
Unfortunately he has now decided to live a very small gap and to utilise fascia to close the gap and make the house look fully attached to mine.
By doing that i have been advised that my house will devaluate by 20k.
Were to i stand legally. Can i legally make him remove the fascias etc?

[cassa333]

What has been agreed with the planning department? Check with them first.

[buildersmate]

Almost certainly you could force removal of the fascia, but it depends exactly where the boundary is. This type of extension has great potential to go wrong, and potentially cost neighbours thousands of pounds in legal costs - so be very careful.
It's too late to tell you this now, but this work should have been subject to the Party Wall Act 1996, and if you had used it you could have employed a surveyor at your neighbour's expense to ensure no misunderstandings of this type occurred. I mention this now so anyone else reading this remembers it before the time it happens to them.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/pla nningandbuilding/partywall
It is very likely that the outside edge of your wall is not on the boundary because the verge edge on the roof above usually protrudes further by 70mm or so. If that is the case he cannot link the wall together because the verge edge above will be on the boundary. However we are talking a few millimetres here and because he has already gone to the cost of completing the work he is unlikely to want to change things without a fight.
You say the fascias are now linked - please explain the orientation of the two roofs - are they are same height and orientation? Has he joined up at the roofs?
You presumably don't have guttering along this common boundary to him?
The simple rule is that no part of the structure shall protrude into another's land - no guttering, no fascia.
Post some more details and I'll try and help further.

[Nick2]

The roof of my house is 300mm higher then his and both roofs are at the same orientation. My roof protrudes by 75mm on the side. No guttering or fascia on the side in question.
The approved plans clearly specify a 250mm gap between the two houses. However his argument is that Building control has requetsed for the gap to be sealed in order to stop birds etc getting between the gap.
I have questioned Building control who admitted the request and told me that this is now a legal matter and they cannot force him to remove the fascia,even though they are the ones who advised him teh first place.

[buildersmate]

Hmm difficult.
You don't have right to get him to remove it because you perceive a reduction in value - so don't even go there.
Any right must be related to the fact one can't build on top of someone' else's land. The issue is that the boundary line is very difficult to define exactly. The Land Registry includes a cop-out that the boundaries shown on their title plans (in red usually) are 'General Boundaries'. One can pay to have a specific boundary determined by a surveyor, but I don't suggest it.
The thing in your favour is the line of outer wall of your house must be on your land - that's pretty indisputable. He must have crossed that line to be able to attach the fascia. I wonder if the line of your outer wall is the same as his outer wall in the garage? - if so, he presumably built inside this line by 250mm on his side to construct the extension.
Modern housing estates generally have a Schedule of Rights included in the Land Title. A clause typically says: 'The right to the gutters eaves foundations and any other part of the dwelling house and garage now constructed on the said property to protrude into under or over any part of adjoining estate'. Developers put this clause in there because houses are squashed so close together these days they want to avoid mess-ups in the land title for the purchasers. You can look for such a clause in your title. That gives you the right for your eaves to overhang by 75mm. But it doesn't give him the right now to do the same - the wording is 'now constructed'. So your neighbour can't say your house overhangs the same as his extension does - assuming the clause is there.
You asked for the legal position. If you analyse the boundary line and conclude on the position of the outer wall you are legally within your right to demand its removal - irrespective of what Building Control says. This is neither a Planning nor a Building Control issue - it is a land ownership issue.