Party Wall agreements - help

[Lariele]

I am a freeholder of my property and the flat above me. My tenant wishes to sell and there has been inumerable shennanigans by him in this process (including him going into my bank and extracting information from them by deception - they have admitted that this has happened and accepted liability. He has also been withholding payment on buildings insurance). On 31 July he apparently signed a party wall agreement with my neighbour on the other side who wishes to put in a loft conversion.

 

On 11 September he said to me he had done this. I contacted the neighbour and told her the party wall agreement she has is defective. She then served me with party wall agreement papers and insisted I sign them immediately.

 

I'm not overly happy about ANY of this, as far as I can tell I should have been given written notice two months in advance.

 

Can I accept that the party wall agreement she has given me is my two months written notice or am I now forced to sign this agreement immediately as she is saying I have to? I honestly have been mucked about and given so much stress by my tenant and now by her since the beginning of July. She has done nothing but be argumentative and antagonistic since I advised her the party wall agreement she has is defective.

 

She came to see me and asked me to sign it - I said I would like to get advice before signing it and she went off the deep end at me. When she finally stopped going off the deep end she started trying to emotionally blackmail me by saying she has children and they will have to move out etc. She doesn't have any children that I've ever seen or heard and I've lived there for 10 years! She appears to have a flat mate who is in her 20s!

 

I tried to discuss this with her rationally again today and she just went off on one at me again becoming argumentative and saying "all you have to do is sign it" - the agreement she has given me says stuff like "I agree that I have had the plans explained to me in full by the architect" when I haven't.

 

I also know that I am entitled to a surveyor and she says that "there are ways around this to save time - I can take before and after photos to satisfy you that I've not damaged your wall" I'm not interested in saving time any more - I would have been happy to accommodate in as quick a way as possible till she started to really **** me off and add even more stress on me.

 

I tried to get help from the planning department and buildings control - the planning permission has not yet been granted and in addition they told me that in fact no one ever needs planning application it is just a precaution in case anyone objects!!!! IF that is true why the hell do we ever bother to apply for planning?

 

The work has already started!

 

Buildings control said it was nothing to do with them and that it was a matter between me and her.

 

I find it incredible that they don't care that work has already started!!!

 

The woman didn't even apologise to me for not doing her research properly - if she had at least bloody said "I'm really sorry I've messed up" instead of just yelling her head off and trying to bully me into signing this thing immediately I wouldn't be so upset!

 

Can anyone offer advise?

[blacksheep1979]

I would tell her that she should cease all work until she has a valid agreement and contact the local planning planning officer. I would also seek proffesional legal advice on this one (and probably not the cab) as this could get a little complicated.

[Lariele]

The local planning officer told me it was a matter for buildings control. Buildings control told me it was a matter for planning. Both shirked any involvement whatsoever and both told me that you don't ever need planning permission for anything, but that its there as a precaution should someone object to the works

 

I told them both I'd like to object to the works and both said I couldn't :?

 

She has refused to stop work. I guess I'm gonna have to go pay for legal advice on this matter too urgh. Already working on 3 other litigation matters to do with the tenant. I can see me having to sell and move out of the area over all of this - the neighbours who I've never had any contact with have suddenly all ganged up on me!