We saw a chap yesterday who owns a duplex property. The other duplex owner has built a higher fence next to an old existing fence and concreted half her back yard.
Our client wishes to connect to sewerage but the connection point is on the other side of the concrete slab, which was laid after he made known his intention to connect to the sewer!
Our client was prepared to pay for the cost of getting pipes under the slab, but the other duplex owner has been obstructive.
He was not aware, but despite the old back fence separating the back yards, the back yards are all common property and neither duplex owner has any exclusive rights of use. Neither party is allowed to construct anything on the common property without permission of the other, and there is also an implied easement in relation to the proposed sewer line to the connection point, which has been encroached.
We will be writing demanding removal of the unapproved fence and slab, or alternatively, payment by the other owner of the extra cost of the sewerage connection, caused by the presence of the slab. We are still going to require the fence to me removed because it blocks our client’s outlook.
While it is not our favourite area of work we do assist people with unnecessary neighbour disputes.