This article first appeared in NewsBrief, Autumn 2002
If you're considering demolishing a terraced property, consider carefully any potential claims that lie in law from the owners of neighbouring properties - before you start knocking anything down.
A Court of Appeal case concerned the demolition of a single terraced house in Plymouth. Following demolition of the house, the owners of the attached terraced house, Mr. & Mrs. R., brought a claim for damages against the owner of the demolished house.
Mr. & Mrs. R had obtained a consultant engineer's report which stated that the removal of the neighbouring house caused instability to the exposed wall and that the wall had suffered damage as a result of movement and exposure to the elements.
Previous cases have held that there is no general duty on a landowner to weatherproof an exposed wall when demolishing a neighbouring building.
But in this case the Court found for Mr. & Mrs. R and awarded damages. They did this because Mr. & Mrs. R's property had a right to be supported by the demolished property. Although much of the damage that was caused to Mr. & Mrs. R's property was as a result of friction of the wind, it could ultimately be traced back to the removal of the supporting building.
The right to support is one that arises in attached properties, for example, terraced and semi-detached properties. It should also be considered in multi-occupied buildings where owners of upper floors will require support from lower floors and lower floor owners require shelter from upper floors in the same building. If there is no express grant of such rights in the deeds, it is possible that owners of attached properties may have acquired such rights through continuous use of those rights for at least 20 years.
Demolition of supporting buildings or parts of buildings is likely to play an important part in an increasing number of building projects as town centres and inner cities are regenerated and new uses are found for redundant properties. It is vital to consider other owners' rights at an early stage if you are to avoid being on the receiving end of a damages claim.
