This has been a long running dispute about the true boundary and building of a new fence that has evolved into a retaining wall dispute. I'll try to spare the details about the dispute but in summary, the neighbour claimed with nothing but his own measurements that the dividing boundary between our small lots was actually about 15 cms more on our side - 15 cm doesn't sound a lot but it is when your side access passage in narrow enough anyway. He took down the existing fence - which we agreed needed replacing - but before we agreed on the replacement. In the end I had to go to QCAT, who told me that I had to pay for a full survey to prove where the boundary was (not him - I didn't want to move the fence line, he did). And he lied through his teeth in the hearing.
Years later for mine and my family's mental health I relented and agreed to a stupidly elaborate and high fence on "his" defined new boundary line, but this required specially made brackets so that the fence could be suspended over the existing retaining wall - his back yard is on the high side and the wall was (is) inside the true boundary between the properties. He now claims that it is a shared retaining wall (it was there before we bought the property but is painted and rendered the same as the rest of the our house - the old fence was running alongside it.
But he then, without consulting me and without my knowing, drilled reinforcing rods down through the wall (it's core filled brick and rendered) and raised its height with hardwood sleepers on top on MY side of the new fence palings and it looks terrible - the neighbour can't see it, though he claims that he needs it because he'll be filling in on his side (i.e. raising the height of his land - and presumably the pressure on the existing wall). I also was planning to repaint and fixe up the wall as it has some render cracks but I can't do that now due to the terrible additions. The builder is his mate and is rude and condescending (and left piles of treated timber sawdust on the property without clearing up after him).
I'm at a loss on what to do - the sleepers are going to be nigh on impossible to remove as he's over engineered it and any securing bolts are on the palings side and unreachable without removing them. The chemset bolts drilled down through the wall can probably be cut off with an angle-grinder but if he does fill in, then it'll overspill into my side access path. I'm going out of my mind but can't think of a resolution and after my previous farcical experience with QCAT I can't see any point going there. Is there anything I can do to maintain the integrity of my property and force him to back off and leave us alone?
Thanks...
Greg
Years later for mine and my family's mental health I relented and agreed to a stupidly elaborate and high fence on "his" defined new boundary line, but this required specially made brackets so that the fence could be suspended over the existing retaining wall - his back yard is on the high side and the wall was (is) inside the true boundary between the properties. He now claims that it is a shared retaining wall (it was there before we bought the property but is painted and rendered the same as the rest of the our house - the old fence was running alongside it.
But he then, without consulting me and without my knowing, drilled reinforcing rods down through the wall (it's core filled brick and rendered) and raised its height with hardwood sleepers on top on MY side of the new fence palings and it looks terrible - the neighbour can't see it, though he claims that he needs it because he'll be filling in on his side (i.e. raising the height of his land - and presumably the pressure on the existing wall). I also was planning to repaint and fixe up the wall as it has some render cracks but I can't do that now due to the terrible additions. The builder is his mate and is rude and condescending (and left piles of treated timber sawdust on the property without clearing up after him).
I'm at a loss on what to do - the sleepers are going to be nigh on impossible to remove as he's over engineered it and any securing bolts are on the palings side and unreachable without removing them. The chemset bolts drilled down through the wall can probably be cut off with an angle-grinder but if he does fill in, then it'll overspill into my side access path. I'm going out of my mind but can't think of a resolution and after my previous farcical experience with QCAT I can't see any point going there. Is there anything I can do to maintain the integrity of my property and force him to back off and leave us alone?
Thanks...
Greg