Global Courant 2023-04-28 21:10:18
The new addition to the Ashraf family’s house in London turned out to be about 7cm into their neighbours’ land, so they have been ordered by the court to demolish it.
The extension, built with permission, has cost them £80,000, and they were recently handed a bill of £200,000 by lawyers.
Shabaz Ashraf, 45, and wife Shakira, 40, were ordered by a judge to demolish the £700,000 addition to their London home after their neighbors complained that although some might consider it small, it was still a breach of another’s property.
Neighbors of the accused Avtar Dhinjan, Balvinder with whom they had previously been friends, denounced the passage of 7 cm inside the land of their house, as well as Ashfar’s roof extending about 10 cm from the side of their property.
Although they agreed that the breach was minor, they also complained that the neighbours’ works had increased the humidity in their house because the closeness between the walls left no room for ventilation.
The London Civil Court ruled in favor of the Dhinjans’ neighbors and ordered the Ashrafs to demolish the extension wall.
Judge Richard Roberts vindicated them by sentencing the ‘handsome’ neighbors for trespassing.
The Ashraf couple defended themselves by saying that the addition was built on the 1970 footprint of the house, so it had been there for 40 years, which gives them ‘ownership rights’ to the space.
But barrister Rachel Coyle, for the Dhinjans, said the 2019 rebuild went beyond the footprint of the old addition and had damaged the plaintiffs’ property.
In his ruling, the judge said: “Something sad about this case is that before people built extensions behind their houses, they were good neighbors and lived in harmony.”
He ordered the defendants to remove the built wall and pay the injured neighbors £100,000 in damages, half of which immediately.
Shabaz Ashraf, 45, and wife Shakira, 40, were ordered by a judge to demolish the addition to their home
Global Courantl
