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next door neighbour

what_to_do_6 Posts: 15 Forumite

23 July 2008 at 8:18AM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving

my house is detatched, but my neighbour has built an extension which is about one foot away from my outside wall, meaning i cannot retain my wall or guttering as he has inbedded it into his extension, its a right mess. The council has passed it and they say it complays to the building regs. have a solicitor on the case but he is usless and we are paying bills to him but nothing is getting done. this has been going on for over 2 years now. i will not be able to sell my house as it looks a mess because of what my neighbour has done, which also mean i have lost money on my property,as it does not look like a detached house now. he is slso in the same council tax band as me, even though he has an extra bathroom and bedroom. should i get a reduced rate in council tax? does anyone no of anything we can do. we do not speak to our neighbours because of this. help

Comments

Ionkontrol Posts: 802 Forumite

23 July 2008 at 9:13AM

Can you post some pictures to illustrate the problem?
If the council has passed it building regs wise, which means it will also have planning permission, there probably isn't a great deal you can do.
Did you object to his planning application?

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Mrs._M_7 Posts: 23 Forumite

23 July 2008 at 10:37AM

The rebanding of properties is only carried out on sale or revaluation. There has been no revaluation carried out in England since 1991. I know this is hard to accept but this crazy council tax system does not allow for any changes other than those stated. As far as your banding is concerned I am afraid you will have to bite the bullet. There is an answer, get rid of the present system and replace it with something that does not rely on property values. Visit www.isitfair.co.uk for answers to queries on council tax.

Sorry I cannot help with the other part of your question

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brownbake Posts: 561 Forumite

23 July 2008 at 10:48AM

There is very little you can do I am afraid. Absolutely irrelevant that he has extended his house and still pays same council tax. You both live on the same road!!!

If it has been passed officially stop wasting money on useless solicitors make your house as nice as possible and move.

Harsh and unfair but your only option if it riles you that much.

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JimmyTheWig Posts: 12,199 Forumite

23 July 2008 at 10:58AM

What has he done to your wall and guttering?

In terms of council tax, Mrs. M is right. The council tax on his property may go up when he sells the place, but won't before hand.
Assuming your property is similar to his before the extension then you should be in the same band.

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Mojisola Posts: 35,574 Forumite

23 July 2008 at 11:32AM

This is a good site with people who have specialist knowledge -

https://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php

Photos of the problem would help people to understand the situation.

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marybishop Posts: 761 Forumite

23 July 2008 at 2:31PM

what to do - obviously this is a boundary issue. You could try contacting the RICS www.rics.org and ask for names/numbers of chartered surveyors in your area who specialise in boundary and party wall matters. Some give 30 mins free advice over the phone. If you're not getting anywhere with your solicitor it's probably time to try an alternative route.

This issue will come up on re-sale so it does need sorting.

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what_to_do_6 Posts: 15 Forumite

23 July 2008 at 3:39PM

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

What has he done to your wall and guttering?

In terms of council tax, Mrs. M is right. The council tax on his property may go up when he sells the place, but won't before hand.
Assuming your property is similar to his before the extension then you should be in the same band.

when he built his wall he inbedded my gutteing into his wall, thus when we had new fasics and guttering around the house, we could not renew the other wall because of his building, he built the extension himself with the help of friends, he is not even a builder. he even admitts its a mess. he has also come over my property with the building.

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asp746 Posts: 419 Forumite

25 July 2008 at 9:43PM

any chance of a picture?? I can't picture how the extension & guttering is embedded into the wall - do you mean the garden wall

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amcluesent Posts: 9,425 Forumite

25 July 2008 at 9:54PM

>extension & guttering is embedded<

It's the gutteing that's inbedded, totally different problem I assume?

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planning_officer Posts: 1,161 Forumite

26 July 2008 at 3:21AM

Mrs._M wrote: »

The rebanding of properties is only carried out on sale or revaluation. There has been no revaluation carried out in England since 1991. I know this is hard to accept but this crazy council tax system does not allow for any changes other than those stated. As far as your banding is concerned I am afraid you will have to bite the bullet. There is an answer, get rid of the present system and replace it with something that does not rely on property values. Visit www.isitfair.co.uk for answers to queries on council tax.

Sorry I cannot help with the other part of your question

Not strictly true - you can appeal - I did, as houses around me are a band lower and the Council not only dropped my house down a band but gave me a refund for overpaying for the past few years.

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