Neighbors Illegal Window

Martin666_2

I am looking at buying a house and was wondering about an extension and window on the neighbour’s house.

This single storey extension has a window directly overlooking the garden of the house I’m buying and I was told by the tenants the window was never in the plans and shouldn’t be there.

I enquired with my council and they looked back to 1998 and can’t find any planning application for the extension.

My plans are to build my own extension that would block the window (that probably shouldn’t be there) but I am also told that if it’s been there more than 4 years that it will be deemed “legal” and may stop my own extension plans.

If anyone could provide any advice on this I’d appreciate it.

Best regards

BitterAndTwisted

Ask your local authority's planning department. They should be able to answer all of your questions. Just because a window looks onto the next-door neighbour's garden does not mean it's illegal.

JQ.

I think the advice you've been given is correct, the current owners of the property should have made a complaint when it was constructed. However, to get a definative answer make an appointment to see the Local Planning Officer and discuss your plans and see what they say.

PasturesNew

Build an extension with an identical window, lined up against theirs ... handy if you run out of sugar, just open your window on your side and tap on theirs

Colincbayley

PasturesNew wrote: »

Build an extension with an identical window, lined up against theirs ... handy if you run out of sugar, just open your window on your side and tap on theirs

I foresee a problem with that plan, what if they are the ones that run out of sugar ?? :eek:

G_M

Colincbayley wrote: »

I foresee a problem with that plan, what if they are the ones that run out of sugar ?? :eek:

But if they both run out of sugar at the same time they'll be able to swop suger bowls!

Doozergirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

Build an extension with an identical window, lined up against theirs ... handy if you run out of sugar, just open your window on your side and tap on theirs

Better still, save money and build your extension directly off their wall and their window. Then you can just knock straight on the window if you need sugar.

carefullycautious

This is getting really silly :rotfl:

Colincbayley

Doozergirl wrote: »

Better still, save money and build your extension directly off their wall and their window. Then you can just knock straight on the window if you need sugar.

Why bother with the window, save the money on the glass and frame and buy your own suger!!

Motivatedworkingmum

"Ask your local authority's planning department. They should be able to answer all of your questions. Just because a window looks onto the next-door neighbour's garden does not mean it's illegal."

I agree. Seems to me that the planning dept have relaxed the rules too far.

Your situation has happened to me with a neighbours roof extention bank of windows that looks straight into my garden. They have a house length dormer extention in their roof that is monsterous, I called the planning dept the day the scaffolding went up (they had not told me anything of their plans before hand) to be told they can do this and I had no power to object. Hands tied, privacy in garden gone forever, with an extention that is an absolute eyesore and a joke in my street.

Answer my questions??????they just told me there was nothing I could do. Pants.

G_M

Motivatedworkingmum wrote: »

"Ask your local authority's planning department. ..."

I agree. Seems to me that the planning dept have relaxed the rules too far.
....
Answer my questions??????they just told me there was nothing I could do. Pants.

In their defence (& no, I don't work for the planning dept!) they have really had most of their powers stripped away from them, so often there's little they can do. And when they DO turn down applications, applicants can appeal to the Environment Agency who often overturn the local decision.

This happens with mini projects like house extensions, and major ones like supermarkets, power stations etc.