Neighbour is having an extension

Abbafan1972

Our joined-on neighbour and the builder rings the doorbell this evening and tells us that she's having a lounge/kitchen extension and asks if it's ok to remove our fence panels as this is going to be replaced by a wall. The wall is going to come out by 3 metres.

We get told he is going to be starting in the next few days. This is the 1st we've heard of it, but she must've been planning it for a while.

This is the 1st time we've encountered anything like this before and I thought you had to give more notice to the neighbours in case they object.

steve1980

Phone the councils planning department first thing Monday and ask.

G_M

Checj whether they need planning permission. If so, check hey have it.

Ensure boundary wall is not within the limit of the boundary.

Whose fence is it? Yours? Then you could refuse to allow it to be removed.

Strapped

I'd check that for sure (and tell them NOT to remove any fence panels until you say). 3m is the max that they can develop out to without planning permission, but I didn't think they can go right to the boundary (and certainly not ON a shared boundary). This may be useful:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/extensions/

Of course, if they DO build on a shared boundary, without your written explicit permission then they are being very silly because if they ever want to sell then you would be in a position to hold them to ransom over it.

Abbafan1972

They are building out by 3 metres, so they don't need planning permission apparently.

Yes, it is our fence. How do we find out where the boundary is?

VfM4meplse

Abbafan1972 wrote: »

They are building out by 3 metres, so they don't need planning permission apparently.

Yes, it is our fence. How do we find out where the boundary is?

Look at the deeds and the info you had from your conveyancer when you bought your home, as it should clearly show the boundary.

I don't envy you at all, if not handled carefully this could cause you real problems. Good luck.

molerat

http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/ is pretty good for this type of thing. Tell them as they have not had the common courtesy to discuss this with you prior to the start of work you are not happy for anything to be removed or to allow any person onto your property until you have had a chance to see the detailed plans and consult the council and your legal advisors.

Have a read here http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/133214.pdf

System

They still need to use the Party Wall Act as they are building on the boundary.

conradmum

I would not allow a neighbour to replace my fence with their own wall. They're overstepping the mark (in more ways than one!).

Abbafan1972

Ok, we had a look through the paperwork that we have from the purchase of the house in 1995. There's a surveyors report/electricians report, mortgage application papers and solicitors papers in there, but nothing that look like "deeds" and nothing that mentions the boundary.

We still have a mortgage on the house, so would the deeds be held with the mortgage provider, in this case the Halifax?

This is the only house we've ever bought and the 1st time this has cropped up for us, so we don't know how it all works.

rochja

1995 - the deeds should be in paper form and held by the BS against the mortgage. However a £5 search on land registry may reveal a deed plan and other info. There used to be a restriction on the proportion of garden an extension of any size could cover. Are you actually opposed to the proposed changes or are you objecting to the way they were sprung on you? Are you in fact better off with a no maintenance brick wall? Ill feeling could last a lifetime if you mismanage things as badly as your neighbour and could result in you being obliged to report 'neighbour problems' to any future buyer's solicitor