allowing neghbour to put scaffolding on my decking??

paddy's_mum

missile wrote: »

he was not concerned that his extension would inconvenience you so why should you help him?

I'm not for one minute suggesting that the OP is a grumpy, awkward sort who just doesn't like change but there are neighbours who will say no to an extension just because they can!

I've had an obstructive neighbour who wanted my property to be the only one in the street which was not allowed (by him) to have a garage or a car-port because it would alter the outlook from his spare room window. He also felt that as he had lived there for 38 years, as opposed to my 3 years, that what I wanted to do in terms of improving my place should be of far less importance than and subservient to his wishes - seniority rules, lesser mortals get the crumbs and all that!

Sadly for my neighbours, planning permission, permitted developments etc aren't dictated by who can be the most beligerent dog-in-the-manger nor who shouts the loudest!

It may be that the OP didn't much want such a large extension because it would block the sunlight from the garden or appear overpowering but if it has gained planning permission, there is little that can now be done and sometimes, it's better to swallow one's ire and try to negotiate something workable for both parties.

I had forgotten the PWA (thanks, Mojisola) and it may turn out to be the lever that the OP can most conveniently apply to make sure that their rights are respected and their property properly protected.

I'd also add that it is perhaps foolish to say Papa Oscar when the OP cannot predict whether or not the day may come when s/he may need a similar favour returned ... recent tornados, anyone?

GDB2222

Party Wall Act. I'll second that. Is he really proposing to start work in two weeks without having appointed a party wall surveyor? He's completely bonkers!

Tell him to do that, and if he refuses, you may have to get legal advice with a view to obtaining an injunction.

phoebe1989seb

We've also experienced this from the other side.....

In a previous house which was originally built as one of a row of four large detached properties in the 1880s but since a bomb had landed next door during WW2 a 1950s house had been built with only a very tiny gap (think two or three inches) between them, we were in the process of having a new roof and some re-pointing done which required our builders to gain access from our neighbour's side.

Obviously the size of the gap between our houses ddn't allow for our scaffolding to be put up entirely on our land so our builders asked the neighbour if they could put some poles onto their decking (in their front garden) to enable them to reach the area in question. This would encroach on their garden by a few inches only. However, our neighbour - boss of local (dodgy reputation) building co and driver of flashy Bentley convertible, say no more - refused permission and was very rude to our builders, (letting out a torrent of swearing when they tried to reason with him) who I might add, knew his reputation and were very scared of him!

Now this was all well and good - he had every right to refuse permission and in the end our builders (somehow) managed to gain access without setting foot onto our neighbour's property - but only four years previously when said neighbour bought his house, he had completely gutted the place and built a vast rear extension (taking up the whole back garden) to house an indoor swimming pool. During the process his workmen demolished our garden wall, erected huge steel fences - which frequently fell down - and wrecked substantial areas of our garden, not least 'cos they let their dogs run in and out of the gaps in the steel fences when they thought we weren't around. We spent six months living in fear of going into our garden and DH was actually injured by a rusty nail going into his hand after he tried to replace a steel fence that blew down in a storm.

When we complained to our new neighbour at the time he merely offered to rebuild our garden wall slightly higher to compensate.....his attitude was that as we were also renovating (but over a much longer timeframe as we didn't have his millions, lol!) our property was in a state anyway so didn't signify.....funny then how he conveniently forgot about that when it was our builders that needed access to his land!

Apologies for the rant, but just wanted to put the other side of a similar story

paddy's_mum

GDB2222 wrote: »

you may have to get legal advice with a view to obtaining an injunction.

OP - just in case your neighbour is a blustering, huffing-and-blowing kind of person, check your household insurance policy details - the fine print - and see whether you have legal cover.

Your insurers may very well be interested to learn from you what Mr Bonkers next door is up to since anything going badly wrong could affect the integrity or value of your home .. mortgage companies and insurers are always interested in that.

Alternatively, a polite but formal letter from your solicitor regarding the Party Wall Act and/or neighbourly liability may be enough to make your neighbour consult with you from a rather more reasonable and/or placatory viewpoint.

Good luck and what's the betting that now that all these alarm bells have been sounded, it all goes like a dream and the workmen end up re-pointing your chimney stack or gable end, just for kindness, while they're up there!

summersmum25

Wow thank you all for your replies, I am very torn between telling him to do one and as some of you say and he has already pointed out, getting a decent finish on the wall I'm going to be looking at, it doesn't help that our houses are rendered and painted white!

the houses are semi's so I suppose it is a party wall, I'll look into that too. If they trash any part of my home/garden I will swing for someone plus I have a 6 year old child who will want to be out playing and pets to consider.

More discussion required me thinks

summersmum25

Grimbal wrote: »

can you explain a little more about the extension ? Are you attached to his property or "next door" as it were ?

a couple of posters gave me great options when we were in a similar position to your neighbour & wanted to avoid placing a pole on their property

He already has a full width downstairs extension which was built before we moved in and to be fair does give us more privacy, the houses are semi's.

summersmum25

also I don't want to be obstructive or fall out, as some of you pointed out he has the permission so it just needs to be done now but he is the type of guy who will do everything to suit himself, we've had him hammering on the roof of the current extension, outside our bedroom window at 7am on a sunday before now!

Mojisola

summersmum25 wrote: »

Wow thank you all for your replies, I am very torn between telling him to do one and as some of you say and he has already pointed out, getting a decent finish on the wall I'm going to be looking at, it doesn't help that our houses are rendered and painted white!

the houses are semi's so I suppose it is a party wall, I'll look into that too. If they trash any part of my home/garden I will swing for someone plus I have a 6 year old child who will want to be out playing and pets to consider.

More discussion required me thinks

The PWA agreement covers new buildings going up on or near the boundary between the properties. You don't have to have a joint wall before work starts for it to apply.

If the neighbour is the other half of your semi, you really must get yourself legally represented. The builders will presumably be cutting into the fabric of the building to tie in the new walls.

GDB2222

Party wall is really important. For example, they will be digging foundations for the extension, and if this causes cracking to your house, there will be a tremendous argument about it. Under the party Wall act, a surveyor (or 2 surveyors if you want one of your own) agree how the work is to be carried out and take a detailed records of the condition of your house prior to the work commencing. There is absolutely no question that you should insist on this being done, as it protects both you and your neighbour. Furthermore, your neighbour has to pay the whole of the cost.

The party Wall act applies to any works within 2 m of the boundary, if I recall correctly. (Obviously not when you redecorate, but major works.)

Even if all they do is build an extra layer on top of the existing extension, that will add extra weight, which could cause cracking of your half of the house. You simply must get this done, and your neighbours are very badly advised if they have not been told this

motherofstudents

He does sound like a nightmare to be honest. You would definitely benefit from hiring a party wall surveyor, you need someone to be 'on your side'. It is a difficult one isn't it, you don;t want to look at a badly constructed wall and I presume you don't want to make relations between you worse but on the other hand why should you lose the use of your garden for so long ?

I do hope you can find a good solution to it, preferably one that doesn't inconvenience you so much.