Neighbour's side extension soffits and gutter overhang property we are buying.

Manual_Reversion

Hello.

We are at an advanced stage of buying a house with driveway to the side leading to a garage at the back. The next-door neighbour has a similar style house and the two side driveways of the properties are next to each other; the boundary is in the middle. Looking at the two properties from the front and down the boundary separating the two, they are a mirror image.

The neighbour has extended their property to the side and up to the boundary of the place we are buying. However, although the side wall of the neighbour's extension was built to the boundary there are soffits and guttering on their extension that overhang the plot (i.e. driveway) we are buying. Maybe a foot in total, at first floor level.

I am wondering what anyone in the know would think about the legal implications for us with this.

We have asked the question to our solicitor and are waiting a response...unfortunately as it turns out he doesn't seem up to much, and it's too late to change solicitors, so I was hoping for some advice from people here.

Thanks very much guys, hope the explanation makes sense!

moneyistooshorttomention

I would be annoyed too.

My neighbours "bits and bobs" intrude into my airspace by about 2" and I decided it wasn't worth bothering about that small an infringement....but I did investigate it at one point and the basic conclusion legally seemed to be "Your airspace is YOUR airspace and no-one can infringe on it - apart from planes (which are allowed to infringe on everyones air space:mad:).

I would certainly complain about a neighbour on terra firma taking out about a 1' of my airspace, as that will make it impossible to put your own stuff up to your own border (unless its lower in height than that infringing item).

Good luck.

EDIT: I would say an analogous situation is the one whereby a neighbours trees overhang the joint garden fence and the law quite definitely allows for you to trim them back to the boundary and not be expected to have them overhanging your territory.

dumpallhere

What if you wish to extend the same way on your plot just as the neighbor has done? Your extension will be 1 foot short, or you'll have to get the neighbor to break down the elements protruding on to your side / plot.

Problem for you or anyone you may sell to down the line.

Dan-Dan

There is an exact house like this in leighton buzzard , i always wondered when walking past how they managed to do it without an almighty row

JQ.

To me, it would provide a good insight into the type of person you are going to be living next door to for the foreseeable future.

C_Mababejive

I dont see that you can do anything about it now. Whoever owned your potential house at the time of buying would be the person who should have challenged it at that time. Do you want to buy this house and then launch a lengthy legal battle? I would give it a miss and look elsewhere.

G_M

Haveyou asked the vendor? Perhaps he granted consent for the extension to overhang?

More worrying (and I am guessing here) is the possibility that by accepting this trespass, for X years, the vendor has granted the neighbour rights - in which case nothing you can do.

Even if not, is you buy this house, what are you going to do? Ask him to remove the offending soffits/gutters/roof-edge from your land?

He is not going to simply say "Oh right you are. I'll knock downmy extension immediately and rebuild it a foot smaller. No problem."

He will resist. And you'll have

a) a neighbour dispute, meaning you can't sell
b) a neighbour you can't speak to (and worse)
c) a long, expensive, court case

So whatever the real legal position you have two options:

1) don't buy or
2) buy, but accept the extension with good grace

moneyistooshorttomention

Or another option would be to explain to the owner of the house that you are very interested in buying his house and willing to offer £x for it PROVIDED he solves this problem.

A lot of other buyers will have the same thoughts as you do and would be put off buying the house (even if for the sake of a future sell-on rather than because they personally were concerned about it).

I wouldn't regard it as that hopeful the owner will deal with his problem (even though he will probably understand the point you are making) but there is always the chance.

He could ask the neighbour to amend his house on the one hand or do it himself on the other hand (taking legal advice first about what possible consequences might be, ie would it be that maximum £5,000 fine for it ("Criminal Damage"?) or could the offending neighbour claim to have his house put back "to normal"?). If the innocent neighbour still has to have a job and has the sort of employer that would object to any apparent offence being committed by a DIY job on amending neighbours house, then that would be that problem he might face as well if he just shimmies up a stepladder with a saw and cuts the offending bits off himself.

If the innocent neighbour cant or wont sort out his problem, then he will be the one that has to live with the consequences of not standing up to the offending neighbour at the time and you will be best advised to look to buy another house.

Dan-Dan

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Or another option would be to explain to the owner of the house that you are very interested in buying his house and willing to offer £x for it PROVIDED he solves this problem.

A lot of other buyers will have the same thoughts as you do and would be put off buying the house (even if for the sake of a future sell-on rather than because they personally were concerned about it).

I wouldn't regard it as that hopeful the owner will deal with his problem (even though he will probably understand the point you are making) but there is always the chance.

He could ask the neighbour to amend his house on the one hand or do it himself on the other hand (taking legal advice first about what possible consequences might be, ie would it be that maximum £5,000 fine for it ("Criminal Damage"?) or could the offending neighbour claim to have his house put back "to normal"?). If the innocent neighbour still has to have a job and has the sort of employer that would object to any apparent offence being committed by a DIY job on amending neighbours house, then that would be that problem he might face as well if he just shimmies up a stepladder with a saw and cuts the offending bits off himself.

If the innocent neighbour cant or wont sort out his problem, then he will be the one that has to live with the consequences of not standing up to the offending neighbour at the time and you will be best advised to look to buy another house.

Money , honestly , i dont mean to pick , but have you ever re-read any of your posts ?
I think you should because they are almost always aimless rambling that doenst help anybody

Sorry...

Battleaxe44

http://www.ebuild.co.uk/topic/11770-neighbours-rear-extension-and-fascia-overhang/

chris_m

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

He could ask the neighbour to amend his house on the one hand

Knock it down and rebuild it a foot narrower?
Dream on.

or do it himself on the other hand (taking legal advice first about what possible consequences might be, ie would it be that maximum £5,000 fine for it ("Criminal Damage"?) or could the offending neighbour claim to have his house put back "to normal"?). If the innocent neighbour still has to have a job and has the sort of employer that would object to any apparent offence being committed by a DIY job on amending neighbours house, then that would be that problem he might face as well if he just shimmies up a stepladder with a saw and cuts the offending bits off himself.

How about the problem of exactly where all the rain water off the now gutter-less roof would go?