Buying a flat. Downstairs neighbour's huge summerhouse/office in shared garden, legal?

System

passthepigs wrote: »

Apologies if this isn't the best forum for this. I'm not sure where else to start as I don't want to escalate with the local authority for the time being and until I do that they can't help much.

About the Shed
We're buying a purpose built, end of terrace 2 flat maisonette, with a shared garden. Our potential new downstairs neighbours have giant shed / summerhouse on their half of the back garden. Taking up their entire half of back the garden in fact. It is probably under 2.5m tall which I know is important. But it comes right up to the property boundary of our slice of the garden. It is less than 50cm away from the boundary wall on the other (on the other side of which is a residential street), right to the back of the garden and about 2m from the property itself.

There are windows from it and a door facing onto our side of the garden (as well as another door on the end accessed from their property.

I also read that you can't build anything that takes up 50% or more of your outside space, which would be 25% of the shared garden?

The Conundrum
It may not be an issue at all, if they are nice people we'll come to an agreement most likely. We have no immediate plans for the garden...
...BUT if down the line we built a fence or our own shed we would block the light into this shed.
Also, generally, the garden would feel open and nicer (even if you're not strictly allowed to lay on half of it) if it were open.

I'm not convinced that it is kosher, I also don't want to fall out with these guys before we even move in by building control coming around and removing their shed on our behest. But I would like to know where we stand legally.

At the moment it seems like an inconsiderate move on their part, perhaps the previous owners or tenants didn't use the garden much and they took advantage.

There is a shared side garden as well where we aren't sure the current usage is in line with what is on the land registry.

So before you have even purchased the property you are looking for an excuse to have a fight with the neighbour that you've not even met yet. Its a bit like buying a home next to a motor racing track and petitioning to have it closed. If as you say its not a big deal then why bother about it. Thank the stars you're not going to be my neighbour.

passthepigs

I've put my case across in the wrong way here. I'm not moving with the intention of demolishing their summerhouse, Hazyjo has pointed out a part where I've misstyped, or rather my hyperbole has not been understood, that is my fault and I apologise.

I'm not moving with the intention of confrontation and arguments, quite the opposite. I want a good relationship with the neighbours and with a shared garden that we both want to use its especially important.

This post was simply to fact find, about an unusually large structure relative to the size of the garden we will be sharing. It is precisely why I am asking here rather than speaking to the local authority's planning department – if I went there then the only way to speak to the right people is officially and I don't want it to escalate officially as I don't want action to be taken.

Thanks for the constructive pieces of advice in here.

AdrianC

OK, so if you don't want to do anything "official", that rules out the freeholder as well as the council.

Which leaves you with asking the neighbours, nicely, if they happen to have noticed that there's a rather large shed in their back garden - and if they aren't using it, would they mind removing it.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Or simply buying a different property.

passthepigs

I think I have the root of whats going on here. The below is what I typed:

We're buying a purpose built, end of terrace 2 flat maisonette

And it should be:

We're buying a purpose built, end of terrace, 2 bed upstairs flat in a maisonette

I don't know how to do a facepalm emoji. My bad.

AdrianC

s'ok, that's what we understood the position to be.

You are considering buying a flat, one of two in the building. The other flat have a shed that you don't like.

davidmcn

passthepigs wrote: »

the garden we will be sharing

As already queried - what do you mean by this? If it's a shared garden then neither flat has the right to "claim" bits of it by building exclusive structures on it (though it's not uncommon for such gardens to be informally apportioned). Or is it in fact two adjacent gardens demised to each flat? Or a mixture of exclusive and shared bits?

passthepigs

The other flat have a shed that you don't like.

Giant shed / summerhouse that takes up their entire side of the garden

Yellow_mango

It’s just not really clear exactly what this “amicable agreement” you’re hoping for would involve. It’s a large shed. Either it’s there, or it’s not. There isn’t really any half way compromise here that I can see.

If you want them to remove it, asking nicely is unlikely to result in anything other than annoying them. If they refuse after asking nicely, taking any more official routes will only escalate the annoyance.

If you’re happy for it to stay there, then there is nothing to be gained by raising it with them at all.

Maybe you could describe the amicable compromise you have in mind?

sheramber

They may not be taking the mick as you say. Your seller may have agreed to it being built before they had any intention of selling.

passthepigs

As already queried - what do you mean by this?

Sorry for not clarifying – Its a purpose built Victorian flat with 2 front doors on to the street. There is no physical demarcation in the garden but the property bounds in the land registry show that it is officially divided between the upstairs and downstairs flats on the lease.

The summerhouse occupies the entire footprint at the rear of the property on their lease.