18mo after moving into new build, told our garden fence temporary, will now lose 31.5msq

letsbetfair

I'd also take some time to consider whether there is an amount of compensation that would make you happy to give up that strip of garden - as that may be one route to resolution

davidmcn

trix-a-belle said:

"The plot matches the land registry plan of what we purchased so I don't see any problem with my home."

Thogh bear in mind that even if the developers decide not to pursue matters further, that doesn't preclude somebody in the future finding a discrepancy between the physical boundaries and those on the Land Registry plans (if in fact there has been an error in erecting the fences).

GaleSF63

Sorry if the answer is already here, and I've missed it, but have the developers said why they didn't build the fence in the right place to begin with?

moneymattersnatter

GaleSF63 said:

Sorry if the answer is already here, and I've missed it, but have the developers said why they didn't build the fence in the right place to begin with?

No, not missed it.  They didn't say. We didn't think to ask at the time.  We will though! 

moneymattersnatter

So, just a small update... yesterday a nice car pulled into the empty car park (the other developer's work Mon-Fri).  
I saw a young couple walk straight to the back of the car park. 
I wonder if they're our new-potential-neighbours? 
Let me know if you spot a "I just bought a new build off plan, and it seems it won't fit onto the plot" thread! 😳

moneymattersnatter

No plot twist, but a warning that an update on Friday may not be forthcoming.  The CS Manager hasn't heard back from the BigWigs.  Funny, when this was 'temporary', meaning there should always have been a plan to address it, right?! 
As my Dad would say "It's your time you're wasting..." (he was a Teacher!) 🤷‍♀️

welshmoneylover

thanks for thanks for the update, was just thinking about this too! I would hang tight and refuse to budge it’s their mess to sort out , not yours.

homersimpson246

I suspect that the developer are looking at what they can do so they can carry on building, their options are:

1. Do nothing until this is sorted out with you which could take months if not years if you drag it out.

2. Move all the house up a little bit to get the extra 400mm they need here (if there are 8 houses in a line its only 50mm each).

3. Build the other houses as they believe they should be, leave this one and then fight you for the land and hope they win and if not they end up either not able to build the house or not able to have access to the rear garden which will make it difficulty to sell.

Having worked for a few developers I would suggest that if they can they will go for option 2 as its the path of least resistance, at the end of the day they don't really care about this boundary issue as long as they can build what they need to and make money.

One developer (one of the big names but I won't say who) once told me "we will do the absolute minimum to meet our contractual obligations and liabilities" and that is their attitude.  The site managers might be very friendly and personable but the people above the are generally not, especially when things go wrong.

The most important thing is don't show any weakness or compromise, its my garden and you are not having it is the right attitude to adopt in my view.

MaryNB

homersimpson246 said:

I suspect that the developer are looking at what they can do so they can carry on building, their options are:

1. Do nothing until this is sorted out with you which could take months if not years if you drag it out.

2. Move all the house up a little bit to get the extra 400mm they need here (if there are 8 houses in a line its only 50mm each).

3. Build the other houses as they believe they should be, leave this one and then fight you for the land and hope they win and if not they end up either not able to build the house or not able to have access to the rear garden which will make it difficulty to sell.

Having worked for a few developers I would suggest that if they can they will go for option 2 as its the path of least resistance, at the end of the day they don't really care about this boundary issue as long as they can build what they need to and make money.

One developer (one of the big names but I won't say who) once told me "we will do the absolute minimum to meet our contractual obligations and liabilities" and that is their attitude.  The site managers might be very friendly and personable but the people above the are generally not, especially when things go wrong.

The most important thing is don't show any weakness or compromise, its my garden and you are not having it is the right attitude to adopt in my view.

I think the snag with point 2 (and probably 3) is that remaining plots belong to a different developer. It appears the OP's developer has finished construction and I think the other developer just has 2 houses left on that row (I haven't read through the thread fully again).

homersimpson246

MaryNB said:

homersimpson246 said:

I suspect that the developer are looking at what they can do so they can carry on building, their options are:

1. Do nothing until this is sorted out with you which could take months if not years if you drag it out.

2. Move all the house up a little bit to get the extra 400mm they need here (if there are 8 houses in a line its only 50mm each).

3. Build the other houses as they believe they should be, leave this one and then fight you for the land and hope they win and if not they end up either not able to build the house or not able to have access to the rear garden which will make it difficulty to sell.

Having worked for a few developers I would suggest that if they can they will go for option 2 as its the path of least resistance, at the end of the day they don't really care about this boundary issue as long as they can build what they need to and make money.

One developer (one of the big names but I won't say who) once told me "we will do the absolute minimum to meet our contractual obligations and liabilities" and that is their attitude.  The site managers might be very friendly and personable but the people above the are generally not, especially when things go wrong.

The most important thing is don't show any weakness or compromise, its my garden and you are not having it is the right attitude to adopt in my view.

I think the snag with point 2 (and probably 3) is that remaining plots belong to a different developer. It appears the OP's developer has finished construction and I think the other developer just has 2 houses left on that row (I haven't read through the thread fully again).

It doesn't really matter that it's a different developer, the options are the same.

The second developer won't want to wait around for months while this is resolved with no certainty they will win.

If they have a way around this they will probably take it and move on.