Newbuild not being built quite to plan, what is permitted?

JJR45

Section62 said:

JJR45 said:

Section62 said:

JJR45 said:

1, The garage for the house was attached to the neighboring property and detached from ours in the plans. It is being built with the garage now attached to ours.

2, There should be an opening for double doors from the living room to dinning/kitchen. It is now built  upto ground floor window height but has been built wit a solid breez block wall with no opening.

Also, on point 1, there have been a couple of threads recently about new-build buyers later being told that the plot of land they thought they were buying isn't the land they actually own.  In your situation I'd want to find out whether it is the garage which has been moved relative to the house, or if the houses have been moved relative to the garage. Or alternatively, if none of the buildings are actually where they are supposed to be. If you go ahead with the purchase you'll need to check the transfer plan very carefully to make sure your boundaries on the ground match the plan.

On the above, thankfully that is fairly simple. The boundary us is upto the neighbours house so there was an access path from the front of our house in-between our house and  garage to the back garden.
That path has now moved up to the side of the neighbours house and the garage moved over where the old oath would have been (hope that makes sense, but has not effected the plot size).

Yes garage will now have access from the utility room.

No, that was my point.  It might look fairly simple, but unless you've checked the plans and what is on the ground (i.e. you've got a tape measure out and measured it yourself) then there is no way you can be sure which - out of the path, garage and the houses - have actually been moved compared to the plan.

The relative positions of the garage and path have been swapped, but if the developer is making things up on the hoof like this then you shouldn't trust any plan you are shown to be correct.


Changing the layout so there is access to the garage from within the house means there will be BR implications. You need to make sure the change has been correctly notified/agreed, and that the work done so far is compliant. The main issues are usually floor levels and having sufficient fire resistance between the garage and the rest of the house.

Fortunately Google maps has been updated in the last few weeks and to floor level was included on that.
From what I can measure up on Google maps the plot is still the same size , (rear garden is around 40' X 40.5', it thankfully a normal rectangular type plot).
I think the only requirement will be a fire door, but unfortunately at this stage it is only the gap for the door. So BR are unlikely to be involved for a few months for that.

Section62

JJR45 said:

Fortunately Google maps has been updated in the last few weeks and to floor level was included on that.
From what I can measure up on Google maps the plot is still the same size , (rear garden is around 40' X 40.5', it thankfully a normal rectangular type plot).

Google maps isn't accurate enough for what you will ultimately need to do. It could be 3 metres or more out in any direction.

But again, the apparent size of the plot isn't the important thing. What matters is the position of the boundaries relative to other features. Legally you will be buying what is shown on the transfer plan, not what you see on the ground. If the legal boundary ends up somewhere underneath your garage (for example) then the neighbour could try claiming not just the path as their property, but also require you to remove your garage from their land.

That's why it is essential to find out exactly what has moved as part of this change from the original plan, and to be vigilant that all the changes are properly represented in all legal documents, and approved by the relevant authorities.

JJR45 said:

I think the only requirement will be a fire door, but unfortunately at this stage it is only the gap for the door. So BR are unlikely to be involved for a few months for that.

The requirements are more extensive than having a fire door. E.g. any opening between the garage space and the rest of the building needs to have sufficient fire resistance. Also, issues such as preventing a fuel spill from leaking under the rest of the property means that the detailing of the floors is crucial.  The work involving those critical details has almost certainly been covered over already and building control should have inspected the work prior to that happening.

If that hasn't happened then waiting months before taking action isn't an option you should contemplate.