New build garden wrong size and shape

LittleMissAspie

We are awaiting completion of a new build house, and the front garden/paving was recently done. The various plans have always showed the front garden as being symmetrical and parallel with the house. Imagine a normal shaped rectangle.

The actual garden is slanted and more curved on one side than the other. It's not parallel to either the house or the edge of the road and so is an irregular shape. Imagine a rectangle drawn by a toddler.

I'm disappointed with it and I want to bring it to the developer's attention asap in the hope it can be changed, but boyfriend says wait until we've completed. Should we raise it now or wait? Also is it a reasonable thing to complain about? I feel like they will say the plan is just an indication and not what we should expect.

[Deleted User]

Bring it up now. All you can really do is pull out if they won't fix it, and they are unlikely to do that.

Slinky

Why on earth does your boyfriend think you should wait until after completion? What sort of bargaining power would you have then? Now is the time to raise any issues. They may say like it or lump it, but you have the option to lump it at this point. After they've got your money, they're not going to be interested in this.

LittleMissAspie

We can't pull out, we've already exchanged and are waiting for completion. We have a professional snagger booked so thought he might put it in his report as needing to be put right.

Ath_Wat

Is it just that the paving doesn't ft your idea of where the boundary was, or are there boundary markers that also don't fit that idea?

What is in the areas which you expected to own/be paved but which now don't appear to be yours?  Have the gardens of neighbouring houses been extended or are they public areas?  

Thrugelmir

LittleMissAspie said:

The various plans have always showed the front garden as being symmetrical and parallel with the house. Imagine a normal shaped rectangle.

What plans were these? 

TripleH

The 'boundary' marker between ours and next door's property is not straight (to our detriment).

This is due to how the drains have been installed. Might something similar be the issue here?

It's what the deeds say ultimately.

Flugelhorn

there may probably come from the site / sales  plans which will have been much more regular - what did it look like on the transfer deed etc?  

LittleMissAspie

It's hard to explain without a picture. Basically the garden was supposed to be the same size on each side of the pathway to the front door, which is in the middle. They've made it asymmetrical and it's smaller on one side than expected. 

We haven't lost any plot because the road paving in front of the house belongs to us too.  It's just the shape and size of the grass within the plot that is wrong. 

I will double check the exchange documents this evening but everything I've ever seen had the same neat shape for the garden, which is not how they've built it.

RelievedSheff

If you are just basing this on the sales plans then there will be a disclaimer on them that says they are illustrative only and subject to change.

It is your title deeds which you will have signed as being happy with if you have exchanged that will show the extent of your land boundary.

theartfullodger

Good heavens, salesman lied....

Sorry but this happens