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Privacy concerns due to neighbours build

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I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I am concerned about my neighbour's raised patio.

I live in a three-storey home in West London and you need to walk up a flight of steps to enter my property (my living spaces are effectively on the first floor). We have a raised balcony built off the back of our rear reception room, which looks out over our garden. The balcony was in place when we bought the house and overlooks our neighbour's garden on the right-hand side. We have taken steps to create more privacy and we rarely use the space because we are conscious that it looks into their garden.

The neighbouring house has recently changed hands and our neighbour's house is different to ours, and while raised a little, it is not a three-story building like ours. They have started to build a patio which extends from their kitchen which is about four feet off the ground. This means that when they are standing on it they are looking directly over our fence and into our garden. So if we're stood in our garden they are effectively stood on a raised platform that looks over our fence and directly at us. They have not applied for planning permission for this patio and have never communicated their intention to create it.

We are looking at fencing options (to add on top of our six-foot fence that is already in place) but we are deeply frustrated that we are having to do this. I feel like complaining but conscious we may not have a valid argument when they could complain that our balcony overlooks their property too.

Any advice would be appreciated.


Comments

  • ThisIsWeird
    ThisIsWeird Posts: 7,935 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 5 May 2023 at 10:50PM
    Check out your local LA's Planning Portal, and see what they say about raised decking and patios. Almost certainly it'll follow the universal rule, which in effect says it mustn't be more than 30cm above ground level without requiring Planning Approval.
    Your raised balcony is a fait accompli, and theirs will become so after a certain time - is it 2 years? (Not sure) So, if you wish to have anything done about it, act now. Report it to Planning.
    Or, accept it, but plant some screening bushes.
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