Neighbours Building Issue

[mumbles87]

Have a look online. Our council have all planning applications available to view, plans etc all on there. Won't change much but will get you info quicker.

What is on the plans is what they have to stick to. I can't imagine building control have passed plans allowing this in which case they (if they are anything like ours) wil be pissed off with the builders.

Unlikely to have needed planning though as lofts are mostly done under permitted development

[SammyLeeWasOffside]

Unlikely to have needed planning though as lofts are mostly done under permitted development

Really, fair point then.That looks like a massive space added to not need permission though. It's a bloody square box lol.

Building regs seems to be the strangest set of regulations I've ever known.

I guess they've tried to do this and push what's permitted hence the nervous look on the neighbours face.

[hammer etc]

Mayday you have every right to access under the party wall act see section 20. However you have to give notification within a certain time frame which I suspect did not happen.

Guys look at at the dormer roof, why is it lower than screech’s? I assume the original roof was. Look at the upright face of the dormer wall it appears to go below screech’s. That would support again that the roof was lower. Look at screech’s wall the neighbours wall they are not level with it but further back. This is not your bog standard terrace with roofs and walls all in a line. I would not be surprised that this extension is legal. Where the problem lies is in the failure to carry out the proper notification to screech. You wonder why builders/architects do not advise their clients of their obligations when planning these works.

[screech]

Here’s a pic of the roof before works started

[OFT]

Looking at your picture I wonder if you live on a road with a bit of a slope and that his roof was lower than yours and his roof butted up to the party wall. This would explain why it looks like he has built on to your roof when actually it is his part of the party wall. If that is right he would be expected to finish it off and would be the reason for the flashing.

I'm not suggesting your wrong hammer etc I'm just chucking this in as a genuine question which is not for you specifically, if that makes sense.

What if, in the future,screech wants to replace his roof or have his own extension and the party wall has been 'breeched' for want of a better word.

It's certainly got my attention this thread, really interesting (apols screech!)

[Mayday]

Like I said "cannot enter land without permission"

It's completely illegal. Looking at the act again, it's not fully a party wall even
The only bit that is 'party' is the bit that directly separates the buildings. Any bit of wall that extends above or out from this, is not considered a party wall. Section 3 of the act guidance.

[hammer etc]

You see if he had his own internal (gable) wall next to yours you would wonder why they would build on yours. The only benefit would be to gain an extra 4 inches which would not be worth the risk. Ask your neighbour if you can look inside you may get a better idea. The most important thing is to sort the issue out together if indeed there is one. Good luck.

[pablo jaye]

I work in planning.
100% that is illegal what he has done. Aside from anything else it's trespass and you are quite within your rights to remove everything back to your building line.
As has already been said, you should have seen and signed a party wall agreement.
A PWA doesn't give permission to encroach on to another property.
And contrary to the post above, without permission, no one has any entitlement to enter or work from your property.
Get planning enforcement involved. I'd be telling him to remove and rectify everything or you will be taking it further and removing his illegal encroachment yourself.
Photograph everything.
Good luck.

I work in a Local Planning authority and would agree with this and the earlier suggestion of contacting Building Control at the planning department.

If they are slow to respond, ask your local councillor to take it up on your behalf.

Good luck.

[Jonah]

The more I look at it the more I agree with my earlier assessment.

[Crouchend_Hammer]

I have never signed an agreement, a letter was posted through the door regarding building works and I had 14 days to contest it but there were no building plans, design or indication regarding what works were taking place

This is also an issue as all of the above shoild be included in a party wall application.
The work should not have commenced without a signed agreement from you

[Crouchend_Hammer]

Unlikely to have needed planning though as lofts are mostly done under permitted development

Plenty of unscrupulous loft companies push the boundaries. When we had ours done one companies plans were clearly above the allowed size, and when we mentioned it they said not to worry. We went with a different company.

In a house behind ours the loft they built was too big for permitted development and it wont get signed off. They can't use it and will have to have it renovted to make it smaller to fit allowed size. They just took the loft company at their word when they said it was fine

[Greatest Hits Vol1]

This is also an issue as all of the above shoild be included in a party wall application.
The work should not have commenced without a signed agreement from you

Further to a signed agreement, there should have been a party wall surveyor hired at their expense who should have taken a survey of your house (externally and internally) prior to the work starting. They would also deal with any issues like this that arose during the work and would survey after the work completed to ensure your house has not been negatively impacted.

[mumbles87]

Really, fair point then.That looks like a massive space added to not need permission though. It's a bloody square box lol.

Building regs seems to be the strangest set of regulations I've ever known.

I guess they've tried to do this and push what's permitted hence the nervous look on the neighbours face.

I only know because we had our loft done 5 years ago under permitted development

Our is a massive room with an ensuite added to the house without any need for planning. However if I look up from my garden I can see a good distance between where My dorma finishes and where my neighbours roof starts

[SammyLeeWasOffside]

Mumbles It just seems insane considering the hoops we are having to jump through to get work signed off on an existing basement.

[Pop Robson]

P*ss Take

Plans should be on local council website

[Metal Hammer]

This site gives decent guidance on what is and isn't permitted development https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permis ... e-guidance

[sendô]

I’m late to this, but as others have said get your local building control involved at the council.

Your neighbour will have had to have submitted plans to get planning approval, which will almost certainly not have said “just over hang screech’s property a bit for extra space”. Therefore what they’ve built won’t comply with planning and will have to be amended.

It’s clearly the builders f*** up. Whether they take it on the chin or not is another matter, but that’s your neighbour’s problem not yours.

Nonetheless I’d be as calm and civil as you can. It’s not his fault.

Good luck.

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

It might, just might be worth letting your insurance company know about all this for when the builder vanishes and you neighbour doesn't have the wherewithall to fix things. They might even take over the case and get things done.

[OFT]

It might, just might be worth letting your insurance company know about all this for when the builder vanishes and you neighbour doesn't have the wherewithall to fix things. They might even take over the case and get things done.

That's a very good point

[alf git]

You can always trust an insurance company to not pull your pants down.