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My mother owns a strip of land running alongthe side of her detached house which is about a metre wide the next door neighbour has planning permission to build a two story extension up to the property border. Whilst she was on holiday he has dug into her land to create footings without permission causing damage to her path as well as her garden. My mother objected to the proposed plans and the neighbour is aware of this as she felt it was to close to her property. How does she stand on him digging her land as she did not want anything in her garden disturbed. She has lived there for 30 odd years and these are relitively new neighbours. Can anyone advise please.
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This is serious legal stuff this. For a start, do you have the plans etc or are they held by the bank? You would need all this for the solicitor.
Instead of asking for release of the deeds etc from the bank which is costly!!!!! Ask for a copy of all the information the bank holds on you. They have to do this for no more than �15 Part of the information laws that recently came into force.
Good luck. Sorry I can't be more help.
Instead of asking for release of the deeds etc from the bank which is costly!!!!! Ask for a copy of all the information the bank holds on you. They have to do this for no more than �15 Part of the information laws that recently came into force.
Good luck. Sorry I can't be more help.
Yes, sorry. If the house is unemcumbered (paid off in full with no mortgage) then she should hold the plans already.
If not, more than likely the bank or lender will have them.
I had to get a copy of my plans about 3 years ago and the release fee was �85.00
My sister had a similar problem a few months ago and paid just �15 for everything!
If not, more than likely the bank or lender will have them.
I had to get a copy of my plans about 3 years ago and the release fee was �85.00
My sister had a similar problem a few months ago and paid just �15 for everything!
I dont understand all this talk of plans Thrasher. Do you mean deeds? If so why does cruddysnake need these? If next door has planning permission and work has started and believed to be wrongly encroaching on another persons property you should go along to the council. There you can consult the filed plans with someone from the planning dept. This should accurately show the proximity of the extension to your mums house. They should take a dim view of someone building where they shouldn't. In my council an application would include copies of OS maps (which the council copy at your expense) to show the true position of houses. (A common misconception is that councils hold sewage and drain maps too.)
However, confining work on footings will be difficult without involving this metre of land which would be acceptable if all damage is repaired.
Objecting has nothing to do with it now as the plans are passed tho it may be the neighbour will be less than considerate knowing there was an objection.
It would have been better if he had spoken to your mum cruddysnake, a bunch of flowers would have been nice too, explaining when work was to start and the inconvenience with a promise to reinstate her metre of land at the finish of building.
When doing work on my houses I have knocked next door or left a note explaining and always have had much appreciation.
However, confining work on footings will be difficult without involving this metre of land which would be acceptable if all damage is repaired.
Objecting has nothing to do with it now as the plans are passed tho it may be the neighbour will be less than considerate knowing there was an objection.
It would have been better if he had spoken to your mum cruddysnake, a bunch of flowers would have been nice too, explaining when work was to start and the inconvenience with a promise to reinstate her metre of land at the finish of building.
When doing work on my houses I have knocked next door or left a note explaining and always have had much appreciation.
This adds to what rabbity girl says, which is basically correct. This is nothing to do with 'plans', but is to do with the Title Plan held at the Land Registry, which is what counts (Deeds are only useful on land not registered at the LR).
The Title Plan, which you can get a copy of online at the LR for a few pounds will show the boundary line, but maybe not in enough details to show the exact line, unless there is a fence there.
The neighbour has no legal right to come onto the land during the course of constructing foundations (without prior agreement - see below) and NEVER has any legal right to put foundations on your land.
The Party Wall Act covers situations where a neighbour wishes to build right up to the boundary line. See the link below and read about the requirements of a developer. The PWA does then enable an owner to come onto the land DURING the construction (to put scaffolding up, say) but any damage must be put right. Beware if the neighbour thinks they are going to build a wall right up to the line - how are they go deal with rainwater guttering and roof overhang without hanging over your side of the boundary? - they are not permitted to do this and should be building back from the boundary line to allow for it. As you have also indicated above, building a wall on the boundary is really difficult without the foundations straying over the other side and they are not permitted to do it.
Once you have read the stuff on the Party Wall Act I would confront the neighbour with it. It is their responsibility, not yours to initiate this.
The best way to get the job stopped (without involving a solicitor, injunctions and money) may be to try and involve Building Control at the local council. But you should get it stopped now and resolved before they start putting walls up.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=113
The Title Plan, which you can get a copy of online at the LR for a few pounds will show the boundary line, but maybe not in enough details to show the exact line, unless there is a fence there.
The neighbour has no legal right to come onto the land during the course of constructing foundations (without prior agreement - see below) and NEVER has any legal right to put foundations on your land.
The Party Wall Act covers situations where a neighbour wishes to build right up to the boundary line. See the link below and read about the requirements of a developer. The PWA does then enable an owner to come onto the land DURING the construction (to put scaffolding up, say) but any damage must be put right. Beware if the neighbour thinks they are going to build a wall right up to the line - how are they go deal with rainwater guttering and roof overhang without hanging over your side of the boundary? - they are not permitted to do this and should be building back from the boundary line to allow for it. As you have also indicated above, building a wall on the boundary is really difficult without the foundations straying over the other side and they are not permitted to do it.
Once you have read the stuff on the Party Wall Act I would confront the neighbour with it. It is their responsibility, not yours to initiate this.
The best way to get the job stopped (without involving a solicitor, injunctions and money) may be to try and involve Building Control at the local council. But you should get it stopped now and resolved before they start putting walls up.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=113
talk to your building regs people at the council and get it stopped temporarily. the job appears to have passed from planning permission to building regs
he should have written to you before work started discussing this.if you did not reply in writing within 14 days you are then in "dispute"
he cannot build closer than one metre but i dont know if this is the line of his gutter, footings or his finishedwall or what
the point of the pwa, originally te london wall act, is to recognize and control through the regs people and surveyors if necessary how things are likely to affect neighbours and how to go about it
you need to worry far more about your footings and foundations rather than your garden as much as you loveit
more to come
he should have written to you before work started discussing this.if you did not reply in writing within 14 days you are then in "dispute"
he cannot build closer than one metre but i dont know if this is the line of his gutter, footings or his finishedwall or what
the point of the pwa, originally te london wall act, is to recognize and control through the regs people and surveyors if necessary how things are likely to affect neighbours and how to go about it
you need to worry far more about your footings and foundations rather than your garden as much as you loveit
more to come
i replied last night but it was too long and then i was cut off so hear goes part 2
i am planning an extension and my neighbour wants to stop it on the grounds of the pwa, the planners have told me the objection will not be accepted on that reason.our homes are 6m apart but when it comes to actually building it we will be in "dispute" as per the act andi will have to pay for two surveyors on the job,one for me and one for him.
they decide how the job will be carried out, usually the problem area is the footings, in agreement with the building regs lads. if they cant agree on a procedure i pay for a third surveyor as an adjudicator to have the final say
i am planning an extension and my neighbour wants to stop it on the grounds of the pwa, the planners have told me the objection will not be accepted on that reason.our homes are 6m apart but when it comes to actually building it we will be in "dispute" as per the act andi will have to pay for two surveyors on the job,one for me and one for him.
they decide how the job will be carried out, usually the problem area is the footings, in agreement with the building regs lads. if they cant agree on a procedure i pay for a third surveyor as an adjudicator to have the final say
part 3
if either want to appeal then it will cost the disputer serious money.
see how it goes a bit better, its hard to stop an extension but the pwa is there to protect you as a neighbour and to make sure things are carried out properly
yours seems to have got off on the wrong foot so put yours down heavily and let your feelings be known, but try not to row
you will not stop the job happening in the long run but it has to be done properly for both sides
sorry about the long replies but its not a straightforward subject good luck withit
if either want to appeal then it will cost the disputer serious money.
see how it goes a bit better, its hard to stop an extension but the pwa is there to protect you as a neighbour and to make sure things are carried out properly
yours seems to have got off on the wrong foot so put yours down heavily and let your feelings be known, but try not to row
you will not stop the job happening in the long run but it has to be done properly for both sides
sorry about the long replies but its not a straightforward subject good luck withit
The long and the short of it is i spoke to a solicitor who gave us free advice that the neighbour was in the wrong and legally his footings should not be on my mothers land the solicitor wanted to send a letter out stopping all work on her land and for the land to be returned to its former state immediatley, my mother not wanting extra conflict did nt want to go down that route. I spoke to the neighbour whos also the builder and in no uncertain terms told him we had spoken to solicitors and adviced him what he had done was illegal. I gave him the option that he could leave the footings there as long as the land was restored to my satisfaction and that his extension would not overlap on to my mothers land at all, no further damage to the land was committed and any further access was to be routed through myself and approved first. We hope now he knows its not a little old lady who can be taken advantage of we wont have any more problems but we will see. Thanks for all the advice given its been a big help.
i work in the building trade and i think that you are doing what i would have done up untill recently, trying to be friendly and too accomadating.send the solicitors letter, keep it legal and build up your defense on a structured basis.
he is a builder and shown you his attitude and approach by trying to ride roughshod over accepted rules, ways of working and bullying/frightening your mom because he thought he could get away with it.behind your back he is probably laughing at such a reasonable response to his dreadful behaviour.
the only thing he will respect is firmness on your part, anything else he will look upon as weakness.if he is a resonable and fair builder why did he, in conjunction with your neighbour ,behave as he as, starting the job when your mom was away and without prior notice. is that a fair way to act?
don,t be relieved that he backed down when you discussed it with him, he should never behaved like he did.
its easy for me to say but be firmer, its the only route after what he did
he is a builder and shown you his attitude and approach by trying to ride roughshod over accepted rules, ways of working and bullying/frightening your mom because he thought he could get away with it.behind your back he is probably laughing at such a reasonable response to his dreadful behaviour.
the only thing he will respect is firmness on your part, anything else he will look upon as weakness.if he is a resonable and fair builder why did he, in conjunction with your neighbour ,behave as he as, starting the job when your mom was away and without prior notice. is that a fair way to act?
don,t be relieved that he backed down when you discussed it with him, he should never behaved like he did.
its easy for me to say but be firmer, its the only route after what he did
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