Thetownend.com

Anybody on here, or know of somebody, with experience/knowledge of the subject act of parliament.

I'm reading up about it now, but always useful to run thoughts past an independent third party.

Planning officers at your local council will be happy to help if you have a specific query.

Is this to do with your neighbour and the porch?

Just spoken to the planning enforcement officer, and they don't deal with it. They consider it a civil matter. Bastards!

Yes it is.

Sorry to hear it's come to that.  The lawyers I know are corporate lawyers...but will put a few feelers out.

I know nothing about this,but could the citizens advice be worth contacting? Free advice and all

I've included the link to the act for others, mainly to see if I can made head or tail of this.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/133214.pdf

Scenario is this. House is an end terrace with a small single storey porch with a flat roof lined with felt (small entrance hall, cloakroom and cupboard). My neighbour has built what is effectively a conservatory linking his porch to mine (in essence using the Party Wall of my porch as part of his structure) and put a standard perspex conservatory roof on. His problem is that his structure now has significant moisture ingress, caused (in the view of his contractor) by my porch roof. His contractor has been up on my roof and lifted up the felt (without my permission I may add) and claims that the batons are 'like mush'.

Now bear in mind that my neighbour did not apply for planning permission (which in the view of the council he should have), did not inform me using the regulations of the Party Wall Act (as attached) and did not even verbally inform me of the work being done, either the nature of it or when it would start.

I'm just after advice as to what I can do, but any way up, its likely to cost me a significant sum of money which I'm frankly mightily pissed off about.

I may be being dumb here, but what are you trying to achieve? Is your neighbour asking you to get your porch roof fixed because it's causing him problems? If so, didn't you say before that you have no water ingress in your house? I'd be inclined to tell him to go and swivel and that if he wants to pursue it you'll see him in court.

This is the bit I don't understand.


What is the Planning Dept at your local council for if not for enforcing something as blatent as someone putting a structure at the front of their house without planning permission?  Seems to be the problem would be most easily solved by someone in authority telling your neighbour to take his extension down.

Can't you tell him to take away what he has connected to your property, problem solved. What does he actually want?

Nor do I, frankly. They will be sending my neighbour an enforcement notice and telling him that he has to apply for planning permission (albeit retrospectively), but they are only really concerned about appearance and aesthetics (in terms of impact to others) rather than the particular issue I/we now have. Its impact to me from that perspective is minimal.


In summary, he wants me to get my porch roof fixed as its stopping him completing his work. He's already offered to pay half the cost, but I've not agreed to anything yet. And yes, we have no water ingress or damp that I can see in the general area that's affecting them. I don't want to take legal action, much rather sort it amicably, but I do need to understand my legal rights before we have another discussion on the matter.

Just say no thanks, I didn't ask for this and I don't want it!

Its not quite that easy though, the structure is all built and their just waiting to finish the job. I also don't want to be a complete bastard as they have two young kids (so can to some extent sympathise with them), but the fact of the matter is they didn't do this the right way, and now they are expecting me to cough up to fix something that wouldn't have been a problem had they not done this.

Just say, you are welcome to fix my property to help solve the problem, but I ain't paying for anything! Any job can come up against a glitch, he should have budgeted for that.

You're right to try to settle amicably.  One day you will need to sell your house, and you really don't want to have to tick the box on the Seller's Info Pack that informs potential buyers that you have been in formal dispute with one of your neighbours.

Given the facts as you have set them out, it sounds that you have quite a lot of bargaining power.  Your neighbour is on a sticky wicket - and it's he that has the most to lose.  (From what I can tell, the problem does not affect you at all.)  It feels to me that maybe he should be paying a little more than 50% of the cost of fixing the problem with your flat roof.

How about you pay for materials and he pays for labour? Have you got a quote for the job?

No formal quote as yet, but informal quote from one roofer at about 800 quid. I'm playing the waiting game at the moment, this has only sparked up again as I overheard his contractor talking to various people on the phone earlier. I'm expecting a visit tonight, shame I'm going out to dinner later.....

If you take your porch down will his structure hold up?

 I (for my sins) am a planner and used to be a Council planning officer - party wall has nowt to do with planning they give consent for the land use whether it can be built legally is not a planning consideration.

However did it need PP and did they get it? I will read your post in the morning when I haven't had a beer or trying to read it on phone screen?

His contractor should have checked before work was started. Tell him you've been quoted 800 quid but you can't afford anything due to your kid etc. Helpfully suggest that his contractor remedies the porch for 400 quid but your neighbour pays for it all.

I'd like to add that his builder is going to say fuck off, but at least you've tried to come up with a solution I.e. you're not a cunt

It feels to me like he should be paying 100% plus a few pints for the inconvenience.

If your neighboor knocked on your door and said they want an extension built and they want you to contribute 400 quid to the cost, what would your answer be? (not directed at you Ardiles)

...........

I know the builder had a look but have you had a look under your tiles to see if the batons are rotten? If they are then by having the neighbour pay half of the cost to sort out your damaged roof might not be such a bad thing.

You may not see any water damage  at the moment but that doesn't mean it's not there.

Ignore me if I have completely missed the point as I only read the thread quickly.

Totally agree. As a civil matter, you can have years of misery not to mention legal costs by both of you holding your morale ground regardless who is actually right. The law is helpful but to enforce it would take you ages and is often a matter of interpretation and so a case can go on and on.

I rent 2 houses out and when I bought them had problems with neighbouring houses ; one had acquired 2ft of my garden (according to the deeds) by moving the shared fencing and the other had a rear extension drainage system which was just a pipe over the fence into my rear garden !
 
The best advice I got was to agree amicably (that was my solicitor!). He said it can take years , lots of £££'s not to mention the stress and hostility for you and your family if you live there with neighbour disputes.
If I was you I would list out the arguments you have and as importantly, your neighbour has and weigh up the pros and cons of both and then agree to help with a nominal amount and see where it takes you. If you can see the damage yourself then £100-£200 is probably a small amount to contribute but if you have to consider more then get your own survey done. You may need to imagine this is a dispute between two strangers and that way it might help you to make a more balanced judgement as emotions can sometime make us men very stubborn !
Good luck with it.

4D in "giving good advice shocker!"

This would be my stance... Especially as they didn't get planning permission, didn't run it past you first and then got the builder to interfere with your roof without permission...

If I were your neighbour I would have offered to repair your roof as a gesture of goodwill for being such a cunt

It can happen :)

Right I have read it properly and sobered up a bit, to be honest until he gets planning permission retrospectively I wouldnt do anything as it he fails it may have to come down anyway and frankly if you don't have any water ingress in the porch why should you speculatively spend the cash?

Secondly in terms of the work required I would suggest that request an independent assessment be undertaken to establish the problem. If I was his contractor I would blame your roof in the first instance to discharge any responsibility for my worksmanship - either get a surveyors report (which I would suggest he pays for in lieu of pissing you about re the PWA) or even just get another contractor from your side to assess.

In terms of the statutory position taking note of the fact that he hasnt got PP, has he got building regs for it?

It may be exempt from BR though given the size of it?

https://www.southend.gov.uk/download/584/bc_4-exempt_buildings_leaflet

Your flat roof is rotting away and he is offering to pay half of the cost to repair it? No brainer for me I'm afraid. Regardless of whether he is doing things "The Right Way."