Extension encroachment - any surveyors / builders / property people on? (pics)

Get an enforcement notice served to stop all work.
Even if it's built without planning permission, it still has conform to building regs.

Also look at your deeds, get your solicitor to arrange for a surveyor to measure your plot.

Would be nice to see pics.:(
 
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Pics back up, i'm serving the above encroachment notice myself tomorrow.

Then off to the council and a solicitor.

Then off to see my mate baz about a sawn off.
 
Vanilla said:
Let's assume the vent stays where it is. Then I want to extend the downstairs.

A building regulations officer comes along and says that I can't extend because it would block their vent.

Typically building regulations officer state vents must be facing the garden for this reason. Add fuel to the fire that....big surprise!...cowboy builders have not engaged a BRO.
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if you want to build an extension you will vent your subfloor and leave their vent open, just as you would when you cover over your own rear wall with an extension - its a fairly standard practice and you won't get stopped from building an extension because of it, you clearly have a bee in your bonnet, but unless you pay a professional to look at these things you'll keep raising points which make you look bitter rather than reasonable!
 
At the very least get your letter re-written properly by a solicitor. As it stands it reads like amateur pseudo-legalese and will not be taken a seriously as a letter that has been properly drafted.

It won't cost you much but it'll give you a much better chance of a favourable outcome.
 
kaiowas said:
At the very least get your letter re-written properly by a solicitor. As it stands it reads like amateur pseudo-legalese and will not be taken a seriously as a letter that has been properly drafted.

It won't cost you much but it'll give you a much better chance of a favourable outcome.
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An encroachment notice is not meant to be a legal document. It's a formal way of letting you're neighbour and their builders know you're not happy and to advice them to stop until an agreement is reached

http://www.ehow.com/how_8776075_write-encroachment-notice.html
 
the_r_sole said:
if you want to build an extension you will vent your subfloor and leave their vent open, just as you would when you cover over your own rear wall with an extension - its a fairly standard practice and you won't get stopped from building an extension because of it, you clearly have a bee in your bonnet, but unless you pay a professional to look at these things you'll keep raising points which make you look bitter rather than reasonable!
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You wouldn't put your vent where your neighbour can extend and block off the vents. You put them where no further building would be allowed, i.e by the back door, facing the garden.

Building regs wont allow it especially if you've built up to the shared wall line. Just like putting a window there wouldn't be allowed.

EDIT: In case it's not clear the vent is by the bikes in PIC 1.
 
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the_r_sole said:
lol, please do some proper research into it - I do this for a living and have done for the last 10+ years
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I would not doubt your experience and fully admit you know more than I.

However, common sense should prevail. You should never put something where your neighbour can extend and block!
 
so by the same logic you can't extend onto the back of your own house because you would block over your own vents?!
no - it's perfectly possible to build in vents to a new floor which allow sufficient ventilation to the existing subfloor
 
the_r_sole said:
so by the same logic you can't extend onto the back of your own house because you would block over your own vents?!
no - it's perfectly possible to build in vents to a new floor which allow sufficient ventilation to the existing subfloor
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So what would happen if the opening poster decided to build an identical extension and blocked the vent in the process?
 
Insurance policy, speak to them you likely have legal cover. Planning officer will likely not be interested as its permitted development and they won't care its accross the boundary. BCO will not have permitted that air brick position, its only sub floor vent but it shouldnt be there even though its not really harming anything.

Solicitor and surveyor will make mincemeat of it if there's no party wall notification in place. As said speak to insurance regarding legal and mobilise it quickly.
 
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We are currently at the mercy of a developer next door and can empathise with this.
Unfortunately the law is is extremely unforgiving in cases like this and we have seen a lot of money spent and little or no progress in challenging some of the liberties taken.
From my months of research the trick seems to be - get in first. Whatever you think can get away with, do it. I personally dont agree with this, but being ruthless is the name of the game.
Challenging anything boundary related can quickly become a money pit as the law is next to useless when it comes to arguing over a few inches of land and surveyors tend to capitalise on this. Deeds are generally nothing more than waste paper when it comes to boundaries, unless they contain any sort of surveyed measurements taken when the land was originally divided.
The overlapping felt and so on is obviously not on, but with regards to the fence line, get your own fence up ASAP where you think it should be. It doesnt have to be pretty, but get something up and photograph it.
No amount of letters will will stop a builder erecting a slap dash fence in your absence. My friendly developer demolished a party fence wall on the one day I had to go into the office in months, but it wasnt a coincedence was it!
 
the_r_sole said:
so by the same logic you can't extend onto the back of your own house because you would block over your own vents?!
no - it's perfectly possible to build in vents to a new floor which allow sufficient ventilation to the existing subfloor
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What are you on about. You would. Have to relocate the vent. You can't relocate your neighbours vents.
 
the_r_sole said:
no - you vent your own floor, and have a vent in your foundation wall facing his, to allow it to vent into your extension subfloor, it's pretty straight forward
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But if the opening poster decided to build an identical extension, they would overlap or be joined as the neighbour's is well over the boundary line.
 
DanTheMan said:
But if the opening poster decided to build an identical extension, they would overlap or be joined as the neighbour's is well over the boundary line.
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and as long at they vented their new floor it would vent the existing floor..... but as we can see here, the op doesn't know the ins and outs of what he's talking about so needs to get someone that does to advise on the actual problems
 
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