The property behind mine has a large makeshift shed. Because the level of their garden is about 2ft higher, the height is about 3m above the level of our lawn. Now he's saying he wants to build it in brick, ie rip down the shanty-town thing that is there and replace it with a brickbuilt outhouse. Anyone know what rules would govern this? It seems a bit excessively high to be built right up against my fence, and shouldn't he have toget planning permission?
I'm worried because our house is currently being sold, and I don't want to get into a dispute which might endanger the sale, but on the other hand, I can't ignore it.
It is dependent on the area and height of the shed.
Planning permission is not required if:
It does not project in front of any wall of the house which fronts onto a highway (road, footpath, service road, garage court), unless the highway is more than 20 metres away;
If any part of the building will be within 5 metres of any part of the house, it should not have a cubic content(i.e. length x width x height external measurements) greater than 10 cubic metres.
The height of the building/structure does not exceed 4 metres with a pitched roof or 3 metres in any other case.
The total area of ground covered by buildings/structures(not including the original dwellinghouse) within the garden would not exceed 50% of the total garden area (excluding the area of the original house).
The cubic content of the building does not exceed 10 cubic metres if your property is a listed building or within a conservation area.
There is not a planning condition attached to the original planning consent for the property stating that no sheds or other structures can be erected without the prior approval of the local planning authority. If you are not certain please check with the planning division.
The property is not within an area where an Article 4 direction is in force, such as a conservation area.
Building regulations application is not required if:
The building is detached and has a floor area of 15 square metres or less.
The building is detached and is more than 1 metre from the boundary (or is constructed largely of non-combustible materials) and has a floor area 30 square metres or less.
However, this is the situation for a "temporary" building like a shed which is not used for habitation.
I think that given the circumstances of selling it, ignoring it is the right thing to do.
If you get into any type of dispute with the neighbour, including raising the issue with the local authority, you will have to declare it to potential buyers.
If the building is replaced with something in brick and it is properly done (may be a big if) then that wouldn't that be an improvement?
It really depends on how imminent the sale is. If it is ongoing, then I would have thought doing nothing is the best option.
If the neighbour is doing something that doesn't conform to building regulations then the new owner will be able to have that dealt with by the local authority. The same is true if planning permission is needed and not sought. Either it would be granted, or it wouldn't for statutory reasons, or it would be a planning committee decision.
In none of those cases would that be altered by you being there or the successor owner of your house.
Any prospective purchaser is going to see the shed next door and will either be put off by it or not.
Yes you can. The house is being sold. Lose any emotional attachment to it that you may still have and let the new owner worry about the shed. Do nothing, especially in writing, that you will then have to declare to the new owner as being a potential dispute.
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I'm not at all sure why women like men. We're argumentative, childish, unsociable and extremely unappealing naked. I'm quite grateful they do though.
There is nothing to stop you having him around for a cup of tea and telling him your worries. That is not a dispute. Nor is getting someone else to raise the issue.
Get a relative or friend to pose as a potential buyer and ask them to set the council on it. Bear in mind the whole thing is just talk at the moment of course. Box clevvah.
Like most urban myths, there is a modicum of truth behind this one, but only enough to say that it is not wholly a fantasy.
London had planning laws for a good many centuries before they existed in the rest of the country, and there were references in them to permanent constructions of over 6' high. Certainly walls, but perhaps sheds as well.
It is therefore POSSIBLE that was the case in London before about
When the buyer's solicitor institutes a local authority search - which is intended to pick up planning and other issues on neighbouring properties etc., then this will show up.
This is why it is not helpful to the sale, from the OP's perspective, to get them involved, however it's done.
Any structure like a shed etc can be 3 metres high with a flat roof or 4 metres high with a ridge roof ........must not cover more than 50% of the garden and be x? feet away from the main house
If the soil level is higher than yours then its the neighbours responsibility to retain soil levels
said that it's 3/4m high, measured from the highest ground next to it. Can you do landscaping, and then realise you want to put a shed down, raising the limits to 3/4m over the soil level at one corner, or it it original level?
Well the level of that street is a bit higher (2feet) than ours, so the shed does loom over us. It is right up against the wall but I think it is about
30ft from our house. It sounds like even if I did want to compain it would be pointless.
I can certainly see the logic in this. But do I not still have a responsibility to inform buyers of the imminent building of a large brick shed at the bottom of the garden? Even if I don't involve the council it will become obvious that I have omitted to tell them. I guess you're right that the current structure has not put them off, so a better one should not bother them either. He does intend to make it wider however. If it wasn't for the sale, I would want to involve the council as I think neighbours should be consulted when a large structure like this goes up.
"JK" wrote | > I don't see the point in making an issue of it. | I can certainly see the logic in this. But do I not still | have a responsibility to inform buyers of the imminent | building of a large brick shed at the bottom of the garden?
No. You must answer truthfully[1] if the purchaser asks "is the next door neighbour planning to build Heathrow Terminal Five in the adjoining garden?".
| Even if I don't involve the council it will become obvious that | I have omitted to tell them.
That would only be an issue if you had an obligation to tell them[2]. Which you (probably) don't. Unless they ask. After all, the neighbour's not doing anything wrong is he.
Owain
[1] Truthfully does not exclude vaguely.
[2] Or are moving to the house-next-door and will have the purchaser as your new neighbour.
There is nothing on that stated in either the notes that you can find on most local authority web sites or in the planning legislation as far as I have found. Therefore it would appear to be relative to the ground level in the garden where it's built.
I would discuss it with your solicitor. As far as I know, you don't and you only have to respond truthfully to questions asking about any disputes with neighbours etc.
Then I suppose that becomes a matter of conscience. While I'm certainly not in favour of misleading people, you are not required to tell a purchaser about all that is or might be wrong. The problem is, if you go down that track, where do you stop? For example, what about the place in the living room where the wallpaper doesn't perfectly line up? Are you going to tell them about that?
Well..... that's another thing. If I were building something like that, I would (and I did) go and discuss it with my neighbour. On a cabin that I built last year, I deliberately went for a low pitched roof to keep the height down. It worked rather well and the result is fine from his perspective.
However, let's say you were staying there. The rules on planning and building regulation are pretty well defined as regards structures of this type. From the planning angle, if he doesn't exceed the rules, then he doesn't have to go for planning permission or to consult anybody. If he did exceed the rules or use the shed for habitation, then that's a different matter and you could make an issue of it.
My point was really that the new occupier would have exactly the same rights as you and could take it up with the local authority if he likes. It isn't as though he is losing out. If the neighbour breaks the rules then the council can be asked to act - if the new occupier wants to make an issue of it. He might be happy about it.
As I say. talk about it to your solicitor and see what he says. I would expect that unless there is a question where you would have to reveal this then the advice will be not to volunteer the information.
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