If you have a big extension to your home, AIBU to think you should consider the impact on your neighbours?

There is however no right to a view

If they’ve got planning permission, then that’s all they need.

Our former neighbour stopped speaking to us when we got an extension… and we did speak to them about it. Looking back, I wish we’d made it bigger and double storey but we didn’t want to upset them. Ours was a single storey extension. Years ago before we moved in, they got a double one. That’s life and as long as no one is doing anything illegal or deliberately mean, then we just have to get on with it… so many houses down our road have had work done in the past 15 years or so.

True though

Do you talk to everyone like that or just strangers on the internet?

Very constructive comment - not!

YANBU OP. I don't know what it is about my road but about four houses have had massive extensions/remodelling done and there's a constant stream of lorries and workmen. Fortunately they are not next door but then the house behind us had an extension too. And some workmen are so obnoxious - shouting, loud music, swearing. And I have a garden office as well, so it wasn't easy. Thank goodness it's over now and didn't take that long.

I wish people would just move and buy another house if they decide their two bedroom house needs five bedrooms now!

I agree that noisy neighbours are selfish but that’s a different situation to noise from
building work which is time limited and necessary for an extension.

I understand your frustration but I do feel you are being unreasonable.

We were asked the same question by the occupational health person who came to view our house as we'd applied for DFG. If we could have bought a more suitable house we would have, but for our criteria, in our budget there was nothing, and it would be far cheaper, even if we paid for the work to be done rather than use the grant money, than get a house that was more suitable. Most still would need some adaptations

I listened to two of the neighbour's bitching about another's extension. Their complaint was about how long it'd gone on and the number of skips they'd had. All very visible issues that seem to have slighted the neighbour intensely.

I assume when we had our similar extension done that our builders didn't bother them as much... although from next door to me they couldn't see the activity on the side of my house.. but they could see the builders vans and drops of deliveries if they stood outside and looked.
I was very keen that our builders didn't start work too early though - despite my neighbours both getting up at the crack of dawn.
Perhaps they bitched to other people about ours.

I carried on working from home during our extension work so it couldn't have been that noisy.

I’ve asked neighbours to be considerate and schedule building projects in winter when windows are shut and I’m less likely to be enjoying the garden. That’s how I did ours and neighbours were ameanable into taking it into account.

At the end of the day you have no say in your view and neighbours are entitled to improve their space within what’s allowed by planning. If it’s a party wall they should have got seperate permission from you and you should ask for it to look they way you want and got them to but wires or trellis to grow greens on if that’s your preference.

I think you can also ask that they stick rigidly to the council hours for noisy building work, especially in a weekend and ask them to give you notice on the noisier parts. It’s painful to go through it, especially when the neighbours swan off to a different house so they’re not living through the noise and disruption day in day out. It’s always worth point this out to them.

DS2 and DDIL have just had a 2 storey extension started on their home. It’s more cost effective to do that than move. They have a lovely house in a very nice village, with good schools and facilities, with a great sized garden. The only neighbour who has whinged about it has done an extension themselves in the past, so they’re bloody hypocrites.

YANBU but, unfortunately, yes, you just have to suck it up. If you share a party wall, make sure that absolutely no work starts before the party wall agreement is signed and both properties have been inspected and had photos/videos taken. (You have zero recourse if they cause damage before the party wall agreement is in place.)

Yabu you don’t own the street love.

@angelos02 did they have a Daylight Report commissioned for planning. The BRE have set certain criteria for protection of daylight/sunlight for habital room. This is also necessary for larger extension. This is the business I work for, so happy to offer any advice if you want to PM me

Also party wall agreements.

Um what exactly do you think you need to gain out of the situation? No one extends their house for the neighbour’s benefit

I had this last year with a neighbour. The noise, mess and constant parking issues with the tradesman drove me to distraction - especially as I work from home. I even let them put scaffolding in our garden (it was up for about 6 weeks). Not once did they say thank you. It was disappointing to say the least. I only complained when the scaffolding was removed and the builders left a mess on my side. It was sorted quickly thankfully. There isn’t much you can do really unless you object in the first place.

And yes, sorry OP, there isn't much can you can do if it is permitted development or has planning permission. Worth checking it is within the guidelines/permission though. Some people do ... erm... test the rules.

If the NDN had stayed it would probably take longer to complete the building work. I know its a PITA but its not forever.

Oh don’t be ridiculous! A legal requirement that would mean the work took much longer? Because each day the site would need clearing up, water, electricity, heating back on, instead of tools down and home.

Surely the least time the better for the neighbours and noise, dust etc.

It would be like a turkey voting for Christmas.

The village mafia might object for the fun of it though.

Nice. Spot the pleasant community minded incomers.

Would hate for your amazing views to become a new town, or a distribution centre, or a motorway.

not all renovations are big, so how would it be judged when they need to be forced to remain in their property, Answer, you can't, it's impossible,

the key thing is that there are planning laws in place in the UK which ensure any renovation complies with legislation, this includes maximum % the property owner is able to increase their house size footprint, checks to ensure natural daylight is not denied the affected neighbours, to some degree privacy considerations which invariably involves obscured glass, windows angles that mitigate against loss of privacy.

the time to contest an extension and express concerns is when the planning application is first advertised, giving affected households the opportunity to object. Objections should be on the basis of light loss, not because it will reduce property value of neighbours nor that a view is lost, Views are not protected in law, nobody has the right to a view, people do have a right to natural daylight and privacy. Once the application has been approved, it's set in stone,

why shouldn't people want to increase their house size, provided it complies with legislation.

that doesn't mean I can't express empathy to the OP for their situation, but it really isnt as simple as dont extend.

But you can’t stop people renovating homes! It’s annoying but it won’t last forever and it’s not worth falling out over in my opinion.

Whats the alternative? Nobody can extend their home without prior written agreement of every nearby house? That would be nonsensical, it’s their land and they can build on it if they want to. Different story if the building works are going on at night or they’re affecting your land with waste etc

By the time their building works are finished you'll be majorly brassed off then they'll be bemoaning that the neighbours aren't friendly or accommodating.

YABU to hold it against them, but I can see why you are annoyed about the noise and dust etc for the next 9 months. No one wants to live next to a building site.

Howevwr, people are entitled to renovate / extend their homes - in fact, I think people should be encouraged to do it, as it preserves the housing stock and keeps it all up to date. Down our lane, 3 of the 5 x 1930s bungalows have been updated - including sizable extensions. They are now an appropriate size for the plots of land they are on, and are a higher quality of housing (better layouts, better natural light, safer electrics, modern plumbing etc etc) for people to live in. The ones that haven’t been done are looking very sorry, and at least one of them will not be worth anything when eventually sold - it will need to be knocked down and replaced completely. It’s a NIMBY mindset to have that everything should stay the same so as not to inconvenience you!