In asking neighbours not to build an extension during lockdown

[HelpIcantfindaname]

Saw my neighbour on my drive with a workman today. I asked what they were doing. They are planning to extend the front of their house out by about 5'.

They have done constant DIY since moving in a couple of years ago. Most of last spring/summers was in the garden. The noise was annoying, when we were all stuck at home.

My DS(32) has ASD & is noise sensitive. He had ear defenders last year but could not cope with the constant noise from next door. DS is ill with stomach & heart issues, which he thinks are caused by stress.

The trouble with asking the neighbour is that lockdown or tiers could go on a long time, plus I think they are taking advantage of being at home to get work done.

DS is hoping to get a flat but this could be months away. I have DD12 at home too, who will have to live with the constant meltdowns her brother will be having, from the noise next door.

AIBU to ask them to wait?

@FatherTedsBankAccount

My neighbours have only just finished theirs after 6 long, noisy months but these things need to be done I'm afraid.

They don't "NEED to be done" though, do they? In a pandemic, extending one's house is in no way necessary. This country is full of self-important people who think their WANTS are more important than the actual needs and rights (peace, mental health, etc) of those around them.

Very well said.

We are clearly in a considerate minority though. The attitudes of people to close neighbours, whose lives are going to be negatively affected, is deplorable.
YANBU OP.

@ScienceSensibility you don't know what's going on in people's lives, why the building work or extension might be necessary. Its very rude and inconsiderate of you to assume that everyone who is doing building work right now is an arsehole.

As I said above I am close to someone who has a devastating, life limiting condition. They are undertaking work on their property to allow him to be able to physically live in his own property, with his family, as he gets more unwell. Why does someone who likes peace and quiet get to choose that my friend can't make necessary adjustments to his home. The disruption may be unpleasant but it is temporary.

There’s no harm in asking. Our next door neighbours is a building site and has been since March. I’m used to loud drilling and hammering all day every day now... I get so excited for 1pm on a Saturday when we get silence for a day and a half!

I personally wouldn’t want to put someone else who was working from home through that if I could help it but obviously they might be restricted with time for one reason or another!

I think most people would expect renovation work to be a nuisance to neighbours rather than cause serious mental health issues so I think it's important to mention the extent of distress in a polite way, whilst also emphasising that you understand their need to do it. I would ask to be kept in the loop with the work schedule for this reason, so that you can plan long walks or something like that during the noisier days. Not every day will be noisy, and there are likely to be gaps in work due to delays etc so if you're informed and updated of what happens when, that would really help you to cope.

It's annoying but you would be u to ask them to change their plans. Nobody knows when lockdown will end and even if it ends it could be imposed again.

People building extensions in a lockdown when their neighbours can’t escape (especially when they move in with family themselves) are arseholes. Even more so when they don’t talk or apologise to their neighbours or keep them informed.

It’s been going on since the beginning of last March here. Complete with pneumatic drilling and builders looking over the garden even day including weekends and bank holidays. Try shielding, wfh and homeschooling with that going on...

It’s like being locked in prison and tortured. I am now on anti depressants.

OP - you have my sympathy. Some people (most people going by this thread) and just selfish.

Hi OP. I'm not sure you're right about being able to build a front extension without planning permission. I've had a look in the permitted development advice, and the changes to planning last year, and can't see front extensions other than a porch. I would ask your neighbour about when they're applying for planning. Might put your mind at rest about timescales. If they say they don't need it the planning officer can advise. I might be wrong but front extensions have always been frowned upon as affecting the look of a road.

If I was your neighbour I'd want to know that it was going to cause so much difficulty for your son so I could at least try and reduce the impact as much as possible even if I was unable to delay the work.

I would not find it unreasonable for you to approach me over this

Delaying would be a big ask. However I don't think it would be so unreasonable to explain that your son has difficulties with the noise, and ask if they can liaise with you so that you know when the noisier work is going to be happening. Would your son be able to go along to your parents' for the day when there's likely to be a lot of noise? (Even if lockdown arrangements are still in place, maybe it can be justified on grounds of mental health.)

I am fully entitled to be on my own drive to access my own car & ask people on MY drive why there are there (without my permission)

So it's one rule for them and another for you?

My neighbours were breaking the first lockdown by having visitors and a jolly time sitting out in the garden. They demanded to know what was going on when my nephews arrived to fix a fault on the existing alarm system. This was after I had politely warned them that we were going to have to test the system. They were rude and entitled, telling my nephews they "should not be here". We made them sorry they had opened their mouths. Tested the alarm 8 times in an hour. If you mess with me I mess with you.

I can't believe most people think you're being unreasonable. Sometimes these polls really surprise me! Do people have no sense of community responsibility? People more obsessed with making money on property and having more, it's so so sad. This thread has really disheartened me. If you came to me I would not think you were unreasonable infact I would speak with my immediate neighbors before embarking on such a thing.

@HelpIcantfindaname when would be convenient for you for them to start the work on their home?

For heavens sake YAB extremely U.

Yes it’s annoying when neighbours do work, and but why on earth should they not? I think doing it in a pandemic is a good idea. If they can handle the disruption with wfh / school from home (if applicable) it might be helpful for them to be at home all the time so they can see what’s going on.

Why on earth should they do something so big and disrupting like extending their property around their neighbours timetable

If you're in England, they may not just build a front extension without planning permission. According to planningportal.co.uk, "No extension forward of the principal elevation or side elevation fronting a highway" would be allowed under 'permitted development', which means 'stuff you're allowed to do without planning permission.'

The only exception would be a porch outside an existing door, and there are rules as to size: the ground floor area (measured externally) would not exceed three square metres, no part would be more than three metres above ground level, and no part of the porch would be within two metres of any boundary of the house and the highway (by which they mean the pavement, not the road).

However, they may already have been granted planning permission. Look on your local council's website for listings of planning applications. You can object, if the council are still considering it, but 'the building work will be noisy' is not a valid reason to object.

I'm sure the rules of lockdown allow people to travel to provide care for vulnerable people, so if your DS could stay with relatives elsewhere, you would probably be allowed to take him there.

YABU
If they have all the building approvals then you gotta suck it up
Why shouldnt people use the time at home to fix up their home if they need?
What if your DS dont move out? they not allowed to build at all in your eyes?

Yes its shit it affects your DS so badly but brutal honesty, its not their problem.
Can you soundproof his room or the lounge room at all? Double glazed windows and thick blinds or roller shutters, thick insulation, solid doors.
So at worst of the noise he has a quiet space to retreat too

I think anyone who has had an extension, or work from any sort of tradesman, especially over the past year, will tell you that they tell the homeowner when the work can be done and not the other way round. I don't think they're selfish for wanting to improve their home and taking whatever dates the builder offers them.

[quote SuperCaliFragalistic]@ScienceSensibility you don't know what's going on in people's lives, why the building work or extension might be necessary. Its very rude and inconsiderate of you to assume that everyone who is doing building work right now is an arsehole.[/quote]
I didn’t use that word, are you confusing me with someone else?

Your friend(?) s position is saddening, but hopefully unusual and not likely to apply to the many people currently suffering from noise caused by inconsiderate neighbours.
Your reply is clearly coloured by the very difficult individual circumstances you are close to, however, the OPs son is also worthy of consideration.

It must be incredibly worrying for you, but your neighbours can't plan their life around your DS's needs and people in the building trades need an income so need to work.

As PPs have suggested, a compromise would be to explain your DS's needs to your neighbours and ask them to liaise with you about noisy work.

We discussed the work we were having done with our neighbours and they asked us to be as quiet as possible at their child's lunchtime nap time, so the builders used that as their lunchbreak on noisy days. We are still on good terms, and they are also thinking of having work done which we will put up with in our turn.

There is a middle path between 'stop all building work' and 'go ahead without any consideration.

Changes to the front of a house still require planning permission.

I had to get it for a porch/lobby on mine (November 2020).

I would pre warn if they need access to your land for extension you won't be granting it because of your DS and you feel an extension in lockdown is selfish. And that you would object to planning permission however you'd be more than accommodating if they'd wait ect and you could arrange alternive accommodation for your eldest son ect

If they have planning permission then there is little you can do, apart from seeking to agree hours when the work takes place. Such as a time each day when the workmen have lunch so you are aware of no noise.

@HelpIcantfindaname

Thanks for all the replies. I thought it was unreasonable, hence asking. If it was just me here I'd lump it As I know I will have to anyway.. Last spring my son actually lived with my parents 2 gardens away. The noise from my neighbours caused him so much distress he began self harming again. In July he tried to cut the carotid artery in his neck. The doctors would only release him to my care so he moved back home. Obviously, the neighbours don't know this. And if they need to extend, then that's not going to stop them. (They have a 3 bed house & no kids yet but that doesn't mean they aren't entitled to more space.) I just absolutely dread what this will do to Ds.

I googled planning permission, & rules were relaxed last year because of the pandemic so they don't need planning permission.

If I could afford to live in the country I'd be there. Although right now I care for my elderly parents who live round the corner, & I work full time, so this house is in a good place right now.

I will probably knock & ask when work is due to start. But I won't ask them to delay.

Maybe your neighbours have mental health issues that are triggered by the state of disrepair/lack of space in their house that will cause them to self harm. You have no idea what their ability to manage their mental health is like either.

That said, I don’t think it’s a question of whose mental health takes priority as it’s important for everyone. They have a right to do what they would like to their property in accordance with council regulations.

Construction is explicitly permitted by the government during the pandemic.

Sorry yabu, sounds like you need a detached house

They have every right to apply for, and do, an extension whenever they like. I don't think even asking will make any difference.