AIBU to think that my upstairs neighbour cannot decide to build an extension on my flatroof without my explicit permission?

[BaleOfHay]

London converted terrace. My upstairs neighbour (with whom I share the freehold of the building) has submitted a planning application to build an extension out on to my flat roof. AIBU to think that A) he's a CF, and B) they need my explicit permission for such a build? Surely he can't build on my roof without my permission??

Chat GPT isn't going to give proper legal advice and often spews out total rubbish!

I had the same thought!

But you definitely need this situation clarified by an expert. As @Achdinnae said, 'You may have legal cover with your house insurance or trade union membership.'

He's a CF for not talking to you first! I'd go and talk to him. See on what basis he thinks he can build an extension on your roof. Has he taken any advice?

Grab a ladder and a patio set and get thyself up there....

See if you have legal cover on your home insurance,

Maybe you should put in an application to have a loft conversion!

But I was not formally informed of the planning application and only found out about it
I am in Ireland so laws may be different. Do you not have to publicly display the planning application at the site you are seeking planning permission on? We've to display details of the application and council address of where it can be viewed. If you do and they haven't done that, that's another reason to object

As has been pointed out, anyone can apply for planning on anyone's property.

Getting Planning Permission is not being given permission to actually go ahead and build whatever it is on someone else's property.

You don't need to panic about the PP - if it's granted it makes no difference to who owns the space - but do need to make sure you know what the position is with regard to what you do/don't have control of in terms of your own property.

Check your deeds and share of freehold contract. I am in a share of freehold and it states that all freeholders must agree to any structural changes.

No, that stopped years ago in England & Wales (not sure about Scotland and NI).

You need to move this to legal @BaleOfHay and also get some proper legal advice.

It’s not a council issue, as many have pointed out planning permission doesn’t give you the legal right to build. If you have legal cover on your home insurance, use it to get some legal advice. You’ll need legal advice from a property lawyer

Just call your local planning department and speak to a planning officer, they will give you guidance on what is and isn’t allowed.

As others have said, you are confusing 2 issues.

Planning permission is just confirmation from the council to say that building changes can go ahead as per their rules.

Whether or not he is legally entitled to start that work is a completely separate issue.

Just to illustrate for you…. I buy commercial properties for development as part of my job. I get planning permission first before I buy the properties because I don’t want to buy them if I can’t get planning permission. Once I get planning permission, it doesn’t mean I can get the contractors in straight away, I still have to then legally buy the property first before tearing it to pieces.

It would have been nice if your neighbour had consulted you first. They may not have to but it's considerate, eh? Do you normally get on? You'd also think that any planning application so directly affecting you might involve a notification from the council and not just you finding out by accident but there you go. Speak to the Planning Dept. and ask for more info. Be nice to them, be firm with your neighbour.

Yes. You will be asked if you agree and can refuse if you feel it will cause some difficulty for you. Would it inconvenience you?

You can apply for planning permission on land that you do not own there is no issue with that. However even if permission is granted it doesn't provide the person with permission to go ahead and build. Only permission it is granting is that the local authority is supportive of it in terms of townscape.

What do your deeds say? It would be very unusual for the 1st floor to have any rights over the roof to the grd floor, only instances that migjt be different is if it was used as a balcony for example.

There are lots of issues with trying to build as others have pointed out already, would require a lot of collaboration from you. You don't need a solicitor at the moment just look at your deeds.

Its a very strange move, its cost them money to gain permission potentially for something they are inable to build, assume the person doing it isn't perhaps familiar with UK approvals.

my area doesn’t advertise planning in anyway. You have to check to see if someone’s applied - which your unlikely to do unless you know about something.

your objection needs to be something more than “it’s mine I don’t agree”. It needs to be based on something like, flood risk, not in keeping and no precedence. Extension not built to take weight. Those sort of actual hard facts.

good luck

Maybe the OP should consider extending their own flat, upwards?

I would tell the CF that you know that your extension is not built to support further building as you investigated this when you purchased your flat.

The applicant to the planning application should have served notice on you, 21 days before submitting the application and then signed certificate b in the application. If they signed certificate a , that they own the application area, then the application was incorrectly made and should be retrospectively invalidated and thrown out by the planning department . So first off , check the last bit of the application form for the box signed.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

As pp have said, this is not something you can deal with just by objecting to planning.

Planning is only concerned with whether the proposed building works comply with the local planning policy, or infringe your/others’ right to light or privacy etc. This may not be a breach of any of these.

Here you have other much stronger issues:

1. it may be a breach of the lease. Check the lease for whether works need freeholder permission.
2. it may not be structurally safe to build on top of your extension - single storey extensions are often not strong enough to support further storeys.
3. how would he get access to do the building work? It’s unlikely it can all be done via his rear windows. You do not have to give access via your flat/garden unless the lease says you must, but usually such access is for repairs only.

Start by checking your lease and any freehold terms.

He would need landlord's consent, which is you and him. He also needs planning permission. He will need a surveyor for the party wall who will tell him he needs landlord's consent. You have to be reasonable when it comes to granting or not granting it though... .

Of course there is no harm in telling the council that you don’t think he even has the legal right to do this work - but they may decide that’s not their issue.

I'm not sure it's just your roof, technically. When you have a converted property, the freeholder is responsible for all roof repairs – shared cost if there is more than one of you. So technically as joint freeholder it's his roof too.