CF Neighbours plans

[Arewe29]

I need to rant!

Got a letter from the council to say that my neighbours are building an extension, went around to ask for a full copy of the plans, as where we live (hill) will cause issues to our house. They said that they did not have any and that they did not know planning was even sought, bullshit!

I went online and yep there plans show that they are trying to build on our bloody land. Fuck me they must think I am stupid.

Echoes getting CCTV as they could well turn nasty (nastier)

Can't answer for Movinghouseatlast, but my Dads neighbours did this.

Waited til he buggered off on holiday for a fortnight (easy to find out as he'd gone with a couple of others from the village, all arranged in the pub so everyone knew)...

Then rebuilt a 'boundary' wall 3ft into his property for a run of 40ft.

Unfortunately for them my Dad was fully equipped to fight it and they had to take the whole lot down and rebuild it where it was meant to be, so their wall cost them twice what it should have.

Party wall awards are great! When we did our extension, the neighbour on one side gave written permission immediately on being formally asked via the .gov party wall standard letter, while the very unfriendly other side neighbour refused and insisted on a party wall surveyor. They chose the surveyor, we had to pay. No problem, we paid the bill and got the party wall award.

Six months later, works nearly finished and council building inspector scheduled for final inspection and sign-off of the works, and unfriendly neighbour sends solicitor's letter to say their property has been damaged by our building works and there's an issue with damp and possible subsidence. Their party wall surveyor, who we paid for, goes around to inspect their complaint, and points out to them - with before and after photos - that the damage they speak of was already there at the time of the award before our work started!

Ha ha, they thought they'd get us to pay for their repairs but it was their surveyor who put the kibosch on that! Their repairs would have been in the tens of thousands while the fee we paid their surveyor was £1200. Money very well spent!! Without the award and the photos, we would not have been able to prove their damage existed before our work started. Hahahaha CFs - didn't work so well for you, did it?! And with the council building inspector involved, they've been given a notice to repair as - wait for it - the council building inspector deems it unsafe to leave much longer in case it impacts our new extension's foundations. Hahahahaha.

Good luck OP - glad you and other side neighbour have got a good party wall surveyor involved.

This is a holding letter, to remind them of their lawful responsibilities, and what they need to do if they do get planning.

As I have said if they had spoken to us and been reasonable we would not be in this position, of having to fight them at every turn.

As wise people say you can't argue with stupid.

Following. I've had a couple of weeks of CFery and it's good to see some get put in their place. Good boundaries here pardon the pun.

Do you really think these neighbours are reasonable, they are refusing to get a party wall agreement, they have put a planning application in building on our land and denied it and are now saying its joint land.

If they were reasonable this thread would not have been started.

As I pointed out to them a party wall agreement is to protect them as well as us.

I am hoping that their surveyor and architect talk some sense into them, and they have to ask us to agree to their works if and when they go ahead.
I will take great pleasure in making them ask for it and say you mean when I asked for it before and you said fuck off and HA, I will actually make them squirm it will be wonderful.

Another thing that my Party wall surveyor has noticed is that there is someone else on the deeds not the neighbours BF, they will have to be contacted and agree to the works. Honestly its a shit show.

This is wonderful to see.

Wow they really are CFers

They will now be known as CFC it has a much better ring to it.

Hold up, neighbours aren’t on the deeds? How come? Is it not a freehold property? Or even theirs?!

"They are that stupid they have not even placed their planning notice outside".

That's not their role, but for the council to do. Or at least it used to be unless things have recently changed.

Also re the tree, it may be that they jad no intention to remove it, but merely that their architect didn't draw it on the plans.

Nice! Party wall award is all very well IF the neighbours abide by it. Our neighbours aren’t and having contacted the surveyor, we’ve heard nothing back. I’m going to get on to them again tomorrow. So frustrating!

I'm assuming that this is just in the planning stage and permission hasn't actually been granted yet.

I would speak to the planning officer whose case this is and explain matters to them. It really helps if you say you are not opposed to their basic plan, just the fact that they are taking for granted they can build on your land.

The planners want an application that will be as straightforward as possible and wont have to go to the planning committee for a decision. It's possible that the CFs have not been honest with the planner.

Our surveyor has been recommended to us, he was the only one that listened look at the plans and said nope that is not right and sent a letter straight away.
When I told him they were not going to agree to a party wall he seemed very interested.

CFC plans show the boundary line and a wall over it, with the boundary line running through the middle of the wall. You can build up to the boundary, making the foundation purely on your side or ask for permission and build over the boundary with the neighbours permission.

I line CFE - Cheeky Fuckers Extraordinaire

This is part of the plans they have submitted as you can see the boundary is running straight through part of the wall they want to build and the a massive tree right behind it. plans are not to scale of course

I didn’t say that they were reasonable. There is no need for a party wall award right now, that’s all.
I don’t know how you can force them to pay for your surveyor at this stage

I am not forcing them to pay now, I asked if their planning is granted that they will pay then, they refused even though its law, which they do not have any knowledge of.

As I have said countless times if they had approached us and said we would like to do this, we would have said yes, but they lied and said its not on our land, then said they had not gone for planning and had no plans, then its on joint land and now its for our benefit.

Our party wall surveyor believes as they have been so unhanded that they will not do the right thing and if we give them an inch they will flout everything else, including not even putting in the correct notices.

Yes, I get all that.

Has PP been granted yet? If not there is plenty of scope for compromise via the planning officer whose case it is

If the wall or foundation is on your land, they have made an incorrect declaration on the ownership form, so should have given you 21 days notice as you own part of the land. This will only delay planning. They cannot build on your land, or even the toe if the foundation. If they start work with out a party wall notice in place, you will need to serve an injuction to stop them.

You can (try) and get planning permission for any pice of land - you don’t have to own it. It’d be a bit of a silly thing to do, especially if it enhances the value of the piece of land in question - which this by the sounds of it definitely doesn’t.

Its a wall on our land, no notice was served.

The land is on a steep hill, hence my request for the structural drawings which was refused, now my party wall surveyor has asked for them, so that he can decide if they are structurally safe, as the last thing I want is my land to slip into their garden, making my house unstable.

They have fucked up and they knew it, just do not want to admit they are wrong, so are digging their heels in and making them look more stupid.