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

[angelos02]

Neighbour is having a huge extension - so much so, we have found out that they are moving out for 6 months. It will have a huge impact on my life - noise, scaffolding etc. At the end of it I will have lost a huge amount of view - they will gain everything and the only person to be negatively impacted is me! So do I just have to suck it up as it is just the way things are now?

Yabu you don’t own the street love.

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.)

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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!

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

Very constructive comment - not!

True though

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.

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

There is however no right to a view

@Boomer55 - it'd be nice to think they'll also have the consideration not to employ a construction company who use builders who swear, shout and play the radio loudly all day or cause a parking nuisance.

It'd also be nice to think they might have just a smidge of thought for their neighbours who might not be able to enjoy their outside space whilst the work is going on.

Maybe they'll also be forward-thinking and kind enough to be open to speaking with their neighbours about the upcoming work and how it might impact them, and offer to listen to any concerns or swiftly deal with any issues that arise.

Or, maybe they really are selfish bastards who think; 'Oh, well, I've got planning permission, fuck everything and everyone else'.

Or maybe that's just me?

Maybe they like the location of where they currently live. It means their kids can stay at the same schools and the cost of the extension is similar to the costs of moving including stamp duty etc.

There are regulations as to what times the building works can be done and as long as they comply with those then there isn't really any recourse.

Did they discuss the plans with you? Did you ask them why they bought the house if it wasn't big enough?

If you built a similar extension would it then spoil the view from theirs? If it would then I'd perhaps joke that if theirs looks good you'll have the same done yourself...

If the boot was on the other foot and you had the resources to build an extension, would your first thought really be, “Oh no, I can’t do that because what will Doris and Dave next door think?” Probably not. Gaining more space at home is a pretty normal and reasonable thing for people to want.

I don’t get the hate. If you don’t want inconvenience or noise go live on a road where you have no neighbours.

Shut it op, you don't matter. It doesn't matter if you have to suffer for, at the very least, 6 months. It doesn't matter that they decided to buy a house that does not meet their needs. What's that about?
I feel your pain. Hope its over sooner x

YANBU

I have no idea why councils grant planning permission for projects which clearly have a long term impact on the neighbour's quality of life. Putting up with noise from renovations is one thing, (repairs are necessary) but other people permanently losing things they had when they purchased their property like a nice view, light, privacy etc. is unacceptable to me.

Noise and disruption are significant material considerations in the domestic planning process in the UK. Working hours are usually limited for this reason. A Construction Management Plan (CMP) may require accoustic hoarding, conditions on machinery location, monitoring, traffic management, all sorts of things.

But it’s not just a question of doing that is it?

Cost
Additional Stamp Duty
Location

Not everyone can just buy a five bed!

Do they have planning permission? Usually when they apply you as their neighbour will be notified of their application and have the opportunity to object, giving your reasons why.
Our next door but one neighbours had permission rejected on the basis that it would block a lot of light from their neighbours on the other side, because the neighbours put that information in their response.

It's stories of people who tortured their neighbours with long, loud, messy renovations on their own homes but then protested any proposed renovations wanted by their neighbours that should make people outraged at the sheer selfish hypocrisy....

Well yes, this is the case!