Neighbours want to adjust exterior of our property

[leavethewallalone]

We have lived in our house for coming up 8 years now. 2 years ago new people moved in next door just before lockdown. We don't have much to do with them other than saying hi when they moved in and taking in parcels for them but they seem ok.

We live in terraced houses but each house has a single storey bit at the back that is detached. They're a kind of weird shape in how they are built because they are 70 years old, think a kind of wonky L shape. The wall of our extended bit sits very close to the boundary and as a result there is some overhang of soffits. This has always been the case and some of the neighbouring properties are the same.

Last week we had a planning letter come through our door. They plan to extend their little detached bit in both directions up to the boundary (single storey). I'm a bit shocked that they didn't speak to us before putting in planning permission, I know you don't have to but a heads up would have been good.
We popped round just to ask what their plans were, how long they thought the work might take as we both WFH so this would really impact us. It would also means gardens were not secure for a time period and we have children and a dog so this wouldn't be ideal, but is what it is. They talked us through their plans and I pointed out that the work they needed to do would mean altering our property as our exterior is currently in the way of where they want theirs to go. They just said "yes" without anything else. I tried to remain polite and asked why they hadn't spoken to us about this before putting in planning permission as this was not just proposed work to their property, but now ours. They shrugged and said ours shouldn't be built the way it is but they'd cover the cost for us. I pointed out that every property here is like it and if they wanted to extend they probably shouldn't have moved in to a house where there are boundary issues that have been known for 70 years.

We've had some back and forth with them offering nothing in the way of a you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours agreement, and just feel that we should let them do it. I've now said absolutely not.

I've spoken to the old neighbours who we are still in touch with and asked if they ever had any problems with the boundary. They said no but they did have to take out insurance that covered this in case our property ever damaged their garden etc. We have had to do the same because we have the same on the other side so this make sense.

I've gone through the deeds and any paperwork that I have regarding disputes, I even have really old building documents. No issues raised at any point in 70 years of this house being as it is.

AIBU or should neighbours move elsewhere if they're desperate to extend?

The house on the other side of them is empty so I have no idea what they're doing about that side.

That’s my understanding. If that’s right, then surely OP is the CF here!

The key is that they want to extend an outbuilding.
it is a detached single story building in the garden NOT the terraces home itself

If that’s right, then surely OP is the CF here!

Does no-one actually read the opening post? How can the OP be the CF when these terrace houses, all with this odd layout, have been there for 70 years.

I think YABU, you seem to think you'd WFH means they shouldn't build an extension? That they should move because they want to build an extension?

If your property overhangs their boundary, then deal with it.

If planning doesn't think it's a reason to not give permission, then that's it.

No, the OP isn't a CF at ALL. These people KNEW about the overhang/encroachment onto their property when they bought the property. Lots of properties - especially terraced, pre 1950s - are like this. I would tell the neighbour to jog on. Like fuck would they be touching my home. They knew what they signed up for when they bought the house. They're chancing their hand, and are cheeky fuckers of the highest order.

So many missing the point

this issue os concerning the OP’s outbuilding!

NOT PART OF HER TERRACED HOME

”a detached single story” building.

As above, many older properties have overhanging features, and may be nothing to do with bad planning /construction/encroachment.

Do you have any reference to a flying freehold in your deeds? It sets out very specific rights and responsibilities between both parties i.e. allowing access for maintenance where part of your property overhangs another.

IT IS STILL PART OF HER PROPERTY, SO THE NEIGHBOURS CAN JOG ON!

See I can use CAPITAL LETTERS too. Aren't I clever?

You don’t understand planning permission do you?

outbuildings (and presumably very small if all properties in a terraced row have one) are subject to different regs.

@tomatoandherbs You're the neighbour aren't you?

It will very likely be precisely like this

Unfortunately a fall in value is not a valid reason - as much as i think it should be

Yes because anyone questioning the OP rather than wholehearted support simply must be the neighbour 😄

@tomatoandherbs, I know the OP said detached but she also said the houses were L-shaped. I don’t think she means detached but rather that the jutting out bit isn’t attached to the neighbour’s house. I may be completely wrong though but that’s how I read it.

I didn’t say the OP was being a CF (although I think the fence comment is cheeky) However, if her property overhangs theirs then she’s the one encroaching. It doesn’t matter that previous neighbours weren’t bothered. I can’t quite understand how she’ll lose 3ft unless she’s massively overhanging.

So any time someone buys a house that has a neighbour with property crossing the boundary, they just have to accept it? What nonsense!

The OP’s extension encroaches land that does not belong to her. If the neighbour wants it rectified, they’re doing nothing wrong by arranging for it to be done. Their only issue is the lack of communication.

Little odd to use the word “detached” but to not actually mean “detached”

Well, ours is very od and next doors front steps are set across our front wall - that's a flying freehold. Their extension side wall forms part of our boundary. Neighbour at the back owns the drive our garden wall opens onto. We have rights of passage across, neighbour does not.

What I cannot do is touch, change, interfere with the steps, or the drive. What I must do is allow them access to my garden for the upkeep of their sidewall.

All perfectly normal round here. Non estate living is quite weird and wonderful!

As OP said, other houses in the row are extended the same way, probably even this neighbour's house. There will be precedent set somewhere.

She uses the word “detached” more than once
let’s give the OP credit that she understands the definition of “detached” !

I think when the OP wrote detached, they meant that the part of their property it impacts doesn't adjoin their property.

Having lived in a similar terraced home, I assume this is the set up.

Blue indicates the properties, with green lines showing where the soffits and roofs overhang the boundaries.

The neighbour is proposing to extend all the way up to The boundary with OP, which is the red and purple shaded areas. However, the purple shaded area cannot be extended into without altering the OP's overhanging soffits and roof.

The overhang is a design quirk of all the houses in this area and is not the result of a previous owner extending and incorrectly encroaching the boundary.

I wonder if it's like IL - the house is terranced and thus is attached to houses either side but kichen extenion which they have built partly over with upstairs bathroom is not attached to either sides property but is part of the main house.

One side there's a patio area to boundary - while rest of house joins next door - other side there a gap and extension is slighty in from main house edge that side.

I mean the part of the OP's property that is under contention does not directly adjoin the neighbours house.

Well all speculation re whether detached or not, but does have implications on PP

Either way… if we aren’t clear re detached or not, the OP needs to fine tune her comm skills when submitting any PP complaint!

@BadNomad I really did! Stupid server error 🙄

geojellyfish explination is better with a nice diagram - but that's similar to IL set up.

@geojellyfish

The overhang is a design quirk of all the houses in this area and is not the result of a previous owner extending and incorrectly encroaching the boundary.

This exactly. The neighbour has no right to take any of the OP's property/building/outbuilding. A few posters on here are deluded, and are talking such utter rot. These people walk amongst us too. God help us all.