Neighbour knocking down and rebuilding extension. I have an odd question to ask

[IlanaK]

The extension is in the neighbours garden but is right on the other side of our back fence. Their house is side on to our garden if that makes sense. They are doing the work over the summer.

My question is: do they have to take any precautions when demolishing the building ( and digging out the basement they have planned) to ensure that dust and debris is not falling in our garden? I am thinking like putting up some sheeting or something?

My children's trampoline is near the fence and we also have food planting areas there. Do I just have to put up with layers of dust or can I pre-empt things?

This is all new to me as I have always lived in blocks of flats before!

Anyone?

I don't know a lot about this in detail but I think an formal agreement should exsist between you and your neighbour?

If you google "The party wall act" you should get more info.

HTH

If the extension is right up to your boundary then I think they need a party wall agreement - an agreement with you. You can insist they appoint a party wall surveyor at their expense. Don't know how to find it but somewhere on the web there's the government's Planning Portal - although it's about planning law not party wall, it may have some links or relevant information.

Thanks. It doesn't seem to cover it if a fence separates the property.

If they're building within their boundary then they probably decided to do this to avoid PWA legislation which can end up being expensive and time consuming. That doesn't necessarily mean that they want to piss off their neighbours though. You won't have rights as such but it may be worth approaching the owner and gently and politely expressing your concerns and seeing if you can reach an accommodation. For example, will they be hosing down the old extension while it is being demolished to avoid unnecessary dust. Can they hang netting from the scaffolding to stop any bits falling into your garden etc?

Be as reasonable as possible and hope that the owner responds to that.

I think you will find party wall act is covered by what your neighbours are proposing to do. They should give you formal notice of the work. You then reply in writing within 14 days of receiving their letter. Google party wall act.

You may have misunderstood - fencing doesn't negate obligations under PWA, it's whether their building works affect that boundary or not. If their works are 12m away from it, then no, PWA doesn't apply. But if they are building up to the boundary or the works are likely to affect your fence/wall, then it does.

Thank you. I cannot approach the neighbour in a reasonable way unfortunately. When we moved in a year ago, he took enormous objection to my having three children that play in the garden with friends. He wanted silence so he could work from home. So we are not his favourite people.

He is an architect I think so should be aware of these laws. I would hope we would receive notification when he goes ahead - (planning application is still underway), but i will look into it again if not.

Can't you object to his planning application or make your concerns heard with council? Since he won't listen to you...

He doesn't have to serve party wall notice until 8 weeks before the build is due to start so he could be waiting to get planning consent and then get a builder on board and so on. If he does need one, he would be very foolish not to seek PW award - not only could he be fined several thousand pounds but as an architect it could damage his professional standing if he were caught.