Can they really put scaffolding on my property?

[2Cats1Dog]

One of the flats above us (leaseholders like us) have got permission from the freeholder to convert their loft and to do this they need to put scaffolding on our property, which would mean months and months of misery for us. Surely, they can't be allowed to do this??? I mean, it's not like it's necessary maintenance work, it's purely to improve their flat, it's not essential work! Has anyone else been in this situation? Help please!

@Iggly when you say it’s bit up to me to decide if the work is essential or not, surely if it is improvement work (not maintenance) and they can’t do it without putting 8 or 9 months of scaffolding in my garden, I can decide. Can’t I?

@Mookatron also, any advice on how I can make it difficult for them would be apprecaited
Thank you!

This thread is a wind-up. Must be.

I think - but you will need to check this, I'm not qualified - that you are obliged to let them have access to your property if they need it to do building work and that includes putting scaffolding on your property. Obviously they can only come INSIDE the house by arrangement and only if there's no alternative which I can't see applying to you. If you insist on having a surveyor to do the party wall agreement that is different from their surveyor you can string it out for ages, depending how assertive the people having work done are. You can be pernickety about the wiring of the agreement. You can insist on structural reports etc being done. But you will fail it with your neighbours over it, and they'll still be able to do it - especially if they've got more money than you - so I wouldn't recommend it.

Thank you very much for your help. Much appreciated xx

Typing went a bit skewiff at the end there, let me know if any thing's too confusing!

I would add that they probably just want room for a growing family or something and can't afford to move in these uncertain times. So I would try to put yourself in their shoes a bit too.

Thanks Mookatron. I appreciate your advice although an disheartened if you are right about not being able to stop it. It seems wrong and unfair to me. Looks like I need to find a solicitor on Monday. Thanks again though for your help xx

How small is the garden then? Scaffolding is usually close to the house so don't see how it would take your whole garden out of use for the dog.

@PosterPostingPosterishly
And I’m the aggressive one?

I think seeing a solicitor with your lease is important. Clearly you're neighbours are very wealthy as nine months of builders wages is huge, I really can't imagine what they'd even be doing for nine months in a loft conversion, what you're posting is very very unusual indeed.

I'd take all the documentation to a solicitor as you're clearly in a very unusual situation. I suspect a nine month loft conversion may be a world first.

I would add that they probably just want room for a growing family or something and can't afford to move in these uncertain times

Not if they are paying builders for the best part of a year, the cost of that is enormous,

The answers to your questions are in your lease.

You don’t need to pay a solicitor.

Read your lease.

It doesn’t matter what seems fair or legal, and it doesn’t matter how you feel about any of this.

Your rights and obligations are in your ownership documents. Read them. Save yourself all this angst and stress.

Must be an enormous loft. They built an entire second storey on a bungalow at the back of me in less than half that time.

I don't understand why animals would find scaffolding "distressing". They aren't human, they don't have any idea what it is other than something to climb up (cats) or piss up against (dog).

Yes, if it's genuinely 8 or 9 months it won't be a family expanding of course. I kind of assumed there had been a miscommunication about the timescale somewhere. Should become clear when the surveyor talks to you op; make sure you see the plans.

Maybe there was a typo in the letter you got and whoever wrote it put months instead of weeks? The cost of hiring builders for 9 months straight would be astronomical and they might as well save that money and use it to move to a bigger house! As for your garden, you’ll have to check the wording of your leasehold carefully as it might include something saying you are expected to let your garden be used for building works. But if not and you really don’t want to help by letting them use your garden, you’ll need to seek legal advice.

Loft conversion though it's normally just dorma windows, maybe a sky light, the work is mainly. internal not external, I'd expect more like eight to nine days., never mind weeks.

I simply can't imagine what kind of loft conversion needs scaffolding for nine months. What are they going to be doing to the exterior for nine months.? It's very odd.

@7salmonswimming

OP seems to be ignoring this advice which is most pertinent and the only place she’ll find an answer!

Also interested to know what they're planning to do in the 8-9 months!

You might have sole use of the garden but I would imagine it would still be covered under the leasehold.

It might be worth having a chat to your neighbors about your concerns and see if they will pay for a dog walker for you for the days the builders are working (which I expect will be 6days a week). This would be a reasonable request imo.

@Bluntness100 OK, thanks. Maybe they're doing more than I've been told.