Neighbour's extension - advice required.

[Mutley80]

Hello, wondered whether anyone could advise or let me know where I should get advice, please?

We live in a semi. This concerns the attached house. Our neighbour came round yesterday and told OH that they're having an extension in September. The extension will involve knocking a wall down that runs from the joining point of both houses (currently separating their patio and ours) and replacing it with a new wall that is the extension. This will have a pitched roof that will come down from under the bedroom above. I imagine this is allowed (although, in a road of similar houses, nobody else has extended on the back at the same side as their neighbour - just the other side), but what can we ask to see or be aware of?

E.G I assume the foundations will have to be on their side and, therefore, the wall will have to be a little way away from the party line? And what would be the advice given that we might decide to do the same one day? Currently it's a nice white wall: if it's new brick, are we allowed to attach a hanging basket or render it?

The pitch will block some sky/light into our kitchen - if that's a thing!

When she came over, she rubbed OH up the wrong way (they've been renting it out, this is their home for retirement, so we don't know them especially well). She didn't suggest any further information was forthcoming. We are going to need to approach her, I think, if we have any questions.

Anyway! Any advice really very welcome. Shall pop a pic or 2 up as that might help!

I can't see that their plans should affect you much more than what's there already.

I'm sure you can paint you pr side, but a nicely finished brick wall would be preferable to a painted rendered one that you have to keep painting to avoid looking marked and tatty.

As for affixing things to it, you might need permission, I'd hate someone drilling into my property and potentially letting water in.

You need to be clear about who owns that existing wall, and whether it is on the boundary line.

For the new extension, it you want to do the same, then it could be worthwhile allowing them to build on the boundary line with the written agreement that you can use the wall when you want to extend. Essentially making the new wall a party wall, with shared ownership.

You need to check your deeds so you know about the wall, speak to the council about what planning permission is needed and ask them to appoint a party wall surveyor and to pay for one for you (they have to do this).

They may need a Party Wall agreement if digging foundations within 3m of your wall. Did they need pp or was it under Permitted Development? Are there any plans?

I have no idea on these things but I'd want to make sure the pitched roof gutters aren't on my side...

Thanks everyone. Had a quick look at our deeds (?) with plans last night, and nothing is that clear. Lots of really, really sensible advice here - thank you. Hoping we can manage to do it all without bad feeling. She was very blàse about it - no mention of us seeing plans etc, which I found an odd way of going about it.

Have you checked your council website? Even pd is usually registered as an application but not necessarily fully consulted.

She will definitely need a party wall agreement. Even with permitted development its within a metre of the boundary.
I had a wall of my hoyse as the boundary wall. I wanted to knock down and rebuild it with new room (there was a room already, but it was more a coal store and old outdoor loo). I didn't need planning, but u did need a party wall agreement. I had to put in foundations, but not where the wall was.
When I approached neighbour, I brought a bunch of flowers as I knew the work would be disruptive, showed her all the plans and tried to reassure her that if we disturbed any of her plants etc I would replace them.
Your neighbour needs you to be on side. And make sure the gutters are hidden or at least on her side. I'd ask to see the plans and ask about the party wall agreement.

@Livingintheclouds so helpful. Thank you. Your approach is exactly how I'd have gone too - it worries me that she didn't.

We built an extension under permitted development and it needed a party wall agreement. If the neighbour doesn't respond within a certain timeframe it's automatically considered in dispute. Our neighbours were really good about it and even agreed to jointly instruct a surveyor (but we had budgeted for individual surveyors). We were lucky as we had built up some goodwill when they did an extension and instead of moaning we offered them our bbq and portable stove while the kitchen was gone. Their thank you was to send window cleaners round as soon as the work was done (things get very dusty) and a bottle of wine.

As others said before anything happens you need a party wall award even if within permitted development. Which they have to pay for.

Thanks so much everyone. I'm beginning to wonder whether she just happened to pop round to mention it (was next-door with the builder first, I think) and that there will be a more formal approach. I've read the gov.uk party wall info which has been helpful- so thank you! I wouldn't even have known the right term!!

We waited years to do this extension because we wanted the neighbour to do it at the same time (that way we shared the wall).

Without that, the neighbour could have forced us to build on the other side of the boundary line (I.e if the white wall is the boundary line, we would have had to build next to it rather than using it as the wall).

The power is in your hands to tell them what you are happy with. There is also a rule about the height of the extension because it's within 2m of the boundary so that might put pay to the roof they want.

It could be that she has just given you a 'heads up' for what is coming more formally but as you don't know them well you may need to be a bit more cautious. There are certainly some people who will start work without the formalities of serving a party wall notice and then try to claim that you agreed informally to the work when they visited and chatted to you. So I would be inclined to follow up with a polite note, keeping things friendly, that you look forward to seeing more details of what they are planning in due course including the party wall notice and then wait for a response! Don't give the impression that you have agreed to anything! From the picture it looks like the existing wall is a party wall anyway (is that your understanding?) in which case I am not sure they can just knock down this wall without your agreement but you would need the advice of a party wall surveyor to be sure. Maybe there's one on here?

First thing is to stablish who owns that wall. You have hanging baskets on it suggesting it's at least a party wall and not 'theirs'?
If so, I'd go down the road suggested above, with agreement that their new wall is a party wall & you have permission to attach to/ build off it in the future.

Well this was 7 months ago so hopefully it's built and sorted

You can agree with the neighbours that they will build the wall straddling the boundary so that any extension built on your house could then make double use of the wall. If you used the wall, you'd then be expected to pay them a proportion of the cost. The main advantage of this is that you both end up with an extension that makes maximum use of the space available, with no awkward to maintain gap between the walls where damp can build up.

Alternatively, e.g. if you intend never to extend, you can ask them to build the wall completely on their side of the boundary. Note that in this case they would be entitled to build the wall with the outside face right on the boundary and with foundations partly under you land, so the assumption in your OP is not correct.

See www.partywalladvice.com/2009/08/02/73/

@Bumtum126

Well this was 7 months ago so hopefully it's built and sorted

Oh, whoops! Sorry.

Have you already got an extension ? Looks like it from the angle .