Neighbour has a massive window into our garden (pic)!

[WhatapityWapiti]

This pic is of our neighbour’s lean-to extension which has a giant window looking right over our patio. Our patio doors are on the right, just out of the picture. Neighbour was a very nice elderly chap who has sadly passed away recently.

We knew it was there when we bought 10 years ago, previous owners had planned to grow plants over the trellis but it never worked as in too much shade. To be honest it’s not bothered us that much as it’s textured glass and the old chap lived alone, had net curtains up and barely used the room.

The house will be sold soon, will be a total renovation job and I am sure that the new owner will tear down the lean-to and agree a new boundary with us. (We’re in a Victorian terrace).

It has got me thinking though, I can’t begin to imagine how the neighbour-to neighbour conversations went in the 1970s or whenever it was built, resulting in the former inhabitants of our place agreeing to it! Must breach every regulation going.

I also wonder if we would have any way of forcing its removal if the buyers inexplicably decided not to get rid of it?

Sorry no idea but that's absolutely mental. I've never seen anything like that in my life!

I also wonder if we would have any way of forcing its removal if the buyers inexplicably decided not to get rid of it?

That looks very likely to have been a breach of planning control. The local authority can take "enforcement" action to have things rectified. But the limitation period is four years, so by now it's exempt.

Can you cover the windows on your side with something now, before it's sold?

Well, quite, it had been there for at least 20 years by the time we bought the house, pre-dated the sellers too.

Actually the house is being sold by the old chap’s niece, I must ask her if she has any idea how it came to be.

I hope that prospective buyers don’t think we want to keep it!

Our conservatory does that... there is the a 6ft wooden fence a few inches away. I would replace the trellis with a solid fence

It is weird, but like you say if the idea was to grow plants on a trellis then the window becomes almost redundant.

Anyone building a window like that is almost certain to get it blocked off ?

Do you own the trellis ? If so, is there an opportunity to replace it with an alternative solution before any new buyer sees it ? I have no clue whether you would be allowed to or not.

We could have done that at any time over the last 10 years I guess, but don’t want to put up anything that costs money when the whole thing might be demolished soon anyway.

Oh that’s awful. I don’t think I would have ever tolerated this. Is it single glazing?
I’d feel conversations would be heard both ways as well as the vision issue.
I would want that wall to be brick if they take current building down and replace.
At the very least it should be boarded internally.
I would hope that the new buyers will be mindful of privacy both ways and will want to change it for the better.
In the meantime I would look to see if I could have big planters with tall shade loving shrubs along the boundary

I think I’d rather prospective buyers saw that it could be easily removed without damaging anything of ours (apart from the empty trellis).

I think you should be looking to block it from your own side. I cannot honestly see a new owner spending money and hassle to demolish a building just to please the neighbour. A bit of wish full thinking, especially if the house was previously owned by an old man, all the interior kitchen ect will take priority.

He was extremely deaf, struggled to hear when you were standing right next to him, and he never had visitors so no noise for us. We liked him, fascinating history as a Windrush era immigrant.

Gosh, that’s awful!!
I can’t imagine anyone would want to live with the neighbours being able to look in like that.

It might be worth contacting your local planning office to see if there are any planning laws or any regulations that could be applied retrospectively.

I would cover that trellis with plastic ivy now and get real ivy growing asap. It doesn't need sunlight, it's a shady plant. It will also shield you from the probably inevitable building site that will be there after purchase.

I imagine a kitchen renovation will involve a proper extension so mutual benefit. I’m not that bothered really, we could have blocked it at any time and can do so in future if it stays. Just musing really about how it came to be and what might happen next.

Oh wow! I imagine that anyone buying that is going to deal with it pronto - I really don't think you need to do anything. Who wants to sit in their extension having a cuppa with the neighbours peering in from their patio?!

There's a lot of bizarre 60s/70s house adaptations out there but that is one which really takes the biscuit!

You could buy a couple of 6'x6' fence panels and temporarily fix them adjacent to the window within your boundary - about fifty quid. If the new owners do not alter it you could then spend some money making the arrangement more permanent, and they wouldn't have much basis to moan because that was the arrangement when they bought.

Nobody can see in or out by the way, the glass is textured, like the stuff you have in bathrooms. It used to have nets behind it too.

I’d remove the trellis and clear it as much as possible and that should put off folks looking at it as who wants the neighbours looking into their house. ;)

You could simply buy some bamboo screening and tie it to the trellis (we’ve done similar before as a temporary fix before putting fencing in a few years later). That way perspective buyers can already see that no light benefit is being gained by the window (and that you are not appreciative of its presence) and they will design future alterations with that in mind.

You can also chat to any future neighbours about the fact that you’d be grateful if they factored in a solid wall there - they are unlikely to persist with a window if you have blocked the light from your side anyway and there is a real case in a future planning application to point out there is a privacy issue that you’ve been forced to address by screening it off. Chances are a new buyer would be reasonable if you’ve set the stage by blocking the light in that window already.

Id have so much fun with this.
Sun bathing half naked get a dance pole for my garden etc.😆
It is awful but you can play them at their own game if they dont like it its their problem they put the window there.

As per @museumum get plastic Ivy or camo netting and hang it up. A few £ off Temu if you wait 3 weeks for delivery.

As per @museumum get some Ivy or camo netting up. Doesn’t cost much.

No, the person who put the window there (in the 70s I suspect) was the previous owner who passed away. I should have asked him about it but it seemed rude and he was not well off so we don’t want him to worry about feeling it should be changed.

Have you heard the expression you've got to spend money to save money ?

If that window was allowed to persist for any reason with views into your garden then from what I could tell it could massively impact the value of your house.

I would by some netting like this - www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B081GDPBYC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1 - to hang over it as a quick fix to block the light so the new owners don't assume the windows staying.