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?

I see what you are saying, but it was identical when we bought the house 10 years ago and didn’t affect the value at all. There was a bidding war and we paid slightly over asking in the end.

You need to find the highly inspirational Facebook page “shower curtain gardening.” It was invented for exactly this scenario.

Sounds intriguing!

@LizzieBowesLyon this is brilliant, I can lean into the concept and turn the 1980s double glazed window into a French farmhouse one!

I'd be tempted to brick it up. A trusted builder could get it done in a day.

I mean if you don't think it affects the value = enjoyment of the property then fine.

Not sure about your question though. You ask whether it would be possible to force it's removal. If your view is that it isn't impacting your property in any way, why would you want to force it's removal ?

I would build a wall now. What if they replace with clear glass because they are idiots?
just because you had reasonable neighbours in the past doesn’t mean future neighbours will be reasonable at all.

@WhatapityWapiti why do you expect the new owner to negotiate the boundary with you? is this partially built on your ground?? it looks like the fence panel on the left is not in the same line!

No, too much to spend for a temporary solution to a fairly non-existent problem.

We’ve lived with this for 10 years. The house is likely to be empty for at least another 6 months. It’s also unlikely to sell for less than 900k (London), only prospective buyers will be a developer or a couple/family who want a total fixer upper to live in. Am optimistic that we will be able to work with them to improve the whole back garden boundary, as the rest of the fence is not in good condition either. And the dividing wall between the front gardens also needs to be replaced. We’ll have a building site next door for a good while, but will improve the aspect of our house in the end.

I didn’t really think there is much likelihood of a buyer wanting to keep the lean-to. I was really just speculating about whether, for example, a buyer would be warned in a survey that we had a right to ask for it to be removed. But I think that all legal remedies have long since expired, so glad we are unlikely to have to try to find any.

Maybe negotiate is the wrong word, but I’d expect them to talk to us about what they intend to build. The boundary fence is in a line with the end of the lean-to, it’s all one boundary, their responsibility.

I knew you’d love it. And you can change it - seasonal snowy lodge, beach scene, you’ll be thanking them for their lovely conservatory!

Absolutely mad. No new owner/developer is going to want to keep that. It will devalue their own house.

Ironically this is pretty much what our neighbour did to us - installed a massive glass 'picture window' over looking our garden, on a side wall without windows allowed and without planning permission. It was behind a half height fence though.

The local authority refused enforcement on the grounds we could screen with shrubs, but ultimately allowed us to pay for raised fences on our land. Our neighbour was outraged, but he now has a house which - if viewed by a buyer - has obviously been constructed to be more than little bit cheeky.

I would screen similarly - if only to show a new buyer that it will have to change then there is an opportunity or that you won't turn a blind eye to worse!

I said it wasn’t impacting the value of the property and that we were fine with how the old owner used it and kept it curtained. And obviously no big deal while property lies empty. But it’s ugly and not really ideal to have a wall of glazing as a boundary, especially if the room is used more actively in future. I know it would not be approved to be built if the design was put forward as a new extension today, so was just musing about what the position would be for something that breaches regulations but dates back decades.

a fairly non-existent problem.

But important enough to start a thread..🙄

Interesting, so you had to get permission to install a raised fence that blocked their new window?

It looks like it's encroaching on your land as well? How odd. I'd say you can just build a wall directly in front of it. It undoubtedly breaches planning and it's clearly not being used as a functioning window. Either that or put fencing in front? You've every right to obscure it fully from your side I'd say.

Is there a thread importance threshold? Gosh, I missed that. I sometimes chat with people in real life about all sorts of things that are not really all that important. Don’t you? I thought some people might find it an interesting curiosity, spark a pleasant chat. And indeed now I have discovered 3D garden shower curtains!

We got gazumped on a Victorian terrace house but part of the garden wall was like this (not a room, just the separating garden wall).

The houses where built on a steep hill which meant you walked up steps from the road to get into the front door (which faced out and was nice and sunny) but down steps to get into the garden (the road at the back was roof height).

As such the back gardens got little to no sun as they where below ground level and I'm assuming it was done to allow as much light between them as possible

We are buying a new house and so have a fairly good idea of what it is that you are asking as we have boundary wall challenges with both our new neighbours due to various extensions and changes over the years.

The short answer to your question of forced change is... no! We want to force a change as one of our neighbours have a window that can see into what is a bedroom in our house. It isn't original but it is relatively old and there isn't anything we can do about it, though we raised it with the council planning people re right to privacy. Their response was basically to buy curtains.

We also want them to pay to rebuild the party wall which is falling into our garden and is very unsafe. They own the boundary wall. They don't want to do it and we can only force them if we take them to civil court apparently.

The other side of the house has an old conservatory that blocks out lots of light into our garden. Again, its been there for years and there isn't anything you can do. Retrospective action is only applied in a short time period.

I would expect that the people next door will change it. How accommodating they will be to your wants remains to be seen. If it is a boundary wall, they'll need to seek your permission for changes so you have some level of control going forward. But they equally might not have budget to do anything for a while so you may. have to live with it for a bit longer.

Thanks @TaupePanda. Good luck with the purchase!

If it was built over 20 years ago, isn’t planning irrelevant? Also it appears to be a functioning window for the purposes of letting light in.

We've just bought a dated terrace with an almost identical 'extension' with a window like that overlooking our neighbours garden, except it isn't frosted. I certainly hope there's no way to force it to be removed as we've got about £100 left in savings. I hope your new neighbours do plan a full refurb but if they're similar to us we will be doing things up very gradually over the next decade and the extension window didn't even register on my list of problems so this thread has made me think.

Putting aside what your neighbours may think @ConflictofInterest, how do you feel about the fact that they could see straight into you and you can see right into their garden? I imagine you’d put up stick-on frosting, shutters and/or nets/voiles pretty immediately wouldn’t you? That’s a reasonable compromise where funds don’t allow anything else.

For our situation I think that the house will be unliveable without a kitchen refurb and having been in there I can’t see how a kitchen refurb could be achieved without demolishing the lean-to, so it’s likely to be a buyer’s top priority.

@User1836484645R tbh I'd say tough. How can they say blocking it off is unreasonable? If neighbour won't do it then I would. It looks like an outhouse/shed type thing in there. That can't be the only legit source of light in a kitchen or other regularly used room.

It’s what a 70s estate agent might have described as a “sun room”. It has patio doors into the garden so plenty of light from other sources. He had a table and armchair in there, some shelves with plants.