moncchichi

The SE just has not been very helpful or proactive. And at this point in the project I don’t want to have to change SE. I have read that many times, BC ‘decides’ what is acceptable, even when an engineered foundation design was proposed. Can you advise, if the NHBC/LABC guidance or rules are not followed, would this affect the structural warranty? Thank you.

Thanks. I’m afraid they would not be put off with the time and cost, just based on what had happened with the previous owner. I was only trying to avoid serving party wall in case this would result in long delays and costs. I read in BH someone getting a bill of £10k because the neighbour challenged everything which used a substantial amount of the party wall surveyors time. Hopefully they will be more reasonable! I have now contacted building controls. Will try to get an idea of what they would accept for the foundation.

Thanks I have now assumed 2m trench but still pondering whether other piling options should still be a consideration. The cost is about the same but I am aware that the piling depth can be unpredictable which can drive up the cost.

Thank you, appreciate your input and time. The seller’s solicitor did provide a dispute form so I don’t think there is anything I can hold the seller against, unless they have tried to hide something by not providing the report. But yes, if the situation escalates then I will be going back to the solicitor. I can see that from the planning correspondence, the neighbour have raised discrepancies with the measurements and the accuracy of the daylight and assessment (they also seem to be well versed on the BRE standards). Not sure if it was with merit or whether they were just throwing whatever they can to challenge and object the planning. So far I have only communicated with the neighbours verbally but have recently provided them with my home address as a contact point. So any further contact will be formal and I hope this will encourage them to provide me with the details I need to try and move this forward.

I have read that right to light insurance can be quite pricey, starting from £7000 and only really considered on a commercial level. Not sure if anyone in BH has taken out right to light insurance before?

I would hope so too. This is already their second chance, first with the previous owner and now me, so I am hoping that the judge would also take this into consideration.

Thank you, really appreciate the info. This BRE209 standard was used for assessing the daylight and sunlight. I did not know that the same assessment can be applied for right to light. I know that the right to light also accounts for non habitable rooms. With regards to insurance, I did already consider this but the right to light specialist did not think it was an option since the dispute already involved solicitors and court. But I will explore that option once the right to light results and the report comes through. Will keep you posted.

No I believe the neighbour knows exactly what they are talking about as in their planning objections they state loss of daylight/sunlight, overshadowing, overlooking and loss of privacy which are separate to right to light issues.

Thank you for the advice. -The plot is an infill, in a city. So the proposed development is within 1-2m from the neighbour. -the solicitor is from an established firm that have several offices in south east, qualified in the past 3-4 years. - I am not changing the designing. The right to light issue is unknown, as either sides have not shared details. - I was able to get in touch with the seller directly via the architect. I did not know either parties before. As mentioned I did not ask for details during the sale via the solicitors since I was confident the issue had been ‘resolved’, from the sellers response and from the info provided in the planning report. - I would say the neighbour has more tendency to get lawyers involved whereas I don’t have the spare funds to do so.

Thank you for the suggestions. I do have some money in cash which will be used for the build. And I plan to fund the rest of the build with the sale of my home (hopefully soon but the market is very quiet). I did check CIL (I actually was not aware of such levy until I saw some discussion on BH). Thanks again!

Thank you. I would have liked to but unfortunately the deed does not allow mobile homes on site so unfortunately it is not an option. And yes getting the measurements and elevations correct to a tee is going to be ever so important given the sensitivity of the issue.

Thank you for your response. So the right to light was never highlighted or discussed with my solicitor. As I mentioned I was aware of the right to light but from my understanding of the info provided to me, it seemed to be resolved but the seller never really used the word ‘resolved’ - they only stated that following the scaled back proposal and sharing of right to lights assessment to the neighbour, the neighbour did not provide any comment or pursue anything further. The whole claim of info being ‘legally privileged’ came directly from the seller (not via the solicitors) after completion of the land purchase and after I had met the neighbour whose response provoked me to revisit the right to light issue. When I asked the neighbour to provide details, they refused. So am not really sure what their strategy is as they do not want to cooperate at all.

There were details of the claim and then the final decision. Nothing else provided by previous owner. I know that the neighbour’s lawyers had communication with previous owner’s lawyers but again this information could not be shared since it is legally privileged.

Yes, the right to lights was done by previous owner. My solicitor did not even flag this up and I should have asked but from what I read on the planning permission it had seemingly been resolved (my understanding is that according to the planners, there is no right to light injury but also states it is not for them to make that conclusion) so I did not think it was still an issue. The neighbours are very difficult and persistent. They challenge every detail (with merit or not) and have already taken this to court over several occasions with the previous owner.

Unfortunately the right to lights is not dealt with by the planners as it is a civil matter. So the planning permission does not give me the assurance I need. I am keeping to the scaled back development. I am not permitted access to the right to lights assessment that was carried out before because apparently it is legally privileged. I have came across a case. See link to the article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3563513/amp/Dentist-GP-wife-face-200-000-plus-bill-building-extension-planning-permission-1-65m-home-blocked-neighbours-light.html