neighbour wants to extend balcony

[Hawmaws]

I live in a small purpose built apartment block. Nice area by a river.

One of the top floor neighbours wants to extend his balcony in depth by about 4 feet. It may not look too bad as it is recessed into the sloping roof at the moment and shouldn't protrude from the roof line.

Approval is being sought by the neighbour from the other 7 flat owners. Nearly everyone else? has said yes, so far.

What's the minimum I should be after here? I'm thinking...

1) no aesthetic effect on the property at all
2) any damage during building rectified at his expense.
3) Any maintenance costs on this balcony are the responsibility of the owner of that flat in perpetuity (how could this be done?)
4) Any maintenance costs required on the maintenance of the main building because of his extension should be the flat owner's responsibility as in 3) above.

Anyone got any other suggestions?

I don't want to be an awkward neighbour, but on the other hand..

[miniman]

You can't object on aesthetic, light or view grounds. Any planning consent would require building regs which should cover the other stuff to be honest. If you really want to object, you need to research the local planning and development policies and find any deviations from those. Anything else will fail.

[Mr GrimNasty]

You can object if PP is sought on all those grounds (with the right approach & if they apply), material considerations include:

* Loss of daylight or sunlight
* Overshadowing/loss of outlook to the detriment of residential amenity (but not loss of view as such)
* Overlooking/loss of privacy
* Noise and disturbance resulting from use
* Design, visual appearance and finishing materials

Building regulations will not really protect YOUR interests.

Even if planning permission is granted, there may still not be a right to build.

Are there any conditions/covenants/easements in the leases/freehold etc. that might be relevant?

It is a possibility that the Party Wall Act (and/or party structures) may apply?

If it did, this is good news, as an agreement will be drawn up and this can include all the concerns that you have raised. In this situation you would expect the person doing the work to pay for your surveyor as well as their own. The PWA will not let you permanently stop the work, but it will be done with your interests protected.

They should serve you with a formal notice. If they don't, and the PWA does apply, your only choice is to get an injunction.

You should do some research (phone an expert PW surveyor for a chat - the PWA has nothing to do with the council/building control by the way) and if it looks applicable, raise the issue in writing with all interested parties immediately.

Edited by Mr GrimNasty on Wednesday 20th April 23:22

[miniman]

Mr GrimNasty said:

* Loss of daylight or sunlight
* Overshadowing/loss of outlook to the detriment of residential amenity (but not loss of view as such)
* Overlooking/loss of privacy
* Noise and disturbance resulting from use
* Design, visual appearance and finishing materials

I don't think those are actually things you can object about.

[Mermaid]

miniman said:

Mr GrimNasty said:

* Loss of daylight or sunlight
* Overshadowing/loss of outlook to the detriment of residential amenity (but not loss of view as such)
* Overlooking/loss of privacy
* Noise and disturbance resulting from use
* Design, visual appearance and finishing materials

I don't think those are actually things you can object about.

Surely you can complain about overlooking?

[Mr GrimNasty]

miniman said:

Mr GrimNasty said:

* Loss of daylight or sunlight
* Overshadowing/loss of outlook to the detriment of residential amenity (but not loss of view as such)
* Overlooking/loss of privacy
* Noise and disturbance resulting from use
* Design, visual appearance and finishing materials

I don't think those are actually things you can object about.

Well they are listed as material considerations by council/government websites, so you better phone no. 10 and sort it out.

[52classic]

If it ends up being accepted I think it is worth adding something to the Lease which would indemnify all of the other flat owners in event of costs now or ever as a consequence of his development.

[sparkythecat]

miniman said:

Mr GrimNasty said:

* Loss of daylight or sunlight
* Overshadowing/loss of outlook to the detriment of residential amenity (but not loss of view as such)
* Overlooking/loss of privacy
* Noise and disturbance resulting from use
* Design, visual appearance and finishing materials

I don't think those are actually things you can object about.

I've recently obtained planning permission for the extension of a first floor balcony on my property. Existing balcony projects 1.5m and this is to be increased to 2.1m. The width to be increased from 5.25m to 7.0m

The main concern of the visiting planning officer was the potential impact on my neighbours privacy.

Building Control only apppear interested in the integrity of the proposed structure and I've had to commision a civil engineer to provide detailed calcultaions of construction and loading.