# Neighbours Extension on boundary



## SashaNiG (9 Jul 2018)

Hi guys, just wondering if anyone has any info on an issue my elderly neighbour is having.

Basically my neighbours house is located  beside another house which has been vacant for years, the vacant house is slightly in front with just 3m between the two houses,they are basically stepped with 3m between the corner of my neighbour and the corner of the other house with a few stones down between them on the boundary . 
The person who owns this house has decided to renovate the house, there is a projection out the back of the vacant house at the moment on the opposite side of where my neighbour house is,and they are planning on building a wall to extend this projection building to basically square it off  with the rest of building and then put a new roof on the entire house,probably with attic conversion also. 
This extension will be in direction of my neighbours house and when finished, there will only be  about 2 feet from the corner of my neighbours house to the corner of the new extension and it will be less than a 1 feet from the boundary line. 
Just wondering if anyone would know if an extension is allowed so close to a boundary, my neighbour seems to think that the extension has to stay 2m away from the boundary. 
Hopefully this makes sense,I dont know much about this kind of things,just trying to get info for  him as hes quite elderly and annoyed about this.
Thanks

I should probably add that there is no planning on this extension, but am told its not  needed if its within certain dimensions.


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## Leo (10 Jul 2018)

Read through what is, and what is not permitted under Exempted Development.

From my understanding of your limited description, it sounds like this could well be exempted development so long as the overall floor area of the proposed and any previous extension is less than 40 sqm.

Your neighbour should ask for a copy of the plans and have someone competent take a look it they are concerned.

Your thread title suggests they are to bulid on the boundary (which is not allowed without the other party's concsent), but you go on to suggest they will stay back from the boundary. Which is the case?


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## SashaNiG (10 Jul 2018)

Thanks very much for getting back to me with the information. I would say yes it does fall under the 40sqm what they are building on the ground floor. 
The house currently has a hip roof and no upstairs but they intend to remove the entire hip roof and put an apex roof with rooms upstairs , so im not sure if that would make a difference or would it still fall under the exempted development side of it, if they do that.

I already suggested he ask for the plan like you said, and he has already asked for a copy of the plans  but the man who owns the house refused to discuss it, the guy isn't very nice and is impossible to have a conversation with, he says he can do what he wants to his house,hes very very rude. So if it's being done without needing planning permission, he will  probably have  to wait and see what they do build.  

Sorry if i didn't explain that properly by the title of the thread,they are not building exactly bang on the boundary line. When the extension  is completed it will be about a foot back from the boundary on their own side. So they are not  building over the boundary ,or on it. My neighbour seems to think that their is some rule  that you have to stay 2m away from any boundary line when building anything. I know that their are a few rule about new windows having to be 1m back from boundary lines they face etc but I just want to see if anyone knew about having to be 2m back from the boundary line. 

Basically both house are very very close together only 3m between them as they are, one slightly stepped in front of the other  , and have one front street which is a right of way for both owners.And the boundary between both is stepped zig zag. My neighbour is in his 80's and hes really not trying to be awkward or stop them doing anything, he couldnt care less what they build ,he just thinks its coming very close to the boundary and his house.  Thanks again for th reply.


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## Monbretia (10 Jul 2018)

Well I don't know about extensions as such but you can build a whole house closer to a boundary than 2m as the house next door to me is basically a footpath width from my boundary wall and I presume a footpath is only 1m or so.   That house has been built in the fairly recent past, certainly within the past 8/9 yrs or so and there were objections to the original plans so it was looked at and approved by the local authorities.  

You would often see houses with only a footpath width to the boundary especially at the sides.


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## Andy836 (10 Jul 2018)

Leo linked to the conditions for exempted development

1. (a) Where the house has not been extended previously, the floor area of any such extension shall not exceed 40 square metres.

(b) Subject to paragraph (a), where the house is terraced or semi-detached, the floor area of any extension above ground level shall not exceed 12 square metres.

(c) Subject to paragraph (a), where the house is detached, the floor area of any extension above ground level shall not exceed 20 square metres.

2. (a) Where the house has been extended previously, the floor area of any such extension, taken together with the floor area of any previous extension or extensions constructed or erected after 1 October 1964, including those for which planning permission has been obtained, shall not exceed 40 square metres.

(b) Subject to paragraph (a), where the house is terraced or semi-detached and has been extended previously, the floor area of any extension above ground level taken together with the floor area of any previous extension or extensions above ground level constructed or erected after 1 October 1964, including those for which planning permission has been obtained, shall not exceed 12 square metres.

(c) Subject to paragraph (a), where the house is detached and has been extended previously, the floor area of any extension above ground level, taken together with the floor area of any previous extension or extensions above ground level constructed or erected after 1 October 1964, including those for which planning permission has been obtained, shall not exceed 20 square metres.

3. Any above ground floor extension shall be a distance of not less than 2 metres from any party boundary.

4. (a) Where the rear wall of the house does not include a gable, the height of the walls of any such extension shall not exceed the height of the rear wall of the house.

(b) Where the rear wall of the house includes a gable, the height of the walls of any such extension shall not exceed the height of the side walls of the house.

(c) The height of the highest part of the roof of any such extension shall not exceed, in the case of a flat roofed extension, the height of the eaves or parapet, as may be appropriate, or, in any other case, shall not exceed the height of the highest part of the roof of the dwelling.

5. The construction or erection of any such extension to the rear of the house shall not reduce the area of private open space, reserved exclusively for the use of the occupants of the house, to the rear of the house to less than 25 square metres.

6. (a) Any window proposed at ground level in any such extension shall not be less than 1 metre from the boundary it faces.

(b) Any window proposed above ground level in any such extension shall not be less than 11 metres from the boundary it faces.

(c) Where the house is detached and the floor area of the extension above ground level exceeds 12 square metres, any window proposed at above ground level shall not be less than 11 metres from the boundary it faces.

7. The roof of any extension shall not be used as a balcony or roof garden.


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## Leo (11 Jul 2018)

SashaNiG said:


> but I just want to see if anyone knew about having to be 2m back from the boundary line.



There is no such rule.



SashaNiG said:


> they intend to remove the entire hip roof and put an apex roof with rooms upstairs



It is most likely that such a change would require planning permission.



SashaNiG said:


> When the extension is completed it will be about a foot back from the boundary on their own side.



Ensure that any overhang such as the eaves and guttering  is fully on their side of the boundary.


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## SashaNiG (19 Jul 2018)

Thank you so much for taking the time and  getting back to me it's appreciated.


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## Palerider (19 Jul 2018)

I have a neighbour at the rear that built within a footpath size of the boundary wall and it was no issue with the planners... nor myself, it is on their land after all.


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