Build-a-bond: Love (and communicate with) thy neighbour
Are you extending or improving your home? Hopefully you’ve got your builder booked and they’re ready to start the work. It's an exciting time...but how much do your neighbours know about your project? And are they happy about it?
We recently contributed to an article with The Royal Bank of Scotland about the knock-on effects to neighbours when builders arrive, and how to mitigate these issues with good communications and planning. You can read the full article here and we’ve included our full commentary below:
1. How important is communication with neighbours during building work?
Communicating with neighbours is the most important thing to do, not only during a build, but prior to even starting the planning process. A simple ‘I’m thinking about building an extension, what do you think?’ at the very beginning goes a long way, especially if your builders end up putting up scaffolding on your neighbour’s land mid build.
2. Why homeowners should think about how building work will affect their neighbours?
From a design and planning point of view, it’s important that your neighbours are happy with the proposal as it will make the whole process smoother, when applying for planning permission and during the build.
If you’re building on or near to a boundary then you will most likely need access to your neighbour’s land. So, you need to be able to have a good working relationship with them. And if there are any issues with the builders, your neighbour should be able to come to you comfortably and ask you to rectify any problems.
3. Why is it important to talk through major changes before work starts?
It’s a general courtesy to let your neighbours know verbally about any major changes and what they should expect. But, depending on the work you’re carrying out, you may be obligated to give notice to your neighbour (or neighbours) in writing under something called The Party Wall Act, which comes into effect if your project involves digging foundations within 3m (sometimes 6m depending on the depth of the foundations) of the boundary you share with your neighbour – or party wall.
Compliance with the Act involves issuing your neighbours with notices and if they have any objections, a surveyor may need to get involved. If they agree, your building work can go ahead. If you do not comply with the Party Wall Act, your neighbour can seek an injunction to stop you from continuing, especially if they are concerned that the works will have a negative effect on their home. This can all lead to extra financial costs so it’s best to be upfront about it all.
4. How can you reduce noise, dust and issues related to parking?
Noise and dust are unavoidable when building. When it comes to dust it’s nice to let your neighbours know when to bring their clean washing in off the line, especially before you fire up a Stihl saw. Also, builders will know how to reduce dust by spraying water onto surfaces and using the water feeds on their tools. Some builders also set up negative pressure coverings and structures, but this is usually for asbestos removal rather than general building work so it is fairly rare.
For parking, ask your builders to share a van (you can typically fit three people in a van and on small projects you don’t usually need more than that) to prevent numerous vehicles parking up outside your neighbour’s property. Also, if parking on your street is limited, as the homeowner, you should sacrifice your usual parking space (your drive, for example) for the builder and potentially park further away from their house to avoid any disagreements.
———————
For further advice about building a home extension, read Step #7 (The Build) of our ‘How to Build a Home Extension - PPCo’s Practical Guide’ series. And if you’re looking for some advice please get in touch with our Nottingham-based team.