Demolition next door is going to affect my property - what can I do?

J

Jonathon

I just found out that my neighbours are demolishing their house in the coming weeks to rebuild.

Our houses are fairly separate but they have a large brick garage in the back yard that has a long boundary wall, so demolishing that will definitely cause some damage on my side, not to my house but to my very established gardens that run up against that boundary wall.

What's the general legal position here? I'll certainly be taking a million photos tomorrow to document the current condition of everything, but is there anything else I can do in advance?

What if they actually cause damage, do I have a claim against the owners?

Cheers
Jonathon
 
Hasn't the neighbours got a building surveyor to have a look at your property before the demolition? That's the first thing they should do...
 
If they cause big damage then I guess you would have a case however be mindful of the costs involved to recoup the damages loss. It may not be financially viable to do so. If its just a garden then I'd hazard a guess damages will be little to none.

Apart from that, even tho his garage wall formed the boundary line I would say the neighbor would legally be able to hit you up for half the cost to replace the section of fence where the garage once stood.

Good luck.
 
Aaron_C said:
Hasn't the neighbours got a building surveyor to have a look at your property before the demolition? That's the first thing they should do...
Click to expand...

I only found out about this literally 30 mins ago. The neighbours are new, they bought the place a couple of months ago and haven't moved in, so I haven't met them.

My house is a rental, so I don't live there. Unfortunately the previous tenant moved out last week (for other genuine reasons) and I now have to find a new tenant next to a building site, won't be easy!
 
Rixter said:
Apart from that, even tho his garage wall formed the boundary line I would say the neighbor would be able to hit you up for half the cost to replace the section of fence where the garage once stood.
Click to expand...

Yeah the demolition guy who I spoke to today mentioned that they might try to get me to pay for half the new fence. is that normal?

The wall is about 3-4m long, out of a 45m long block, the rest has an existing fence which is ok. Given that they'll be spending $600k+ building a new house, the cost of that 3-4m fence would be a timy amount of the total cost.

What if they rip down the rest of the exisitng fence to put up a new one, what's the legal position there? (This is in Vic)
 
Aaron_C said:
It is standard protocol to take many photos etc to establish what damage was there before, and whether there was any caused by the works. But it's hard to prove.
Click to expand...

I only say this half tongue-in-cheek, how about I video the whole site? With webcams these days it's so easy to record everything!
 
Jonathon said:
I only say this half tongue-in-cheek, how about I video the whole site? With webcams these days it's so easy to record everything!
Click to expand...

Buildings crack in all sort of funny places...unless you have a fully-decked out CCTV system you can't see everything!
 
Jonathon said:
Yeah the demolition guy who I spoke to today mentioned that they might try to get me to pay for half the new fence. is that normal?
Click to expand...
Yeah its pretty standard protocol.. if its any consolation, providing they dont build a monstrosity of a house (I cant see council approval in doing so anyway), the redevelopment is sure add some value to your house.

Jonathon said:
What if they rip down the rest of the exisitng fence to put up a new one, what's the legal position there? (This is in Vic)
Click to expand...
They would need to approach you beforehand for your thoughts/approval.
 
Rixter said:
Yeah its pretty standard protocol.. if its any consolation, providing they dont build a monstrosity of a house (I cant see council approval in doing so anyway), its sure add some value to your house.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm actually a bit happy about having a building site next to my house, their block is identical to mine, and they paid about $100k more that I thought the land was worth! Even if I lose a tenant for 6 months, the after tax cost of the lost rental is a long way off $100k!
 
Rixter said:
Apart from that, even tho his garage wall formed the boundary line I would say the neighbor would legally be able to hit you up for half the cost to replace the section of fence where the garage once stood.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

They removed an existing undamaged wall. My understanding it would be 100% their responsibility to replace the fence.
Same as if it falls own due to them undermining it or backing a vehicle into it.

50% is for new fences or fences that have to be replaced due to age.
 
Doovalacky said:
They removed an existing undamaged wall. My understanding it would be 100% their responsibility to replace the fence.
Same as if it falls own due to them undermining it or backing a vehicle into it.

50% is for new fences or fences that have to be replaced due to age.
Click to expand...

This is my thought too. Our experience with an IP with a fence that was old and pretty bad, but still doing its job, where we would have happily agreed to pay half of the "standard" area type fence...

Neighbours decide to build in the back yard of their existing PPOR. They ripped out the fence and started their build. Their house block was excavated to about 3 metres so our yard suddenly went to a cliff face at the back. Neighbour asked us to pay half the cost of the "Taj Mahal" of fences $6,000. We went to the free legal service who advised that as they had not issued a "notice to fence" and had already ripped out the old one and started building the new one, we had no obligation to pay anything at all, and even if the neighbour had issued the correct notices, we were obliged only to pay half the "standard" fencing in the area. Our quote for that was $2K so we were prepared to pay $1K.

They were NOT happy, but too bad, so sad. They did everything wrong. Even told us our tenants were at risk (if we paid for half a normal height standard fence and if they built that) of falling over the fence into the newly excavated block... that they had created by digging down so far :eek:.

Even though we didn't have to pay anything, we paid what we would have been legally bound to and and sent them $1K when it was completed.

When we advised them of our legal advice, but offered $1K on completion, they did the old "if you ever want to develop your block you will have to get OUR approval - hint, hint". Blackmail, I believe it is commonly called :D

We paid $1K more than we legally had to, but are comfortable with that as we would have agreed to pay that if they hadn't bulldozed it through.

Long story short, if your neighbour's garage is a functioning "fence" and they remove it, I don't believe you have to pay anything. It is up to them to reinstate what they remove. (This is Qld situation, possibly not the same everywhere, but you should be able to find this out very easily via Google.)
 
wylie said:
We paid $1K more than we legally had to, but are comfortable with that as we would have agreed to pay that if they hadn't bulldozed it through.
Click to expand...

as usual Wylie does the right thing. if i ever have a moral dilemma i think I'll ask you.

1000 karma credits.
 
wylie said:
This is my thought too. Our experience with an IP with a fence that was old and pretty bad, but still doing its job, where we would have happily agreed to pay half of the "standard" area type fence...

Neighbours decide to build in the back yard of their existing PPOR. They ripped out the fence and started their build. Their house block was excavated to about 3 metres so our yard suddenly went to a cliff face at the back. Neighbour asked us to pay half the cost of the "Taj Mahal" of fences $6,000. We went to the free legal service who advised that as they had not issued a "notice to fence" and had already ripped out the old one and started building the new one, we had no obligation to pay anything at all, and even if the neighbour had issued the correct notices, we were obliged only to pay half the "standard" fencing in the area. Our quote for that was $2K so we were prepared to pay $1K.

They were NOT happy, but too bad, so sad. They did everything wrong. Even told us our tenants were at risk (if we paid for half a normal height standard fence and if they built that) of falling over the fence into the newly excavated block... that they had created by digging down so far :eek:.

Even though we didn't have to pay anything, we paid what we would have been legally bound to and and sent them $1K when it was completed.

When we advised them of our legal advice, but offered $1K on completion, they did the old "if you ever want to develop your block you will have to get OUR approval - hint, hint". Blackmail, I believe it is commonly called :D

We paid $1K more than we legally had to, but are comfortable with that as we would have agreed to pay that if they hadn't bulldozed it through.

Long story short, if your neighbour's garage is a functioning "fence" and they remove it, I don't believe you have to pay anything. It is up to them to reinstate what they remove. (This is Qld situation, possibly not the same everywhere, but you should be able to find this out very easily via Google.)
Click to expand...

Yes - I believe that's the position. Nice touch about the tenants at risk (implying your responsibility) due to their excavations. Were they Gen Y ers per chance?
 
do the neighbours have council approval for their development?
If they are knocking the house down, you should have been informed of the plans by council..
 
It's amazing how something as simple as a fence dispute can change neighbours so much.

I have skimmed the rest of the posts but good practice is that the builder carries out a dilapidation report prior to construction to set a baseline (this is for their own protection).

If they demolish a fence without your consent, then they will wear the cost - as a good neighbour you may make a gesture to pay but there is no obligation to do so.
 
You have a common law right of support from your neighbors land, so if the demolish, excavate and your land subsides then they should be liable. Photo and/ or video the whole thing and then if damage occurs try and work it out without actually initiating legal action, get legal advice, but if you can sort it out without nasty letters will be cheaper.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Urgent help needed pls !!! boundary dispute
Replies
19
Views
3K
Scott No Mates
Scott No Mates
D
2 acres south of Newcastle. what to do?
Replies
6
Views
1K
Macca
M
S
Relocating a brick vaneir home (same block)
Replies
1
Views
1K
DaveM
DaveM
Romeo
Demolition company damaged pipe in my rental property
Replies
16
Views
2K
Terry_w
Terry_w
A
Builders, help! What should I do with sloping block?
Replies
15
Views
2K
westminster
westminster
Back
Top