Built a Single Carport, Neighbour Complained. Council Says I Have to Demolish It

L[Deactivated] on 29/01/2021 - 14:22
Last edited 02/02/2021 - 15:25 by 1 other user

Hi fellow OzB.

This is my first post ever. Please be nice.

I have recently erected a single car carport and a slab to support it on my property in my backyard and apparently the neighbour has directly complained to the council and i had a surprise visit from them just after new years.

This is my first ever property, only lived here since September 2020. I thought I got got along with the neighbour with small talk etc, but I guess not and did me a dirty, and since then he won't even look at me :( or say hi

During the visit of the council member, I was told I have to demolish the carport and the slab under it and addition, unrelated to the complaint to also demolish the small shed and the slab under that (already there when bought the property). As they said I needed council approval for such structures. According to NSW legislation I have to have everything 900mm away from the fence. But it would be impossible for me to build a carport in anyway if so…

The only thing that annoys me is that the neighbour has bigger and more structures in their backyard which is very close or actually on the fence, and they don't have approval for them. (Checked online). They have a massive carport in front of their house, a garage, shed and pergola.

I have consulted with some professionals to draft and help complete a Development Approval and they quoted me $4000+ which is more than half of what the project costed.

I was writing this just in case someone had a similar experience, and if I am getting rekt by all sides. Thank you for reading this.

  • UPDATE 1. I was able to find a quote for $1500 draftsman and survey combined. Plus council fees…. A much better quote.
    Will keep you updated with the outcome.

  • Update 2. I have demolished it (taken it down), additional expenses to the DA made it almost cost the carport, thank you for Ur kind advice and suggestions. Sydney is a great place to live with neighbours that get along perfectly. Thank you Bankstown council…

Poll Options

  • 53
    Pay the contractors for the DA
  • 1236
    Do the dirty back on the neighbour
  • 19
    Demolish everything
  • 9
    Do nothing maybe council will forget :) /other
Home & Garden

Comments

  • squaredonut on 01/02/2021 - 21:22

    Interesting, my property that is rented out which when I purchased has a carport that basically touches the shared fence next to my neighbour, and so is a lot of other carports in the area as well. Is this 900mm rule like something from 90's onwards? I recently accessed old approval documents from the council and one of them was for the carport but it predates the 80's.

  • Thatsgold on 02/02/2021 - 07:30
    +1

    2 wrongs don't make a right, however in this case, absolutely screw over the neighbors lel

  • fenikkusu on 02/02/2021 - 09:45
    +6

    It's happened to us, our friendly neighbour complained to the counsel and we had to demolish it. It was the only option because it was too close to the fence, too big and a fire hazard. The funniest thing was my brother got his architect friend's opinion and was told we could build a bigger structure, right on the perimeter but to ensure there is enough height clearance. The architect friend would charge a few grands, so he recommended his counsel draftsman friend who charged something like $600 (mate's rate and it was quite a long time ago). We re-erected the shed to specification. We also told our friendly neighbour somebody dobbed on us and did us a massive favour as we didn't realise we could go this big. Thing is, while it costed us, time and money and weekends and I was frigging p*ssed offfff!! It is safer and gave us peace of mind.

    Also, counsel may forget, neighbour won't and you could get a fine if you don't comply with counsel ruling.

    Hope this helps…

  • Kranbone on 02/02/2021 - 10:21
    +1

    You've just moved in and it seems you've made a genuine effort to be polite to the neighbour. They've done the dirty.

    I normally don't recommend retaliating in the same way but I'd do the same. If you let it go, he's essentially screwed you over. If you report his illegal structures, there's a slim chance he may go "****, probably shouldn't reported that guy as I just got the same in return."

    Guarantee you he/she will still be a **** but at least after retaliating, they'll have the same discomfort as you.

  • Seiko on 02/02/2021 - 10:27
    -1

    Disassemble the carport and cover the slab in soil/mulch or anything that will be of use to you at a later date.

    Apply for permit

    Profit.

  • neosin on 02/02/2021 - 12:42
    +2

    What evidence do you have that this neighbour dobbed you in?

  • smartazz104 on 02/02/2021 - 16:15
    +1

    Well looks like OP won't be back, shame.

  • Loopholio on 02/02/2021 - 18:08
    +3

    The OP is now DisabledUser295248. Yet again we won't gain any closure!

    • cheesecactus on 02/02/2021 - 19:49
      +1

      Well he edited to say he took it down.

      Guess that'll have to do. He lost. Neighbour won.

      Not positive closure. But closure nonetheless

      • Loopholio on 02/02/2021 - 20:34

        Thanks for mentioning that, I didn't think to check the opening post. :)

  • Wagaga on 02/02/2021 - 22:22

    Hi, Here is some suggestion may help you
    1.For outdoor building something like shed and garage, I don't think it has to be less 900mm away from boundary. 900mm form boundary is fire separation distance for a CLASS 1 building like a house, not for a carport.You can go through the planning scheme of your council on their website and search for "outdoor building" to see what is the requirement. Some small shed doesn't need DA at all. If your carport is oversized, it needs a DA permit.

    2.Find a draftman to draft an DA for you. It's straightforward, and won't cost you too much. Don't need a land survey, and only need a plan shows the carport size , height and location.You can draft by yourself if you want. Summit the plan to council, and see what they say.

    3.Once you get the DA permit done, check if it needs a building permit. Normally, small shed like this only requires paperwork from a licensed builder, or for a certain size of small shed can be done by owner.

  • khomeini on 03/02/2021 - 09:42
    +1

    I'll add my issue. We bought a house in 2015/6. It was fine, building inspection, titles etc were all fine before purchase.
    Now in the last 3 yrs we're contemplating a pool & obviously need planning for it & around. Got the council plans and they are different from the house plans. ie. 2 additional rooms which are classed as garages (with actual garages in front), extra kitchen/covered outdoor area & some balconies.
    I actually rang the council and said, what is going on - I bought the house as is with these rooms etc. Council said they'd talk to the builder/artchitects… but after a couple of months asked me whether I'd had success contacting the builder as they did not get a response. I did try but they weren't able to help either…. so since then council has not contacted me. I hate it as I want a resolution.
    LUckily, when we purchased we did get an insurance which covered for illegal structures so either it can be rectified without costs to us. I was told by them then it's likely all we'll need is an engineers certificate to say everything is in order (I'd say it'ss fine as everything was built at the same time) but still a worry.
    So in summary… sometimes even when council knows, when it's too hard, they simply leave it alone.

    • Logical on 13/02/2021 - 22:11

      Did your conveyancor not provide you with the Council plans that were on record during the purchase phase? This is a standard search which shows what is approved building work. If you find inconsistency with what you see built and what is on the plans then you can negotiate a better deal…

      • khomeini on 14/02/2021 - 21:51

        I'm sure we looked but not in so much detail … we really wanted it and we're here now. The price has increased by at least 500k(likely more) so can't complain much. Luckily have the insurance to sort out the issues.

  • readeral on 03/02/2021 - 10:27

    Always buy title insurance for any structure that ought not have been on the property when purchased.

  • haemolysis on 03/02/2021 - 11:41
    +3

    What nitwit dobs someone's illegal structure in when they too have illegal structures… talk about asking for trouble.

  • subywagon on 03/02/2021 - 12:37
    +2

    Please report your a$$hole neighbour and report back with pics/video of him demolishing his illegal structures. Thanks and good luck!

  • down-under on 03/02/2021 - 13:53
    +2

    What happened to OP (now a DisabledUser)?

    DisabledUser295248 on 29/01/2021 - 14:22
    Hi fellow OzB. This is my first post ever.

    • wtfnodeal on 04/02/2021 - 00:12
      +1

      Well you know the neighbour managed to ask the council to pick only OP for troubles and ignore its own illegal structures so I won’t be surprised if it asked some politicians to tell OzBargain to disable its account after mentioning the name of the council. Good luck to everyone living in the suburb without a mate works there.

  • superuser on 03/02/2021 - 17:21

    What have you guys done now that he becomes disabled user???

    • wtfnodeal on 04/02/2021 - 00:17
      +1

      OP mentioned the name of the council guess what?

  • hasher22 on 05/02/2021 - 17:54
    +1

    Dammit disabled user

    I really want that neighbour to demolish their structure as well

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