Moved in New Rental House and a Big Construction Will Start Next Door

monkeydo on 16/06/2023 - 15:18

Me and my family just moved to a rental house in Melbourne and we received a letter within the first week from the council in regards to 2 double storey dwellings being built right next door.
We had no idea and we werent told anything by our now property manager or anyone from the real estate agency.
I've seen the documents of this building and it will take out the privacy and cast shadow over half the property by 2pm. Both privacy and light is the reason we liked this property in the first place. Not to mention the demolition and construction time and noise as they face most of the rooms except for garage and a bedroom. It's ridicuolous.

Do we as tenants have any power over this? We have a chance to write to council why we object to this but I think it should be the owner's responsibility.
Was the agency responsible to tell us about this. Are they at fault?. It costed us money and effort to get in here and less than a week and we get this. We have a 1 year lease agreement and I was looking to stay here around 5. Extremely upsetting

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Protractor on 16/06/2023 - 15:27
    +25

    Timing is everything.
    OP I'm afraid that's life. Choice vanished when the economy went so far south it landed in a black hole

    Curious, what do you want out of this?
    Did it 'sound too good to be true'?

    If the proposed buildings are new residential what do you think the councils response will be to your complaint??
    Halt construction?
    Pretty sure the potential tenants of the new places are fanging to have the job done as quickly as possible
    BTW It seems to me property managers/RE agents are the new scum

    *Am lobbying forum management for forum name change to Neighbours.

  • tsunamisurfer on 16/06/2023 - 15:27
    +55

    Yes this is all the landlord's fault. He must reduce your rent by half. How could he not stop owners of another property from building?

    And the noise. How dare construction workers make noise. The landlord must pick up the house and flip it around within 30 days so that the windows don't face the working men.

    • Archi on 16/06/2023 - 15:30
      +17

      you are being too reasonable

    • LVlahov on 17/06/2023 - 21:06
      +3

      I believe those things were not expected of the owner, just him letting prospective tenants know that next door would be a building zone for a while.

    • Lord Fart Bucket on 18/06/2023 - 03:51
      +4

      Ask them nicely to set the jackhammer to silent mode.

    • kaleidoscope on 19/06/2023 - 11:26

      I think thats too little compensation. If I was landlord I would let tenant live rent free for the entire term of his agreement and even pay their bills and offer them 50% of the cost of contents insurance for this great life changing inconvenience.

  • dtc on 16/06/2023 - 15:49
    +15

    You probably wont get much overshadowing for quite a few months as it takes ages to build anything nowadays.

    What you will get is a radio and power tools turned on at precisely 7.00.01 every morning and continuing for 8 hours every day. No need for an alarm anymore. Having lived next door to two construction sites over the past 3 years, it is annoying; particularly when they play country music.

    If the letter from the council is a notification of a proposed build, then the actual build wont start for a while. If you dont like the build, certainly send the notification to the owner. In most places anyone affected by a development application can lodge a submission, so as a tenant or even a passer by you can submit something.

    • Mokr on 16/06/2023 - 16:45
      +1

      Watch for debris and blocked entrances

      • dlakers3peat on 19/06/2023 - 10:50

        And countless tyre punctures.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 16/06/2023 - 19:21
      +22

      country music.

      Country roads, take me home - To the place I belong…

      • DEEP INHALE *

      WESSSTTT VIRGINIIAAAAAA

    • FlyingMiffy on 17/06/2023 - 16:15
      +4

      U had people working EVERYDAY?? Which builder??? Im signing up! Usually its one trade turning up once a month if you are lucky!

    • blonky on 18/06/2023 - 12:46
      +4

      We were in this exact situation a year ago. Didn’t check for any DAs before we signed and on move in day they were putting up the construction fencing.

      Nothing we could do as we didn’t do our research, and REA had no obligation to tell us anything. Was 14 months of disruptive noise from machinery, power tools and music from 7:01am to 3:30pm, as well as a street full of tradie vehicles and constant dust everywhere. Say goodbye to your privacy from those side windows and hello to ciggy smoke - you probably won’t be opening those windows for a while

      I feel for you OP but take it as a lesson and consider breaking the lease now before you get too settled

      • Mixhael on 18/06/2023 - 23:57
        +2

        The real problem is REA should be legislated to actually be helpful and leagally provide all applicable information to tenants. Stuff like pending construction, flight or train noises, high traffic if on a commonly used through road and other such details.

    • vorsprung on 19/06/2023 - 12:20

      Plus screaming profanities from one side of the block to the other, which will be great if OP's family includes small children.

  • Amaris on 16/06/2023 - 15:49
    +13

    We had no idea and we werent told anything by our now property manager or anyone from the real estate agency.

    Did you ASK the REA if there would be any new construction around your rental before signing the agreement?
    Did you CHECK the council website's DA tracker to see if there were any potential construction in the vicinity before signing the agreement?

    • greatlamp on 17/06/2023 - 18:42
      +1

      Bet they didn't ask if the home was built on an ex garbage dump and subject to gas leaks either. Gotta ask the questions I guess, otherwise it's your own fault.

  • Porker on 16/06/2023 - 15:50
    +5

    Short answer is you don't have any powers about what happens next door.

    Landlords are only required to divulge information that pertains to their property. As example, if I were your landlord, I would have to inform/notify that I intend to build or have pending approval to build etc.

    The next door owner/landlord has no obligation to inform you prior to your moving in, noting also that they wouldn't have known you were even considering leasing the next door property.

    While you can object to Council through (presumably) the planning application process given they've advertised the development to you, your response may not have any weight as you're not the rate payer for the property.

    Your landlord may be in favour of the development, where you not so much, so Council officers will likely go with the response / feedback from the rate payer.

  • Drakesy on 16/06/2023 - 15:52
    +9

    OP lol, THE OUTRAGE

  • Ryanek on 16/06/2023 - 15:58
    +27

    Lots of entitlement here OP… damn it's not even your house.

    • Protractor on 16/06/2023 - 16:07

      Ironic if the OPs new property owner, also owns next door.
      Anywho this construction provides convenient job/business ops for OP. Life changing. And maybe a better rental right on their doorstep. Maybe even later on, a property manager gig,LOL.

  • offthetap on 16/06/2023 - 16:00
    +6

    i guess thats why it went up for rent

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 16/06/2023 - 16:04
    +27

    Me and my family just moved to a rental house

    My family and I just moved to a rental house……

    • [Deactivated] on 16/06/2023 - 16:06
      +4

      Do you all like the rental house?

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 16/06/2023 - 16:07
        +2

        It's excellent, apart from the proposed construction.

      • Protractor on 16/06/2023 - 16:08

        This here is Australia, bud. We speak Merrcan here,y'all.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/06/2023 - 16:14

          We speak Merrcan here,y'all.

          Mexican ??

          • Protractor on 16/06/2023 - 16:19
            +1

            @[Deactivated]: A-M-E-RR - A- KERRN..
            aka MERRKAN. y'know, good ol boys

            Mexican is spoken in Victoria.

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 16/06/2023 - 16:06
    +2

    Do we as tenants have any power over this?

    No. Even the property owners have no power over this provided it meets council regs.

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 16/06/2023 - 16:08
    +3

    It costed us money

    It cost us money ….

    • Protractor on 16/06/2023 - 16:19
      +7

      It was a financial impost

      • Antikythera on 17/06/2023 - 15:37
        +5

        a fiduciary outlay.

  • screensaver on 16/06/2023 - 16:44
    +1

    If you see vacant land with a fence around it its not going to sit idle for too long (usually) There is an almost finished house in my suburb that has sat idle for 20 years . the pigeons now live there.

    • [Deactivated] on 16/06/2023 - 16:53
      +9

      Do you feed them bread? From the ends of the loaf?

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 16/06/2023 - 17:59
        +1

        Only if supermarket loaf, not the boutique sour dough.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/06/2023 - 18:02

          Which boutique soughdough?

  • redfox1200 on 16/06/2023 - 17:01
    +6

    op probably thought they had a nice park next door for the kids to play in

    • mskeggs on 16/06/2023 - 17:41
      +6

      Playing in the building site down the road was extremely fun when I was a kid.

      • idonotknowwhy on 17/06/2023 - 20:20

        Also useful place to workout during lockdown when the gyms were closed ;)

  • try2bhelpful on 16/06/2023 - 17:05

    Ha, that will be a doddle. Try living down the street from a major construction like the ACU. Freaking years of noise and getting your street shut down for days on end. All to build a 13 storey monstrosity. The next stage is them tearing down their parking garage and putting up even more buildings. We’ve got many more years to run of disruption.

  • pharkurnell on 16/06/2023 - 17:08
    +3

    Its ok the builder will go bankrupt before its built and there will be nothing above the ground….
    so just relax and get on with making more babies.

  • WreckTangle on 16/06/2023 - 17:30
    +1

    Two stories is not big construction

  • FocusRider on 16/06/2023 - 17:57
    +3

    Consider yourself lucky that you managed to get a rental property in the current market.

    If you don’t like it move out pretty simple.

  • sa-ozzie on 16/06/2023 - 18:16
    +16

    Have a sausage sizzle every lunchtime and make some cash out of tradies

    • RockyRaccoon on 16/06/2023 - 19:02

      nah, they earn enough now, they just go to something way fancier

      • Thrift on 17/06/2023 - 04:04
        +10

        Never underestimate the irresistible aromatic lure of sizzling onion.

      • chickenchipsgravy on 17/06/2023 - 08:47

        Sell them $6 strawberry breaka, cease the opportunity

        • BartholemewH on 17/06/2023 - 11:39
          +2

          Seize?

          • hothed on 17/06/2023 - 14:27
            +7

            @BartholemewH: OP wants the construction to cease. Perhaps the Breaka includes some arsnic.

            • CocaKoala on 17/06/2023 - 17:22
              +2

              @hothed: Arsenic?

              • Herbs on 18/06/2023 - 13:55

                @CocaKoala: Lol, the spelling and grammar correction in this thread is amazeballs!

    • derrida derider on 17/06/2023 - 18:46

      Much more profitable to deal meth to 'em.

  • jjjaar on 16/06/2023 - 21:30
    +6

    Did you receive a notice from council that building is about to commence, or that they have received a planning permit application for that development?

    If the latter, the landlord/agent wouldn’t have known either. It’s only an application. It still needs to be approved. You can absolutely object (and the landlord will receive the same letter you have, so they can also object). The approval process can take months and then they’ll have to get a building permit, so it could be 6-12 months before building commences. If 10+ objections are received, it will have to go to councillors for them to decide if it can be approved or not. If they refuse, the applicant will then have to go to vcat if they still want it approved, which could take years.

    If the former, they would have had to obtain a planning permit for a dual occupancy development, which is publicly available information. You did not do your due diligence.

  • quirky123 on 16/06/2023 - 22:51

    If you wish to object you must provide a reason why it doesn’t meet planning requirements not just say I don’t want the noise and disruption.

  • pao2x on 16/06/2023 - 23:26
    +2

    NIMBY, rental edition…

    Best thing to do is if it bothers you too much is move
    Also construction nowadays is soooo slow you probably would only have a few weeks REAL disruption in the year. Ask for corresponding compensation from the landlord

  • franco cozzo on 17/06/2023 - 04:34
    +4

    very predictable ozbargain responses…lol

    • Motek Benzona on 17/06/2023 - 05:09
      +10

      Jokers talking absolute tripe like they are still at school backslapping eachother over another childish dig. I think that sums them up

      • franco cozzo on 17/06/2023 - 05:51
        +6

        pretty much…ridiculing OP for a genuine gripe and then dogpiling as per usual, all the while having the self-entitled gratification of knowing its not 'their' problem….

      • dji1111111 on 18/06/2023 - 13:37

        They have not much going on in their life and their sad little gratification is from posting snarky comments on an online forum. Then they expect people to not take it serious and say it's just for a laugh. Yep, that's why bullies usually say as well when they are cornered

    • LFO on 17/06/2023 - 11:08
      +7

      What were the options??
      Ozbargain offers a new replacement home???

      OP asked for advice on a course of action to follow. Unfortunately there is none other than coping or moving.

  • cookie2 on 17/06/2023 - 06:37
    +3

    Sorry OP. Shitty timing and circumstance. All I can say. If it's going to be that disruptive to you and will impact you staying for a 5 year period then consider spending the additional to find another rental now. Consider though that unless you get locked into a long lease, you can't be sure of staying the full length you want anyway and construction could still happen at any time. Or just other changes that impact the enjoyment of the rented space.

  • LFO on 17/06/2023 - 11:04

    "Do we as tenants have any power over this?"

    Neither tenants now owners have ANY power over this.
    If it has been approved by Council is a done deal.

    Better research on a future dwelling/home is paramount.

  • FlyingMiffy on 17/06/2023 - 16:13

    It took us 3 years to do a KDRB after council granted permit. You'll be out of there before the townhouses go up.

  • Ghost47 on 17/06/2023 - 16:25
    +2

    That sucks but things could be worse, for example you could be born with no arms or legs. Appreciate having arms and legs.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 18/06/2023 - 09:19
      +1

      "Some people have it worse than I;
      I could be a thalidomide kid
      With something in my eye" - Tim Minchin

  • CocaKoala on 17/06/2023 - 17:25

    Sorry op. It looks like just extremely bad luck. There's little that you could practically do about this if the build is approved by the council.

    But there's a really good chance that it might take a while for the build to start. Not sure how much help that is, but perhaps you could consider other options using this time? It's not an easy option, I agree.

  • Blargman2001 on 17/06/2023 - 17:50
    +1

    If it's already approved an owner occupier has no rights in this situation either. A tenant would have the same. If letter came from council you probably would have found out about the same time as the owner, unless they're one of those types that scour the council's development approval submissions (no normal person does this). There is no right to a 'view' in Australia and the council would have already assessed your solar/sunlight access when approving the new development.

  • ChatCPT on 17/06/2023 - 18:44

    the entitlement is strong with this one

  • Weezle on 17/06/2023 - 19:01

    Approved development applications are publicly available information which you should have done due diligence on.

    It sucks but you don't have a leg to stand on.

  • Morphio25 on 17/06/2023 - 19:32
    +1

    You're renting. It's not like you bought the place. Don't like it? Move somewhere else.

    • tonsta on 18/06/2023 - 12:13

      Renter forget how lucky they are, they can theoretically move anytime they want to anywhere they want.

      Home owners are really stuck in place unless someone wants to buy.

  • 2esc on 17/06/2023 - 19:37

    Entitled much?

  • Godric on 17/06/2023 - 21:29
    +1

    You don't have the power

  • Bluto Mindpretzel on 17/06/2023 - 22:34
    +1

    If it's any consolation, it's almost impossible to not be living next door to some block being subdivided into multiple higher density buildings now.

  • Tiredman on 18/06/2023 - 09:57
    +2

    As long as they don't start earlier than 7, it's fine. Don't think there is anything you can do council wise. I know because we are building and the neighbor behind keeps complaining since day one, calling my builder, calling council, calling me every week asking us to start at 9-10 am after he has gone to work instead of 7:30 am. Obviously the council told him there is nothing they can do. I mean isn't it better to just let us finish asap instead of trying everything to slow the build down? Baffles me.

    Thank God we are almost done.

  • Ziggy28 on 18/06/2023 - 11:29
    +1

    If it really bothers you, you can look for another rental, and find another family willing to take over the current lease. Just need to inform the agent. With the current rental crisis, it should be easy to find replacement tenants. But good luck to you trying to find another place.

  • moneyhungry on 18/06/2023 - 16:12

    If there is any underground parking, you will be in for a real treat.

  • ttt888 on 18/06/2023 - 19:50

    I find such posts silly.

    It feels like tenants are expecting better service than home owners.

    So pretend if this is your own home what are you going to do.

    Stop your neighbour from building?

  • jellykingdom on 19/06/2023 - 09:32

    The workers will be there from 7-5 (at the latest). It really isn't that big of a deal, we have a house being built next door.

    I would however be keeping an eye out for nails and screws and other debris, you can easily blow a tyre

  • Sammy Boi on 19/06/2023 - 10:52

    Image being so narrow minded and ignorant that you thought making this post would be productive and that you would get some kind of support.

  • kaleidoscope on 19/06/2023 - 11:23

    We had no idea and we weren’t told anything by our now property manager or anyone from the real estate agency.

    It’s not on them. Its just how it is and don’t be tempted to ask for rental decrease based on this nonsense.

    This happened to me as well where when I moved to rental house in apartment jt had whole melb skyline showing at distance, but 6 months into it, next apartment was getting built covering the entire view :-). Regardless, I went on to live there for next 2.5 years.

    If you’re truely unhappy look for elsewhere.

    Good luck

    —-

    Do we as tenants have any power over this?

    No

    We have a chance to write to council why we object to this but I think it should be the owner's responsibility

    No. You can complain about if noise is too unbearable during weekdays, but doing so will probably extend the construction time of the property. So i’d say “pick 1” and move on.

  • cantoangel on 19/06/2023 - 11:45

    I lived next to construction sites for about 3 years - watch out for nails in your tyres

  • auna on 19/06/2023 - 13:02

    Don’t worry the rent will still increase even under your circumstances. Your best bet is subterfuge on the construction.

  • brad1-8tsi on 19/06/2023 - 21:51

    The RE wouldn't have known about the DA for next door. You should voice your objections to the council regarding the DA.

    A DA doesn't mean a place will be built, it means somebody wants to build a place.

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