Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 28, 2011 1:22 pm Dear all, My wife and I are planning to build our new single storey dwelling with 2730 mm ceiling height. However, our neighbour does not consent to this because of some cultural belief. He wants us to have the same ceiling height as him which is about 2580. The actual difference is so little but he does not want to agree to this. He asked us to get in touch with his solicitor!! My builder is now going to the council for approval which will push our construction out by few weeks. My question is, in case the council rejects our appeal then what other options do we have? Considering council is OK with this but the neighbour is not then does he have any legal options to stop our construction? Appreciate your response. Re: consent for ceiling height 5Nov 28, 2011 1:36 pm the council should have a DCP (development control plan or guildlines) that stipulates the maximum external house height (including roof). Give council a call or look on the website for this. Assuming that your height is within this allowance then i think it should be approved, however if it higher than that, then you may have issues, one way to get around that then is to cut into your ground (i.e. a lower ground level) as the roof height will still go by your original gound level. Re: consent for ceiling height 6Nov 28, 2011 1:43 pm Thanks guys for your response. Our allowance is well within the range since our builder planned the entire estate. I agree with your comment re cutting into our ground. However, not sure if builder would do that because then our house may not end up on the same level as others. Re: consent for ceiling height 7Nov 28, 2011 1:47 pm it's not a really good idea to have the house sitting lower than your neighbour since he/she doesn't want you to be higher than their roof tiles. i said stick with your approved plan by council and give your neighbour the finger, for whatever religion reason it is only a selfish act for not allowing other ppl to do stuff on their own block of land. they can raise their building level if they are not happy. your building will not block their sun light anyway, what is wrong with these narrow minded person. Re: consent for ceiling height 10Nov 28, 2011 4:32 pm The other way around reducing your overall height is be changing the pitch of your roof. We have to be under 7.5 metres so to get higher ceilings we've reduced roof pitch to 18 degrees. As for your case, I don't know why your neighbour even has a say if it meets Council building guidelines? Re: consent for ceiling height 11Nov 28, 2011 4:42 pm Thanks JLD. That's because the variation is not part of the standard Residential code of 2550 mm. The builder has said that we require dispensation for our increased ceiling height from council and neighbour. Re: consent for ceiling height 12Nov 28, 2011 9:42 pm cricketer The reason is not even worth mentioning. Assuming council approves it, does he have any legal right to stop our construction from starting? Once Council approves it, you can proceed regardless of your neighbour. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: consent for ceiling height 13Nov 28, 2011 11:20 pm Does not sound right. There are guidelines around building heights, some may be without roof or overall heights. as long as you stick to those it should get approved. You can ask council for variation and they may or may not allow,, usually good if there are other examples close by in the area but from what you tell the builder built them all. I would try and have a calm discussion with the neighbour to understand where he is coming from and why he stongly objects..... if he is jumping to solicitors straight away it sounds like it will be a tough relationship from the get go. Remember you have to live next to each other. Had a friend who had to take restraining orders and everything out against neighbour and he ended up selling as he did not want the drama. Try and find a solution that works for both. Hope all goes well. Cheers Mark Re: consent for ceiling height 16Nov 29, 2011 10:30 am Mark - I appreciate your feedback. I thought about it that I have to live next door to this guy for coming years. But then, does it mean I have to give in to his unreasonable demand? Agreeing on this would be a start of things to come. My wife had a very calm discussion with him to address his concerns but I think, when it's a matter of faith/belief it is very hard to have any solution to it because it has been in their head for so many years. My wife actually pleaded to him that this is our first home and we really want it to look good. Please consider it. What irked me was his comment about solicitor. rojak1 - He does not have any issue with me building a double storey!! I am not a person who likes to fight but when it is unreasonable..... Re: consent for ceiling height 17Nov 29, 2011 10:53 am Cricketer, totally agree. If I have to choose between pleasing wife and pleasing next door then the wife wins. remember happy wife happy life. I am mid forties now and i still remember like it was yesterday when I was 4 years old and our next door neighbour cut my little ball up with a stanley knife right in front of me because it went over her fence. We lived next door to her for 25 years and just never really spoke at all to her. Police were called a number of times over trivial complaints she made. The other side are the best neighbours are the best anyone could ask for and they are just fab. I thought you were building a double storey, if its a single I cannot imagine why he would complain, also i am curious as to what religion he is speaking of. The standard height is 28c, sounds like your builder is giving 30c and you want 32c. You should be able to download your state's planning codes, for example in Western Australia the R-Codes can be downloaded and they provide all sorts of information such as set backs and heights etc. As long as you stay within them the council should approve, your neighbour can object and it will delay but ultimately they will approve. Don't stress over it, it is what it is, do the paper work and wait it out. Although everyone has one it sounds like your next door is one. Out of interest have you spoken with the other two neighbours, side and rear to get any feedback from them, their "ok" may help demonstrate reason. Ciao Mark Re: consent for ceiling height 18Nov 29, 2011 11:26 am I would still like to understand the religous belief.. quite unbelieable.. neighbour or not, seems like he is being completely unresonable. If thats the case, I would be a double just in spite. Re: consent for ceiling height 19Nov 29, 2011 11:32 am cricketer Mark - I appreciate your feedback. I thought about it that I have to live next door to this guy for coming years. But then, does it mean I have to give in to his unreasonable demand? Agreeing on this would be a start of things to come. My wife had a very calm discussion with him to address his concerns but I think, when it's a matter of faith/belief it is very hard to have any solution to it because it has been in their head for so many years. My wife actually pleaded to him that this is our first home and we really want it to look good. Please consider it. What irked me was his comment about solicitor. rojak1 - He does not have any issue with me building a double storey!! I am not a person who likes to fight but when it is unreasonable..... What on earth could the faith/belief reasons be? I don't understand this at all Re: consent for ceiling height 20Nov 29, 2011 11:34 am Thank you everyone for your responses. Much appreciated.
Mark - my builder offers 2550mm/8.36 feet as standard but I have requested an upgrade to 2730mm/8.95 feet. Well the belief is that if your neighbour has a higher ceiling than yours then all your fortune will go to your neighbour! Unless the room is for storage then it's non compliant BCA V2 2019 S3 P3.8 You have 2 options 1. The builder deconstructs the section and rebuilds as per plan /… 7 7300 ok thanks - yes was wondering if that should have been listed as Option Three! 2 6199 I'll look into different shower heads and ask the plumber about some engineering and see what he says. Thanks 2 6186 |