Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 29, 2020 9:35 pm I built a house last year. A neighbour who owns but does not live in the property next door allegedly got hold of my building plans without permission prior to construction. Much to my deep shock (which was extremely distressing and has now turned to disgust) they bragged about it and refused to tell me where they got them. In other words, bullied. I may know where they may have got them (without proof) although they are not aware of this. I 100% believe they have them. All due to part of a shared fence that had to come down. They read measurements off my plans and tried to dictate how much had to come down. They said they would pull the fence down then changed their minds at the last minute. My site supervisor intervened (verbally in an aggressive manner). The fence came down. My house is finished and some of the fence needs to go back up. What they have alleged to have done has hung over my head throughout construction - as completion approached, I went to the local police station prior to handover explained what happened and asked if I should harbour any safety concerns if anyone had someone's house plans. I was told to get security cameras (which I now have) and don't speak to the @ssholes again if at all possible. I don't believe they would do anything but don't know who else may see the plans. I'm trying to get some legal advice on how to fill out a notice to fence/get it checked without much luck so they don't cause me further headaches - has anyone issued a notice to fence without having to speak to the owner of an adjoining property? I do need legal advice on the fencing notice as well as something else related to it. Speaking to them is not an option unless I try and engage a solicitor. They will mention the building plans again. They don't seem to care. Re: Building Plans acquired without permission 4Jan 31, 2020 8:29 pm The builder advised the neighbours it was strictly illegal and they would take action if the fence wasn't down. They threatened to sue, among other things. The plans they have are specific to my lot. The neighbours were not advised which house I was building. Not sure to what extent they have got - they could have got plans from the Council or my builders own inspector/surveyor. I've been advised I had every right to be concerned. Gross invasion of privacy. There is another option where I think they may have got them. The fact of the matter is I'm not going to be bullied by a neighbour who has my house plans without my consent and won't tell me where they have got them from yet expects me to discuss them. Try thinking of it in your shoes. It isn't a nice thing to happen, trust me. Re: Building Plans acquired without permission 5Feb 01, 2020 6:53 am I know I found a copy of my house plans by googling my address. It was shown on the council websites for development applications. The reason was because my builder had to submit the plans to the council as we wanted to extend our afresco half a metre more than the allowed setback. Re: Building Plans acquired without permission 6Feb 01, 2020 8:45 am Even if your neighbour didn't have your plans it would be quite possible for him to wander through your build whilst in was in progress and thus have complete knowledge of the layout. When our house was being built I know neighbours had a stickybeak. No big deal. Re: Building Plans acquired without permission 7Feb 01, 2020 9:12 am In my region, all plans associated with any DA are freely available to all on the relevant Council website. It provides the opportunity for neighbouring property owners to raise any objections to the development before the decision on the application is made. I suppose it also allows the neighbours to check whether the as-built construction conforms with the approved DA plans. If you type in '<name of council> tracker' you can probably find most pre-decision DA plans. Not sure if this is applicable to you but it is not necessarily dishonest or underhand to obtain a copy of a neighbours plans. Re: Building Plans acquired without permission 8Feb 01, 2020 11:21 am Even if your plans aren't advertised as part of the DA process, any party can apply to council through the Freedom of Information Act (in NSW anyway) to get a copy of any documentation lodged. Re: Building Plans acquired without permission 9Feb 01, 2020 11:34 am The Council was contacted at site cut stage when this happened. We were advised that building plans don’t get released without us being informed and even then they would only get the part for whatever they needed them for. They checked my address and nobody had applied and nothing is there to trigger a request. They would never release anything without advising us. I have an idea as to where they were obtained. Re: Building Plans acquired without permission 10Feb 01, 2020 1:30 pm I've been on many building sites and seen plans laying around or in the bin. Tradies will print off a set to do what they need to do and when they've finished they just leave them or chuck them in the skip. It's easy enough to see them. As mentioned some councils send them online as part of a DA, and most neighbours will have a wander around the house as it's being built. I really can't see the problem. Just because they know what your floorplan is they can't get in your house now to see anything. Why is it such a worry for you? Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Elvis has left the building... The site supervisor quit after 2 month on the project. 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