Building in established neighbourhoods can draw out conflict and unease. Sometimes it can be off putting responding to someone who has a gripe about something that didn’t catch your attention before. Below are some of the common conflict issues, and possible solutions by home design edge:
Air conditioner
The air conditioning unit is noted in most councils noise regulations. They do generate a decent amount of noise. Your neighbour may even have read this before complaining to you.
Solution
Follow council regulations for placement of unit away from your own and neighbours windows, add acoustic mounts to lessen vibration, add screen planting or a physical screen to obscure the noise coming from the unit.
Another helpful article to read on noise from yourhome
Vine, tree leaves, roots and anything living growing over boundary
Some may be from existing vigorous plants, and others that you plant yourselves
Solution
Plant invasive type plants at least 900mm from boundary like bamboo. Plant clumping bamboo rather than running bamboo. Trim your own plants that go over the boundary, rather than wait for a conflict to arise.
Further reading on overhanging trees and branches / legal answers
Rubbish in front yard blowing over to neighbours house
Volume builders involve many disparate trades. Many of whom have little respect for your property or your neighbours, and will throw empty energy drinks, wrappers and other construction waste in places that can blow over to the nature strip, the road or to the neighbours.
Solution
Remind your builder to collect waste into skips, its in the DA condition to add fences, and settlement control. You can also direct your neighbours to call the builder direct, as the site is in their possession. You can also go to site from time to time to pickup some of the rubbish.
Construction traffic
Building generates car movements, and additional cars and trucks parking on the streets. Sometimes large trucks may out of convenience park over neighbours driveways when loading.
Solution
For the loading, theres not much you can do. Its temporary and usually at a last resort. For the neighbours that complain, its hard to cater, especially when your not there at the time. For all other parking, there is not much you can control either. You can only remind your neighbours that they are parking legally, and that its a temporary event. For prickly neighbours you can also remind them that their place probably generated similar construction traffic when they built.
Construction noise and working hours
Some neighbours are more sensitive than others regarding construction noise, especially those that spend a lot of time at home.
Solution
Its important to be across the regulations from your state, and council before responding to neighbours concerns. The other thing to consider is what development type you are engaging in. Exempt development, complying development, development application and garden maintenance all have different hours allowed. What most people may not know is that most landscaping is exempt development, and work is allowed on Saturday afternoons for example.
Mud on road
When earthmoving and landscaping, trucks carry lots of dirt onto the road
Solution
Your driveway should have bluemetal on it to reduce mud. If not, ask your builder or landscaper to place some there. Landscapers and other truck drivers know to bring a broom to sweep excessive dirt build up.
Overlooking / privacy
This can be an issue on side boundaries
Solution
Add window coverings, privacy screens, and screen planting. If you are early in your planning, consider the overall orientation of the home, to maximise daylight, and placing solid walls on smaller setbacks against neighbours windows
Shade
This can be a funny one. Neighbours may complain that your building is casting too much shade, or that your works have removed shade cast onto their building
Solution
If your home is setout to CDC requirements, the rules are common to everyone, and you have a right to build to your sites height and setback restrictions. If your neighbour is relying on your property regarding shade or solar exposure, its likely that they are built too close to their boundary, or haven’t sufficiently setback to preserve this benefit.
Retaining wall
Some may complain that your retaining walls are changing the natural grade, and could cause land to collapse from their property
Solution
Either make your retaining walls <600mm high and >900mm away from boundaries to stick to CDC requirements, or get the walls properly engineered, and detailed with sufficient agg pipe and potentially strip drainage to relieve pressure on the wall
Further reading on retaining walls
Fencing issues
Boundary fencing is a common cause of complaint, over whether its too tall, too short, too transparent, too opaque, too run down, too leaning over, too whatever.
Solution
There are guidelines for mediation and notice serving, but the best outcome is usually by contacting the neighbour and talking through the issues, potential replacement and cost sharing. Some neighbours are more reasonable than others. If your in there for the long run, its good to maintain relationships, whilst not giving in to unreasonable demands.
Further reading on fencing disputes
Cracks and other damage caused to neighbours property
Some may claim that construction works on your site has caused cracking or other damage to their site. Another common event is when machinery is used near boundaries, which may damage boundary fences. Its hard to determine whether its your fault without documentation.
Solution
Some DA’s require a report to document existing conditions along all boundaries including the nature strip and front kerb. Even if this is not required, its good to photograph all existing conditions, so that if a complaint comes up, you can determine the validity and date it occurred.
In building, the site is under the possession of the builder, so any complaints or insurance claims can only be dealth with the builder.
If the damage is caused by your own landscaper contractor for example, they will usually go ahead and fix the damage. The only issue is the quality of the fix up, and whether its matching the existing. This is also why photos of existing conditions are important.
Aesthetic / qualitative / subjective differences
Some may complain that your home doesn’t fit into the street, is too high, or too dominating on the street, or that it wasn’t what they were ‘presented with’ from council.
Solution
As all development has proper processes to attain approval, its very hard to cater to neighbours likes and dislikes. Some people are naturally selfish, and are okay with development on their own block, but dislike it on others. It is a good thing to think of your street character (whether present or emerging) when sorting through setbacks, height and elements of the frontage that are articulated. Beyond that, settling for CDC is a smoother run than DA, so you don’t have to face objections and a protracted approval process.
Solution to most problems
Organise a tea or bbq for the neighbours when you move back in. This may be a step too far for you, but it can soften up the neighbours, and cause them to not think about the construction noise and traffic from the past.
Have you experienced any other types of disputes during construction? Please share at andrew@homedesignedge.com