JERSEY GUERNSEY LONDON MAURITIUS BVI SINGAPORE Things to consider before carrying out works to your property NATALIE HARRIS SOLICITOR BEDELL CRISTIN
Introduction JERSEY GUERNSEY LONDON MAURITIUS BVI SINGAPORE Before commencing works at your property it is important to consider the following (in addition to other matters) to prevent issues arising in the future:- Terms of your contract of purchase of the property Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 and all laws orders, rules and regulations relating thereto
Terms of your contract of purchase - Boundaries 3 Firstly you should consider where the boundaries of your property are and what they consist of. A boundary could consist of enclosures such as the following:- (a) Boundary stones (b) Gable (c) Fence (d) Row of trees (e) Boundary line (f) Wall (g) Hedge (h) Concrete border
Boundaries (continued 1) 4 A boundary could be owned by either party (with or without a relief) or otherwise be party owned (jointly owned by both neighbouring owners).
Boundaries (continued 2) 5 A relief is an offset of 1 foot 4½ inches (although there are certain exceptions). In the absence of a right to do so in the contract, or unless the boundary towards the adjoining property is constituted by a partyowned structure no-one can build anything including a wall or building on his own property unless he leaves at least 1 foot 4½ inches between the enclosure and the neighbouring property nor have any items encroaching or overhanging upon it. While the owner of the property cannot build or overhang on his relief, the neighbor may not interfere with it either and has to set back a further 1 foot 4½ inches before he can build anything on his property.
Party owned enclosures 6 If a boundary enclosure is party owned then both parties may build up to the enclosure. However this does not give the right to erect a construction on the wall If both party owners of a party owned enclosure wall wish to raise the wall, the expenses are borne in equal shares (unless their contracts stipulates different proportions). The raising of a party wall is also subject to any height restrictions in their contracts and under the applicable Planning Laws.
Party owned enclosures (continued) 7 If one party owner of a party owned wall wishes to raise the wall, and the other party owner has no objection, but does not wish to share the cost, the party owner who wishes to raise it may do so across the entire width at his own expense. The raised part of the wall is thereafter party owned in the same way as the original wall. If the other owner refuses to consent to the raising of the wall, the party who wishes to raise it is entitled to do so on his half, and at his own expense, but only if it does not imperil his neighbor. However the party would not have a right of access onto his neighbor's property to maintain the part of the wall he has raised.
Droit de jointure [right to join] 8 A contract may provide a droit de jointure [right to join]. This is a right to construct something on one s own property which is built so as to join on to a structure on an adjoining property. A droit de jointure will overrule any relief in the contract so that the owner does not need to set back 2 feet 9 inches (2 x 1 foot 4½ inches) and can build up to the neighbor's boundary enclosure
Windows and Openings 9 Anyone who erects a building of any sort with windows or other openings must leave a distance of at least 2 foot 9 inches between the part of the building which has the openings in and the neighboring property Any windows that are closer than 2 feet 9 inches must be glazed in opaque glass and cannot be opening
Building restrictions 10 If there is a restrictive covenant in force which prevents or restricts building on the property, the property owner cannot construct an anything in breach of it. Thus for example if A s property is the subject of a building restriction in favour of B s property which limits the height of any wall to 6 feet, A cannot build an enclosing wall which is 8 feet high.
Third party rights over your property 11 The property must not be enclosed in such a way as to interfere with the rights of third parties. Thus, if B has a right of way over A s property, A cannot enclose his property in such a way as to obstruct B s right of way.
Right of access 12 When building structures near the boundaries of your property it is also important to consider whether you have enough room to maintain, repair and replace the structures/enclosures from within side the boundaries of your property because you will not have a right of access onto your neighbour's property to maintain, repair and replace the same unless there is a right in your contract allowing you to do so
Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 13 If a property owner wishes to carry out any works which constitutes development within the meaning of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 (the 2002 Law ), he must obtain the permission of the Minister for Planning and Environment
"Develop" within the meaning of 2002 Law 14 "Develop includes (inter alia) the following: undertaking a building in, on, over or under the land; making a material change in the use of the land or a building on the land. demolishing or removing the whole or any part of a building on the land; creating a new access or enlarging existing access to the land from a road; removing a hedgerow or banque or other physical feature defining a boundary of the land or of any part of it; Placing an advertisement on the land; or using a building on the land previously used as a single dwelling-house as 2 or more separate dwelling-houses
Planning permission 15 It can be seen that the definition of development is very wide and therefore the starting point should always be that planning permission is required unless a relevant exemption can be found If in doubt you should always contact the Planning Department for advice
The Planning and Building (General Development) (Jersey) Order 2011 16 The Planning and Building (General Development) (Jersey) Order 2011, as amended, (the "2011 Order") sets out various classes of development for which planning permission is exempt without any need to apply (subject to various conditions). This allows home owners to be able to carry out a greater variety of work to their homes within the curtilage of their dwellings without the need for planning permission.
Permitted Development examples 17 The 2011 Order includes (inter alia) the construction, maintenance or conversion of the following types of development (subject to various conditions, some but not all, of which are listed here):- You can erect any fence, wall or gate provided that the structure does not exceed 2 metres in height (or 90 cm if within 2 metres of a road); You can demolish a wall, fence or gate unless it adjoins a road; You can convert a garage attached to a dwelling into a room for human habitation provided that it directly accessible from within the house, is not used as a separate unit of accommodations or for commercial purposes; or At ground floor level you are able to replace a door with a window, replace a window with a door, introduce new windows or doors, or block up or enlarge existing windows or doors.
2011 Order (continued 1) 18 However it is important to note that although planning permission is not required for the works stated on the previous slide (subject to various conditions), there are a few exceptions such as: You will still need planning permission if your Permitted Development Rights have been removed by a condition on a previous Planning Permit (this only relates to dwellings built or created in the last 30 years or so); or Many of the allowances may not apply if your property is a Listed Building or it falls within a protected area
Building Bye-Laws (Jersey) 2007 19 Article 10 of the Building Bye-Laws provides that a permit must be obtained (inter alia) by any person proposing to carry out any building work or make a material change of use. However there are exemptions in Schedule 1 to the Building Bye- Laws. For example there is no need to obtain a building permit for ground floor conservatories, verandas or covered areas of less than 20 square metres (subject to various conditions) If in doubt seek advice from a Building Inspector
Building Completion Certificate 20 Assuming the works that you wish to carry out to the property do require a building permit, then once you have obtained the building permit and carried out the works you will also need to have the works inspected and obtain a completion certificate from the Minister for the Environment. It should be noted that whilst Planning Permissions do not require sign off, the Planning Consent will contain conditions which persist and must be considered in the future
Legal advice 21 Please note that this presentation only provides you with a basic overview of some of the matters you should consider before carrying out works to your property and we would advise you to seek legal advice before carrying out works to your property.
22 Questions?
Thank you 23 Natalie Harris Associate T +44 (0)1534 814797 E natalie.harris@bedellcristin.com