Thank you for reading.
We bought our house 3 years ago. When we moved in, we did not realise that the house behind us had a fibro shed/studio that is so close to the fence that it touches it. We discovered it upon clearing a garden. I estimate it to be 5-6m along the boundary and maybe 2.5m-3m high. Naively, we didn’t realise the significance of this until the last 12 months as several issues have come up:
- The shed has no guttering and the roof slopes towards our yard. We are on the higher side, so when we have heavy rain the water Simply flows back to the ground under the shed and it floods. So this hasn’t affected us.
- There is an old tree about 8m tall that grows well above and over the shed. The neighbour told us to cut it down so he can put a gutter on the shed (see above) and he doesn’t want the gutter clogging up. I pointed out to him that the tree was there before the shed, and a gutter would overhang our fence. He said nothing to this except could he dig a trench on our side of the fence for the water. We said no.
- According to council maps, there is a sewer main and a manhole right where this shed has been placed. We have discovered this upon submitting plans for our own shed.
- I am unsure of whether this shed has been fire rated. We have nothing on that side of the fence now, but will have our own shed 1.5m from it within the next year.
- The fence is old and will need repair sometime in the next 5-10 years. The stormwater (see above) will deteriorate the fence further. The shed complicates installation of a new fence.
I have told the guy that it’s clearly too close to the fence. He says nothing to this. He seems to be quite arrogant based on other dealings with him about unrelated issues. I decided not to speak to him anymore after his proposal for us to allow a trench in our yard to solve his own drainage issue.
It’s clear that this shed should be reported to council as it has several significant issues. However I am concerned about the repercussions for my family and I if we report it. What is the process once reported, will they be told to demolish it?
Thank you for reading
We bought our house 3 years ago. When we moved in, we did not realise that the house behind us had a fibro shed/studio that is so close to the fence that it touches it. We discovered it upon clearing a garden. I estimate it to be 5-6m along the boundary and maybe 2.5m-3m high. Naively, we didn’t realise the significance of this until the last 12 months as several issues have come up:
- The shed has no guttering and the roof slopes towards our yard. We are on the higher side, so when we have heavy rain the water Simply flows back to the ground under the shed and it floods. So this hasn’t affected us.
- There is an old tree about 8m tall that grows well above and over the shed. The neighbour told us to cut it down so he can put a gutter on the shed (see above) and he doesn’t want the gutter clogging up. I pointed out to him that the tree was there before the shed, and a gutter would overhang our fence. He said nothing to this except could he dig a trench on our side of the fence for the water. We said no.
- According to council maps, there is a sewer main and a manhole right where this shed has been placed. We have discovered this upon submitting plans for our own shed.
- I am unsure of whether this shed has been fire rated. We have nothing on that side of the fence now, but will have our own shed 1.5m from it within the next year.
- The fence is old and will need repair sometime in the next 5-10 years. The stormwater (see above) will deteriorate the fence further. The shed complicates installation of a new fence.
I have told the guy that it’s clearly too close to the fence. He says nothing to this. He seems to be quite arrogant based on other dealings with him about unrelated issues. I decided not to speak to him anymore after his proposal for us to allow a trench in our yard to solve his own drainage issue.
It’s clear that this shed should be reported to council as it has several significant issues. However I am concerned about the repercussions for my family and I if we report it. What is the process once reported, will they be told to demolish it?
Thank you for reading
