Infringement Of Next Doors Building

[positiveaction]

My girlfriend and I have a house in her name, which has risen in value during construction down here in Phuket. Perhaps 2m THB - 3M THB. I am planning to buy this in my company name from her and that is not the issue i am asking for advice on. Next door a much larger plot has had a pool installed allsorts of Salas dotted around, with which i have no problem.

Problem/Question 1 He ( I belive to be Thai and maybe a little connected) has built a higher level to our dividing wall without consultation. It is ugly grey on top of what was a white shoulder height wall. in doing so it make me feel lie i am in a compound, but he has never spoken with me( i have never seen him) and has not painted my side and in addition large splodeges of cement are all over my side!

No 2 In record speed he has constructed the basis of an extension at the back of his house right up to the wall and the wooden temporary structure looks like it will over hang my garden. I have no doubt this will devaue my propert significantly by reducing natural light, claustrophic feeling and the potential for huge water run off into my garden....

So What are the regualations in the above????? Can he just build on top of my wall and right up to my property with an intrusive extension? I know for sure that it can not overhang my garden. The project claim he can do what he wants upto the perimeter of his plot but I have been told by a lwyer that 2 metres is the limitation......

Any advice or similar situations and the procedure/outcome would be much appreciated.

Edited March 1, 2008 by positiveaction

[jonniebkk]

Humm...good fences do make good neighbors but at least he should have discussed it with you (and offered to paint your side too). In any case, not much you can do about it now...just get a bucket of paint and somebody to paint it for B200 per day.

As to building near the property line/fence, I have always been told that you cannot build closer than 1 meter to the boundary line/fence. I would assume this means that the tip of the roof overhang must be at least 1 meter from the boundary and not the wall of the new construction. Now, the trick would be trying to enforce this building regulation without lots of bad blood (or spilled blood ) between you and your neighbor.

New construction is supposed to have been approved by the local land department and a permit issued (just like back home). This would be where they would check things like not building too close to the boundary line. However, like so many other things in LOS, this was probably ignored and he is building without a permit. If discussing it directly brings not relief, one could engage a lawyer and challenge the construction at the land department or with the village headman...hopefully you would get some relief but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Lite Beer]

I always believed that the wall of his house.has to be no nearer than 2 meters from the boundary.

Who`s property is the dividing wall?

[positiveaction]

the boundary wall is shared...he built on top of it and now building a whole new extension which overhangs and puts my garden in shade. The building he is doing, the foundation pillars are right against the joined shared wall so 10 cm!

Unfortunately, my nature is not to let it go especially when i consider that it will devalue my house several hundred thousand baht......i will try to speak with him though his gofer claims he does not have a phone number! Very likely......so I thinl that route will give little joy.

[jonniebkk]

Somebody must have the correct figure...but I'll stick to my 1 meter for now.

Whatever it is, it is definitely not allowed for any part of someone else's property to "overhang" onto an adjoining property. From your boundary line, there is an imaginary vertical plane the extends both upwards up through the sky and down through the ground. Anything from an adjoining property, be it a roof eve, tree branch or root, etc., that crosses over this plane is encroaching onto your property and you are within your rights to have the offending property owner remove it.

Edited March 1, 2008 by jonniebkk

[t.s]

Somebody must have the correct figure...but I'll stick to my 1 meter for now.

Whatever it is, it is definitely not allowed for any part of someone else's property to "overhang" onto an adjoining property. From your boundary line, there is an imaginary vertical plane the extends both upwards up through the sky and down through the ground. Anything from an adjoining property, be it a roof eve, tree branch or root, etc., that crosses over this plane is encroaching onto your property and you are within your rights to have the offending property owner remove it.

the distance depends on the zoning, but for my property it is 4 meters.

also, it does not look like he is building overhanging your property, the wood is shuttering for a substantial beam he is planning to pour.

he is certainly infringing and you could cause him alot of problems.

i would engage a good lawyer and never deal with him personally. the sooner the better, the more money he has spent the harder he will fight it, but it looks like he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Edited March 1, 2008 by t.s

[tattoodrob]

i agree,get a lawyer...hes takin the piss.dont think you will get much joy trying to talk to him...but get a lawyer to write explaining problem and that it must be rectified or further action will be taken,but before you do that check with local regulators as to what is the law there .

[LivinLOS]

Depends on zoning.. I think 1m is a minimum but if its in a normal zone (eg flat land allowed to build 23m up / 7 stories max etc) then its 3m, that may be only if going up 7 floors tho.

Also would a boundry wall not exist on one property side or the other ?? I would have thought if I build a boundry I would build it 'inside' my land so that it was 'my' wall ??

[phuketrichard]

I also live in Phuket, My neighbor built right up to the property line. When i saw him building and that there were windows that could open i went and got the poo Yai Baan and he had to elimiante all windows. Your not allowed any window's that open within 1 1/2 m of the property line. Their roof goes right up to their wall but to not allow water to run off the roof onto my land they had to install guters.

They had asked me to share in the building of the wall and I said no, i dont want it so the wall is it is built all on their property. i left my side of the wall bare as i have trees that cover it up

ON my right side i had sea views and they built this UGLY high wall for their house that is over 15 meters high totally blocking all my views. Since they are set back 2 meters there is nothing i can do other than hire someone with a stinger missle and blow the F@#king thing down. This wall i had someone come in and do the cement thing to smooth it out and then paint it. It was a lot more than 200 Baht/day!!

another case ot TOT.

Lowered my home value probaly a couple of mil.

[cmsally]

Distance depends on zoning and also whether he has windows, windows that open.

You should go to relevant authority, Or Bor Tor, Tesabahn - whatever; now. Because the reason he is in such a hurry , is that once built it is very difficult to get it pulled down.

[Guts]

and the potential for huge water run off into my garden....

The project claim he can do what he wants upto the perimeter of his plot but I have been told by a lwyer that 2 metres is the limitation......

Any advice or similar situations and the procedure/outcome would be much appreciated.

He cannot just do what he wants. The construction has to be approved. Unfortunaltely that does not say much in LOS.

According to my lawyer, there is no 2 meter limitation, but in case of water run off into your garden, he needs to deal with that. Probably a gutter placement.

[chownah]

You could build a wall right at the boundary on your side and block his windows...or build a really tall and rally ugly trellis right in front of his windows and then hang some old filthy plastic on the trellis to keep the rain off of your ugly plants growing on the trellis. That should make life better for him and then you'll have to wait and see what your neighbor will do to make your life even better still!!!!

Chownah

[BigSnake]

There are rule, but remember this is Thailand.

[Naam]

You could build a wall right at the boundary on your side and block his windows...or build a really tall and rally ugly trellis right in front of his windows and then hang some old filthy plastic on the trellis to keep the rain off of your ugly plants growing on the trellis. That should make life better for him and then you'll have to wait and see what your neighbor will do to make your life even better still!!!!

Chownah

i have lived several years in a country where a 9mm bullet would have been the appropriate solution.

[sinom]

suffered similar problems in Pattaya, where the residential spacing should be 2m.

Visited city hall, asked the buildings inspector to pay a visit.

long story short ...... demolition order issued, neighbour unhappy, compromise reached, neighbour happier, order cancelled. Continuing frosty relations with neighbour.

Try the "city hall" route ....... but beware it could get nasty.

Also a big no-no is the roof too close to the dividing wall. If water from the neighbours roof runs off onto your property it must br remedied.

I would try to talk to the neighbour to try to reach the "compromise" first

good luck !

[positiveaction]

thanks for the feedback so far.

Today I asked one of his burmese workers for his boss's number(construction boss) and he agreed to meet me tomorrow, he can speak okish english. Not sure what that would achieve apart from testing the water.

I have a lawyer my accountant recommended (thai) who said he would take up the negotiations (for a cost). The problem is they never seem to see it in the same way western people may). For eg i thinl this will lower my property value by the hundreds of thousands, as I would not want to buy a property with an obstructive and blocked view on one side of the garden, the lawyer's mindset is 20-30,000 for painting walls etc . Actually, the neighbour on the other side built an extenson but at normal height and about a meter inside with roof inside their boundary......i have no huge issue with this one.

So does one meet with the construction manager and at least see how it lies and maybe find out the Owners of the property name or hand it over with the cost to the lawyer??BTW i am broke!

Edited March 2, 2008 by positiveaction

[madjbs]

You have to look at it objectively, it might well lower the value of your property even if he complies with the rules. Unfortunately for you that is not his problem so all you can realistically do is make sure he doesn't build too close or whatever, other than that it is just tough luck unfortunately.

[Rimmer]

He is the person who should be worried, no way has he planning permission for that structure. I would suggest going straight to the obotor office and get them down there without delay. They will most likely stop the work on the spot.

Don't even waste time going through a lawyer it will cause a delay and he will have cast that beam by the time the lawyer gets himself in gear.

From your pictures of the form work I would say he is casting a beam and pouring a floor for a second story.

As a point of interest The form work is way over your property by the looks of the pictures, must be something you can do about that as well.

Any plans that you may see via the contractor will have a stamp a permit number and be signed on each page, there will also be a building permit if it has been passed.

If the contractor is using Burmese workers then he will most likely not have a work permit for them.

I think you can get this thing stopped dead but act quickly and take care.

[jitagon]

I always believed that the wall of his house.has to be no nearer than 2 meters from the boundary.

Who`s property is the dividing wall?

It must be not less than two metres from a neighbouring property, if it has a window. However, some people get away with this by simply inserting glass bricks into the side of their properties.

[kieranuk]

there is no chance in hel_l that guy has planning permission for that. and hes got no number hahah

he is a flyman and i dont know anything about the laws but if he is constructing illegally..... and you want it tore down get youre arse to the hall or wherever the building inspector, local person who deals with constructions... ASAP

cos if this guy gets it built it could

A. be much harder to demolish it

B. this guy is not going to stop building even if you manage to contact him and let him know you're challenging it, so if you wait.... and he does complete the build and then have to knock it down after its finished or nearly finished he's going to be extremely pissed off and it could make things very awkward for u especially as your not local

get the finger out asap sinom seems to have given great advice. i did laugh at the overhanging on pic 2 the guy is being ultra fly but if it was me i would find out the quickest route of getting an inspector down to the site at least he can tell you exactly where you stand even if he dosnt order it demolished there and then

[Tony121]

Check out falangs beware on the samui forum im afraid it doesn't make good reading if you are in this situation, you need to act asap or it will only get harder to get them to take the building down.

[quiksilva]

The limit is just 50 cms, unfortunately my neighbour has also built right up to the limit, but only along a short section.

I just remind myself that good fences make good neighbours, and will make the most out of my privacy!

[warfie]

Before doing anything, hire a bodyguard...

I'm not being 'flip' or making a joke, situations like this can get nasty back home, let alone in LOS.

[Puma]

Hi,

For your information. This is general practice in Thailand but can differ slightly between regions.

Building-Road

A Less than 6.00m.

B =3.00m (min.)

A Less than 10.00m.

B =6.00m (min.)

A More than 10.00m.

Less than 20.00m.

C =1/10 A (min.)

A More than 20.00m.

C =2.00m (min.)

Building-Klong

X Less than 10.00m.

Y =3.00m (min.)

X More than 10.00m.

Y =6.00m (min.)

Building-Neighbour

H Less than 9.00m.

D 1) =2.00m (min.) Wall with openning

2) Less than 2.00m. Wall without openning

3) Less than 0.50m. Allowance letter from neighbour

H More than 9.00m.

Less than 23.00m.

D 1) =3.00m (min.) Wall with openning

2) Less than 3.00m. Wall without openning

Other

1) Swimming Pool more than 100cu.m. is a BUILDING

2) Retainning wall higher than 1.20m. Is a building

[quiksilva]

Building-Neighbour

H Less than 9.00m.

D 1) =2.00m (min.) Wall with openning

2) Less than 2.00m. Wall without openning

3) Less than 0.50m. Allowance letter from neighbour

Yes that fits with my experience, my neighbour wanted a letter from me to go less than 50cm, I refused, so he built up to 50cms, and there was nothing I could do about it as the wall had no openings (only a few glass bricks at the top).

[dudemeister]

What happened to this post?

I was intrigued to find the outcome - hope nothing nasty happened to the poster, and all was resolved!