Neighbour building a wall for the only reason to block my view oh and extort money

[kevkev1888]

Looking for some advise. So we bought this house just over 4 years ago.

Great view out of the back of the house,

OK so I knew that there where no guarantees that come with that staying forever. When we bought the house we where told if we wanted to we could buy some extra land there and make a garden, as next door had already done.

You can see the land they bought in the right of this photo. I have never had any interest in doing so.

Recently the house on our other side, which is joined to us as a we are a semi detached, was sold. Then I heard through the grape vine via the girlfriend that they wanted to buy the land behind their house. Did we want to buy the land behind us also, think they where saying 700,000 Baht, not sure and never asked any more as I have no interest in buying it at all.

Yesterday the girlfriend was told by the land owner that next door had bought, and that as we had not he was going to build a wall so we could not see the land

Today a load of rubble turns up and some workers set about making a foundation, right flush against my boundary. When I asked what they where doing, build wall here, how high? 2 meters.

You can see in this last picture, how this will not only block any view, but also completely all light to the rear of the house. Basically bricking up what are effectively 2 very big windows. There are the 2 sections shown and another 2 to the right which are open to the garden to the side of the house.

Now as the house is semi detached, and with the way it is designed there is only windows to the main living area front and back. Loosing all the light from the rear would be a disaster.

Now I told the workers no way, go get me the land owner, whom I have never spoken to directly and never previously had any problems with.

Do I have a leg to stand on?

Is there not any distance he must leave between his wall and my boundary?

I really have no interest in buying the land, but looks like he thinks he can hold me to ransom.

Any advise appreciated.

Oh by the way this is in Pattaya if that makes any difference.

Edited November 27, 2013 by kevkev1888

[Chicog]

Why don't you consult a lawyer? Sure sounds like it might be a legal matter.

[LennyW]

If your house is built right up to the boundary line then that is illegal i am afraid, if i recall correctly the law is - if there are no windows then you must be at least 1 meter off the boundary, if there are windows then you must be at least 2 meters off the boundary, i know everyone pretty much ignores that but that does not make it right.

And sorry, but the land owner is quite entitled to build a wall up to 2 meters in height along his boundary.

I would be very wary of kicking up a fuss as they will instantly point out that your house is illegally built, and you could end up having to remove part of the structure.

Sorry.

Edited November 27, 2013 by LennyW

[Gsxrnz]

Yep, sounds like there's not much you can do. They can build a fence on their boundary. Maybe you should reconsider and try and buy the piece of land to protect your view.

Could be worse - they could start a Karaoke Bar there, or a market, or a condo, or Lord knows what. Being Patts, somebody probably will one day.

[trogers]

The difference between a semi-d and a townhouse is that the former allows light and air into the house on 3 sides. Why does your house not have any windows along its length?

[rgs2001uk]

^^^^^^,

Trogers, for the life of me, I can never recall seeing a semi-d house in Thailand.

The only time I have ever seen such a thing is, when a normal house has been split into two seperate dwellings in the same house, sometimes the owner lives in one half and rents out the other half.

Other times both halves are rented out.

[trogers]

^^^^^^,

Trogers, for the life of me, I can never recall seeing a semi-d house in Thailand.

The only time I have ever seen such a thing is, when a normal house has been split into two seperate dwellings in the same house, sometimes the owner lives in one half and rents out the other half.

Other times both halves are rented out.

The are semi-d houses, though not as many as townhouses.

Eg., http://promothai.com/rental/bangkok-10722.html

http://www.forbeslebrock.com/property/bangkok-property-BKH222-222-222

and quite a few you can drive pass along the soi connecting Pattanakarn and Sukhumvit Soi 77.

But even a normal detached house with windows all round would end up with windows on 3 sides when it is divided into 2 units.

[rgs2001uk]

^^^^,

Trogers, usually if I go to Suk 77, I go via Srinakarin to Pattanakarn crossroads, hang a right then drive along Pattanakarn Rd before turning left onto soi 30 or 20, that brings me out onto 77 soi 17 beside the 7-11.

I think I have seen a new developements out that way, but never paid too much attention, to busy trying to avoid motorcyles and soi dogs.

[Khun Jean]

Be prepared to move the house because you build to close to the boundary.

If you have the cash it seems wise to correct that situation. Maybe you can buy 2-3 meters extra so that your house will be within the legal limit.

[SantiSuk]

Had a similar problem. Neighbour sold his land next to us and buyer (Thai lady financed by absentee geriatric falang, to rub salt in the wound) infilled using our 2 meter wall as the retaining wall for the (wholly unnecessary) 1.5 meter landfill. Then she built her house and shop on top of that, towering over our garden (but legally correctly 2 meters from the boundary).

My wife went ape and called in the police and the pooyai-ban. Not a thing could be done except if the wall collapses they have to pay to rebuild and reinforce it. We built another meter of wall on top to cut down the offensiveness of the overlook, a move which has not been challenged.

I was more sanguine tthann my wife whose blood still boils. This is Thailand. Have to accept that the lack of regulation has its disadvantages as well as advantages. I'm gonna try to buy the land on the other side to prevent the same thing happening there.

BTW, even in a highly regulated property market like the UK I am sure there are no regulations that prevent someone with an otherwise legal development taking away your view (though there are regs preventing people blocking natural light, as tightly defined, typically used to prevent people from building extensions on boundaries that are higher than one storey).

Edited November 27, 2013 by SantiSuk

[ezzra]

Here is an idea, you go and build a taller/higher wall/fence just to make a point

and as long as you build it on you land there isn't much he can say about it...

[Keesters]

^^^^^^,

Trogers, for the life of me, I can never recall seeing a semi-d house in Thailand.

The only time I have ever seen such a thing is, when a normal house has been split into two seperate dwellings in the same house, sometimes the owner lives in one half and rents out the other half.

Other times both halves are rented out.

Aren't the houses at each end of a row of townhouses semi-d as they are only attached on one side?

[Keesters]

Oh by the way this is in Pattaya if that makes any difference.

Are you sure it is Pattaya? Looks to be on the dark side of the highway as I haven't seen that much open space in Pattaya recently.

[fifthcolumn]

Seems like you stupidly did not buy the land up to the road or water. I do not see many options for you other than buying the land or doing something to that will counter his actions.

If nothing else, Thailand is a hash of buildings, lack of codes and standards. Even if you had a judgement in your favor, the wall wouldn't come down. TiT.

good luck bro

[advancebooking]

700k is not a lot of money to buy extra land. You are foolish for not buying the land

[PattayaPhom]

Paint a murial and lots of fluoresent lighting

[cornishcarlos]

Should have bought that land

Nothing you can do now...

[jacko45k]

^^^^^^,

Trogers, for the life of me, I can never recall seeing a semi-d house in Thailand.

The only time I have ever seen such a thing is, when a normal house has been split into two seperate dwellings in the same house,

But even a normal detached house with windows all round would end up with windows on 3 sides when it is divided into 2 units.

Not me..... I live in 1/2 of a split house which is triangular!

Edited November 28, 2013 by jacko45k

[jacko45k]

Oh by the way this is in Pattaya if that makes any difference.

Are you sure it is Pattaya? Looks to be on the dark side of the highway as I haven't seen that much open space in Pattaya recently.

I thought it was Huay Yai, near the gold course.

[Joe Mamma]

First off, i would have bought the land parcel, as it attaches to the lake. This brings the house value up accordingly . Second, i would build a two story and have all the light and view i would need!

[harrry]

First off, i would have bought the land parcel, as it attaches to the lake. This brings the house value up accordingly . Second, i would build a two story and have all the light and view i would need!

That is just what the owner of the land is going to do if he cannot afford to build 3stories.

[sunsamourai]

Should have bought that land

Nothing you can do now...

I 'liked' that message, not because I like the content of it, but because the content of it is unfortunately true.

He bought the land and therefore can do whatever he wants (within limits of the law) with it, including building a wall. As it's been said, if you liked that view you should have taken preventive measures, now it's *way* too late.

Btw, the title of your thread is misleading : your neighbor doesn't build that wall to either bother you or extort money. I don't know where you could get these ideas from. He's fencing his land just like everyone does here. It's in the culture, be it right or wrong to do so.

[soumanioco]

Yup, as said you missed out on buying the land and now you ll just have to live with it. Nothing you can do. I know by personal experience.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[kevkev1888]

Thanks for the replies.

Seems I don't have much on my side here.

The option to buy the land is still there I am sure, in fact I am sure the whole thing is about getting me to buy the land.

As you can see there is absolutely no reason for the wall apart from inconveniencing me , it is to be a special wall that only runs the width of my plot, There are a few houses further round that have a similar design backing onto the land I don't think they are having issues.

I really don't know why this is happening now, apart from next door buying a plot behind their house? Nothing has changed, I think the house has been here about 10 years now.

Still I have never spoken to the land owner myself, told the workers to go get him yesterday, they never came back and as yet have not returned today.

Maybe letting me sweat it out?

Seems there is nothing I can do apart from try to talk reason to him, haha

I am not interested in buying the land at any price, For reasons not to go into here I think I will be exiting this situation soon enough anyway and i am sure I will not be taking anything with me, so I will not be increasing my investment here.

The house is on the Darkside yes, Soi 15 Nong Kiet Yai

As of now for sale, view negotiable, if anyone is interested.

Edited November 28, 2013 by kevkev1888

[cornishcarlos]

He is probably planning on a nice garden to extend his house sideways. Last thing he will want is a Farang on a sofa watching his missus prune her roses....

Edit as OP has replied

Edited November 28, 2013 by cornishcarlos

[dundas]

Personally, I would buy the land. Failing that, I would install large skylights in the house, if that's a practical proposition here in Thailand. But I think that would very much be the second best option.

[dighambara]

You wanted the view for free and did not want to buy the land and keep the view.

You don't have a leg to stand on.

[RickFarang]

kevkev1888, You are preparing for war with your neighbor, very rarely a good idea, but you might have misread your neighbor's intent.

It might be that you girlfriend's quoted your neighbor as saying "...so you won't have a view." might be expressing the consequence of his building the wall rather than his purpose.

Has he asked for money to not put put the wall? From my vantage point, there is a good chance that your outrage is the result of a misunderstanding. Maybe looking at it that way will make the situation less objectionable.

[White Tiger]

Buy the land, and buy the land behind the neighbour's house. Than build a wall behind the neighbour's house.

Alternatively go outside every night and quietly dismantle the wall. If your neighbour asks about it say you don't know who is doing it. Say that you really liked the wall, that you miss it, and you would really like to thank him for building it.

Seriously, if you don't want to exercise your option to buy the land (and I can't see how that option's still available if your neighbour has already bought it and started to build on the land) there isn't much you can do. You'll just have to learn to live with the wall blocking your view and your natural light.

[bgrvian]

Had a similar problem. Neighbour sold his land next to us and buyer (Thai lady financed by absentee geriatric falang, to rub salt in the wound) infilled using our 2 meter wall as the retaining wall for the (wholly unnecessary) 1.5 meter landfill. Then she built her house and shop on top of that, towering over our garden (but legally correctly 2 meters from the boundary).

My wife went ape and called in the police and the pooyai-ban. Not a thing could be done except if the wall collapses they have to pay to rebuild and reinforce it. We built another meter of wall on top to cut down the offensiveness of the overlook, a move which has not been challenged.

I was more sanguine tthann my wife whose blood still boils. This is Thailand. Have to accept that the lack of regulation has its disadvantages as well as advantages. I'm gonna try to buy the land on the other side to prevent the same thing happening there.

BTW, even in a highly regulated property market like the UK I am sure there are no regulations that prevent someone with an otherwise legal development taking away your view (though there are regs preventing people blocking natural light, as tightly defined, typically used to prevent people from building extensions on boundaries that are higher than one storey).

Just wait for next rain season, let the ground saturate, then during the next heavy rain arrange for your wall to be completely removed. They will have to quickly remove some fill on their side and build their own wall, or their house may just collapse over night.