A HOMEOWNER has hit out at their neighbours after they reportedly built a “huge” luxury shed at the bottom of their garden and moved in.
The family have taken up residence in the shed while incredibly renting out their own home.
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The hut in the garden backs up onto the complainant’s fence – leaving the person furious.
The unnamed homeowner were told by the neighbours that they were only using the shed as a gym and as storage before they moved in.
Now the person could get the council involved to get the shed torn down.
They told the Mail: “My neighbours have built a huge shed at the bottom of their garden, next to my fence.
“It feels nearly as big as the house itself and while originally they said it was for storage and a gym, they have moved in and are now renting out their main house.
“Is there anything I can do to stop this?”
Chartered town planner Martin Gaine said the arrangement was “unacceptable” if the family had not first sought planning permission from the council.
He said: “While you might admire their entrepreneurial zeal, it is a sad reflection of the state of our dysfunctional housing market that it makes financial sense for a family to move into an oversized garden shed and rent out their main house.
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“These ‘beds in sheds’ are far more common than you might think, and the Government is determined to close them down, awarding extra funding to councils in areas where the problem is particularly acute.
“From a planning point of view, the development is straightforwardly unacceptable.
“Householder permitted development rights (PDR) allow you to cover up to half of your garden with outbuildings without the need for planning permission, but under the strict proviso that they cannot be built as living accommodation, and can certainly not be used as separate, self-contained family houses.”
Mr Gaine adds that the local council are likely to take a keen interest in the situation.
He said: “You should contact your local council’s planning enforcement team. They will investigate the complaint and, if appropriate, require your neighbours to move out of the outbuilding and to demolish it.
“Planning enforcement complaints are anonymous, so your neighbour will not be told that it has come from you.”
The case reflects a similar dispute from last month as an owner of a luxury cabin in Teesside faced down neighbours who wanted it torn down.
David Carr, 49, told the Sun that his luxury shed, that contains a hot tub and a pool table, was built over lockdown and he had no intention of tearing it down.
