Every now and then, says Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson Property Group, he is approached by a home owner who has had a large section of the view from their home reduced or obliterated by a neighbour deciding either to extend their home or, if the plot has previously been undeveloped, building so large and imposing a complex that again it destroys others’ views.
Typically, said Rawson, a single storey home owner will suddenly find that the building next to him is now about to become a double or triple storey – and this is especially unfortunate if the new, larger building is on the northern side and therefore blocks out the sunshine as well as the view.
Regrettably, said Rawson, in nine cases out of ten there is nothing the severely disadvantaged home owner can do because in all homes in that street or precinct, although initially perhaps small and appropriately sized for their plots, on investigation will be found to have had the right to extend upwards or sideways from the time the plans were first approved.
“The moral of the story, therefore, is to check the zoning rules that apply to your street before you buy – and if the loss of a view will be distressing to you, consider buying elsewhere or at the very least be aware of the risk you are taking.”
Equally frustrating to home owners, said Rawson, can be the situation where a buyer signs for a plot and plan deal, usually in a new multiunit sectional title development, without realizing that future development will impede their view. Quoting the Rawson Property Group’s MD, Tony Clarke, on this subject, Rawson said, “Tony has made it clear to all those Rawson Property Group agents involved in any way with selling new developments that the agent must explain in detail where other buildings on or next to the site could be erected – no buyer should ever be allowed to get a nasty shock a few months or years later.”
Agents themselves, said Rawson, sometimes are not looking into this matter with sufficient care and are therefore to blame.
In a small minority of cases, added Rawson, perverse or ignorant owners have built above or beyond the specified limits for their erf – and in the old days they very often ‘got away with it’. More recently, he said, the courts, when appealed to on this matter, have cracked down on this type of illegal building and in some cases have actually ruled that the sections above or beyond the specified limit has to be demolished.
“As the quality of the view can make or break a home,” said Rawson, “it is very important that this matter should never be fudged and there should be clarity on this issue right from the start.”
