any suggestions please for neighbour causing hassles with me and council

any suggestions please for neighbour causing hassles with me and council

block of flats is over 50 years old and never had any trouble before.

a neighbour at the end of an adjoining lane, we can actually only see their garage at the end of this lane, complain about noise and all sorts of things and seem to have called council on us who now are telling us to do things that we have never been told before or had a trouble with in 50 years

eg telling us to remove a small storage under the stairs which is fully enclosed and kept locked and just has maintenance items eg paint. They suddenly say that someone could get locked inside even though the doorway to it is small and always kept locked.

telling us to make the rail on the first floor balcony higher by 7 days time.

i dont know if it is linked to that or to a family matter of a tenant having trouble with an ex
but we have noticed a yellow car loitering around in front of the flats today many times with the engine on and when we went out and stared at it we heard them saying on the phone or to people next to them and in the back of the car
i cant now i've got to go
and there was red flashing lights possibly photos being taken from person in the back of the car as they drove off.

if its to do with the personal family matter involving car of a child, what could they want ?
evidence against that family
kidnap child
scoping place to kidnap child
wanting to steal laptop to find out evidence
without being ridiculous what could all the reasons be why a car with a few people inside would be loitering outside if we assume its about the family with a current child custody issue
and what could be the red plashing lights if it wasnt taking photos.

we can put cameras around the flats i guess urgently. i'm unsure how all the tenants would think about that.. maybe we hve to say we have seen a car loitering around.

 

I'm a bit confused...
Neighbour - are they in a house separate from flat?
What's storage below stairs and balcony got to do with child custody?

 

Hi. I can't see how the two matters are linked. But could you ring the police with the number plate of the yellow car?

 

Yellow cars are in bad taste and a crime against society. The car owner should be locked up.

 

exactly i was hoping someone else could explain this to me as i dont know the answer to this
i dont know how this neighbour who lives away from the flat maybe 15 metres away down a laneway that passes by the flats, and we can only see his garage, i dont know how he can complain to the council and after 50 years and suddenly after no issues for 50 yers we are told that safe locked storage under the stairs must be removed and that the railing must be made 10 cm higher and the rails closer together to comply with new rules and that we only have a week to do this.

i also dont know if the yellow car seen loitering around meant anything to us re the neighbour or to a tenant re their custody issue , or wht they were doing there and if they were taking photos . i dont know if i should do anything about it. Just in case i asked a friend living in a block of flats opposite to keep a look out and get their number plate, If it becomes a worry i can put up security cameras.

 

they say a lot about a personality ....

 

You are mixing up several quite separate issues.

1. The neighbour. You seem unsure whether they called the council or not. Have you tried talking to them to see if there is an issue and what is? Is a tenant of the flats causing trouble for them?

2. The council. No matter how or why, it appears they are now involved and have issued you with orders to rectify perceived building defects. Probably best to comply, or lodge an objection to the orders if you feel you have grounds to do so. Council building requirements change over the years, so the fact things have been ok for 50 years does not mean they are ok today.

3. The yellow car. Get the registration number and report it to the police if you feel it is up to no good.
Marg

(I once had a yellow car - it was a Kingswood and no, I didn't polish the dipstick!!)

 

"SPOTTO"

 

Hi Justine

What did the Council notice say, exactly?

 

I assume it is the neighbour making a complaint that has triggered an inspection of the whole building by the council. Seems that rather than the council just attending to the noise complaint they have taken it on themselves to do a total building inspection.

The height of the balustrading should be a non issue as that was what it was approved at back 50 years ago. As such it still complies as approved.

The store room under the stairs may be an issue as they could classify it as unapproved modification and being part of the staircase possibly a fire hazard.

Some years ago we had a fire inspection done on a block of unit and as part of the inspection they suddenly wanted an engineers report on the cantilevered balconies. I told them no way as there was absolutely no visible reason the request a report. They meekly accepted that particularly after I walked them around the building and showed them what was done re the fire inspection and other maintenance carried out on the building. At the end they were very impressed with the general level of repair of the whole block compared to other strata blocks in the area.

 

I can't work out what is going on, but if you have orders from the council, you better not ignore it, talk to them if clarification is needed.

 

wylie and handyandythank you

yes council laws have changed for the railings
they are not low
they are just 10 cm lower than the new requirements. they are not low at all and in 50 years have not been an issue
apparently they also are not close together enough either

no planning approval is being sought
nothing is being done to the building

as you say the council instead of just dealing with noise must of instead decided to do an entire building inspection

so is it true that
The height of the balustrading should be a non issue as that was what it was approved at back 50 years ago. As such it still complies as approved.


(the yellow car issue i think can be ignored i dont beleive it was anything to worry about after all . just someone making phonecalls stopped in front for a long time or repetitively which looke like they were loitering. the lights that flashed from the back i didnt see but maybe it was the suns reflection or from stop lights. i think they live nearby and it just looked like they were loitering.)

 

so is there any way to tell the council that storage under the stairs isnt a fire hazard and isnt a danger and noone can get locked into it ?

they apparently have to fix the distance between the railing and the height of it within a week. it is not an issue it is not dangerous its never been an issue in over 50 years and theres no approvals being sought to need to bring everything up to recent code
waht do you suggest we do please

 

I very much doubt that the balustrading is a non-issue. There have been a lot of child falls off balconies and out of windows resulting in new laws requiring window fastenings and balcony safety.
I have no idea why you only have one week to comply. I can only imagine that you've been given plenty of notice and haven't taken heed. Get with the times. Get with the program. 50 years ago many things were very different and parents didn't live in flats with kids and people were a lot shorter!
Not sure when hanyandy managed to convince his inspector but he did say 'Some years ago'. I doubt anyone could do it now, especially not you.

 

Just wanted to say I am a yellow car driver, she is commonly referred to as "the custard tornado"
Otherwise known as Hyundai Getz

 

In general, apart from pool fences, this sort of thing is not retrospective.

Justine can you please indicate under what code or clause the council is requiring you to change the balcony? They will have mentioned it in their letter to you.

 

Superglue their garage shut.