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Getting the Council to take action - advice please
#1
About 7 months ago, we complained to the Council about a neighbour building a shed right next to the shared boundary fence, not 2 metres away as per Council regulations.  A Council guy spoke to the neighbours and they agreed to move the shed but it's been 7 months and it's still there. 

We know it's been winter plus Covid plus building supply issues (although he only has to move the shed and reuse the materials) so we waited a few months before asking the Council guy what gives. Council guy says neighbours are cooperating (ie they are saying they will do something but not doing it) so he's not willing to give them a deadline.  In the meantime, the neighbours have worked on their landscaping.

We plan to follow up every six weeks or so but wonder when it's better to either a) use the Council's formal complaint process or b) have a lawyer write to the Council.  And when should we take these other steps? Advice please?
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#2
(08-09-2022, 10:11 PM)Underwhelmed Wrote: About 7 months ago, we complained to the Council about a neighbour building a shed right next to the shared boundary fence, not 2 metres away as per Council regulations.  A Council guy spoke to the neighbours and they agreed to move the shed but it's been 7 months and it's still there. 

We know it's been winter plus Covid plus building supply issues (although he only has to move the shed and reuse the materials) so we waited a few months before asking the Council guy what gives. Council guy says neighbours are cooperating (ie they are saying they will do something but not doing it) so he's not willing to give them a deadline.  In the meantime, the neighbours have worked on their landscaping.

We plan to follow up every six weeks or so but wonder when it's better to either a) use the Council's formal complaint process or b) have a lawyer write to the Council.  And when should we take these other steps? Advice please?

Not sure which council you have, but up here (North Shore Auckland), all our neighbours have sheds right on the boundaries and always have! Not houses yet, but that's coming soon! Why are you worried about it? I don't see it as a problem - not like trees that cause problems with big roots and overhanging branches. And don't get me started about the pyromaniac who lived next door in our last house, who had a big bonfire right outside our kitchen window. We even had the fire brigade arrive one Sunday as someone up the road had thought our house was on fire (something we feared every time we went out or away for a holiday)! Even after telling the firemen it was next door's bonfire right on the boundary, it didn't stop. I had hoped they would be told not to do it any more, but No.
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#3
Not sure which council you have, but up here (North Shore Auckland), all our neighbours have sheds right on the boundaries and always have! Not houses yet, but that's coming soon! Why are you worried about it? I don't see it as a problem - not like trees that cause problems with big roots and overhanging branches. And don't get me started about the pyromaniac who lived next door in our last house, who had a big bonfire right outside our kitchen window. We even had the fire brigade arrive one Sunday as someone up the road had thought our house was on fire (something we feared every time we went out or away for a holiday)! Even after telling the firemen it was next door's bonfire right on the boundary, it didn't stop. I had hoped they would be told not to do it any more, but No.
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It's a huge shed with no guttering, ATTACHED to a metal fence in an area prone to waterlogging and sinkholes. It's against Council regulations. The Council guy agrees it's against Council regulations and has told them it has to be moved. It may not be a problem for you but I didn't ask for your opinion about that or for the amusing story about the pyromaniac but for advice on how to proceed with the Council.
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#4
Lawyer's letter?
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#5
The best course of action in these situations is to document everything ~ preferably in writing and photographs, then make a formal complaint to the Ombudsman's office. That is why they exist ~ to deal with complaints about National and Local government bodies.
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#6
(10-10-2022, 04:42 PM)alpha111 Wrote: The best course of action in these situations is to document everything ~ preferably in writing and photographs, then make a formal complaint to the Ombudsman's office. That is why they exist ~ to deal with complaints about National and Local government bodies.

It seems a bit minor for the Ombudsman.  What about the Council’s own complaints process? Is it best to use the Council process before getting a lawyer involved? It's ridiculous that the Council rep agrees with us but won't do anything to push the neighbour along.
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