Brits are increasingly clashing with their neighbours over garden sheds, as homeowners convert outbuildings into gyms, offices and makeshift extensions. Experts say the number of people building luxury sheds has “probably gone up tenfold” since Covid, but the structures are causing friction with neighbours who describe them as “intrusive” and claim they knock thousands off property values.
Neighbour dispute over shed size and position
One homeowner, Linda, who did not give her last name, said her neighbours have fallen out with her after she built a shed in her garden to work in. While she enjoys the countryside views and quiet working space, her neighbours object to its size and position.
At 7.25 metres by 2.74 metres, they say it is at least a metre too tall and too close to their house to have been built without planning permission. They claim they can see it from every window, have “lost all sense of privacy, which had affected their mental wellbeing,” and that an estate agent told them it had negatively affected their home's value.
Retrospective permission granted
Linda says it was an “honest mistake” and she was given the wrong guidance from her builders, adding: “I was mortified. I would never have done it intentionally.” She has been granted retrospective planning permission on the condition she erects a privacy screen and other planting. “I wish we had known to go about it the right way; it would have saved us money and a heck of a lot of effort and time,” she said.
Experts note post-pandemic boom in disputes
Simon Rix, a senior planning consultant, said the number of clients wanting to build luxury sheds has “probably gone up tenfold” since Covid, with many using them as gyms, office spaces and granny flats. Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour was ordered to move a shed in his garden in Hampstead, north London, last year after neighbours described it as “intrusive” and “overbearing”.
Rix added: “Quite a lot of people are coming to me because they want to move into it and let their children live in the main house. Neighbours get really grumpy, because they can be quite tall and imposing. Neighbours frequently assume that if something looks large, blocks a view or sits right on the fence line, it must be illegal. Homeowners often wrongly assume: ‘It’s my garden, I can do what I want.’ This gap in understanding, combined with the post-pandemic boom, is creating a perfect storm for neighbourhood disputes.”
