Property matters

If you’ve spent time and a small fortune on getting your property just right, hearing about a proposed ‘eye-sore’ next door is not great news for your property value or your view. The problem is, taking a dispute further can result in huge legal bills and cause you no end of stress. If you have bought Direct Line’s Family Legal Protection with your Home Insurance policy, (this cover is provided as standard with Direct Line Home Insurance Plus), our Legal Advice Line can advise you of your rights and if you have a good case we’ll provide up to £100,000 of costs in pursuing a claim…

Unwelcome developments

You’re quite happy in your home, your property value is steadily rising and then what happens… the council decides to build an ugly supermarket right across the road. Or perhaps you feel that the extension which your neighbour wants to build devalues your property or has caused a boundary dispute. If either situation were to proceed it could result in the value of your property depreciating and, by default, raise your insurance premium. So what can you do?

Planning permission is key

In both cases, the relevant planning permission must be approved before any work goes ahead. An application for permission will usually be notified on site, in a newspaper, through the distribution of leaflets or at a local parish meeting. If you want to investigate further, then you need to contact your Local Council planning department. There, you can inspect the proposal, forms, plans and drawings, go over any technical details, review the Local Plan policy and, if you’re really serious, the planning history of the property.

The next step is to note down your concerns and send them to the Council Planning Department within 21 days of the application. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Planning Aid at the Royal Town Planning Institute and the government’s Planning Portal can all offer more in-depth advice. Customers of Direct Line’s Family Legal Protection policy will be able to phone our 24 hour legal advice line where legal experts are ready to help you as often as you need, whether or not it results in a claim.

Taking things further

It’s all very well fighting for your rights but if the dispute is with a neighbour, things can get nasty. Some boundary disputes, fought over a few centimetres, have resulted in thousands of pounds’ worth of legal fees, often because both parties truly believe they are right or one refuses to admit they are wrong.

If you have bought Direct Line Family Legal Protection our 24 hour Legal Advice Line will tell you if you have a good legal case and if you do the policy will pay up to £100,000 of costs for you to pursue the claim.

Find out more about how you can enhance your home insurance with Direct Line Family Legal Protection