How to correctly arrange buildings on a site according to regulatory documents

Recommendation points

• General location rules
• How not to go beyond the red lines
• Responsibility for improper planning of buildings
• How to exceed legal limits without breaking the law
• Answers to common questions

The correct location of buildings on the site seems like a minor trifle. But violation of existing norms can greatly complicate the life of the site owner. Consider the general rules for the location of buildings, the possible consequences of their violations and options for resolving the situation.

General location rules

First of all, we will figure out what standards should be followed when placing buildings on the site. Owners need to build on the intended purpose of the land. If the documents say “low-rise housing construction”, you should be guided by the provisions of SP 30-102-99 “Planning and development of low-rise housing areas.” If it is a “garden non-profit partnership”, then it is worth studying SNiP 30-02-97 “Planning and development of territories of gardening associations of citizens, buildings and structures.” If the land was taken for individual housing construction, the features of the location of buildings on the site are also regulated by SP 30-102-99.

Moreover, in all cases, buildings should not be used for commercial purposes. For example, if the shed located on the site will be used as a production workshop, then, according to the legislation, storm drains, sewers, security barriers should be erected around it. And failure to comply with these requirements will have serious consequences..

The above acts contain a wide variety of requirements..

Distance between buildings on the site and a residential building:

• to the bath: 5–8 m;
• to outbuildings: 15 m;
• to the well: 8–10 m;
• to toilets located outside: 15 m.

Distance to the neighboring area:

• to tree trunks: up to tall – at least 4 meters, medium-sized – at least 2 meters, low – at least 1 meter;
• to sheds where livestock and poultry are kept – at least 4 meters;
• to baths and garages – at least 1 meter;
• to one or two-family house – not less than three meters.

By the device of the fence: it should be mesh or lattice. A blank fence is allowed only in those places where it borders on the street, and not on neighboring areas.

And this is only a small part of the currently existing norms.!

How not to go beyond the red lines

The red lines are the boundaries between the areas where the construction of private buildings is allowed and the public areas where this cannot be done..

To understand where they are held, it is necessary to contact the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of the corresponding settlement with a request to provide the information contained in the information system for ensuring urban planning activities. This service is paid, the fee for providing information, for example, in Moscow is 1000 rubles.

It often happens that buildings on the site were erected even before the red lines were determined in the village. In this case, the owner of the site cannot be accused of violating the law in any way and it is unnecessary to carry out any actions to move buildings. This is confirmed by the relevant judicial practice, as well as the provisions of the Instruction “On the procedure for designing and establishing red lines”.

Responsibility for improper planning of buildings

When familiarizing with all these rules and regulations, many readers will probably have a logical question, why should they be followed at all and what will happen if you arrange the buildings on the site at your discretion.

First of all, so that the regulatory authorities have no reason to impose an administrative fine for violation of building, fire and sanitary standards during construction. In the worst case, the authorities can sue the owner of the house who has violated these rules, which has the right to make a decision to demolish buildings that do not comply with the law..

If improperly located buildings in any way violate the rights of neighbors, they also have every right to file a lawsuit in court demanding to demolish these objects. In some cases, neighbors may limit themselves to claiming compensation for the damage caused. Tens of thousands of such cases are registered in Russia every year.

Another argument in favor of compliance with all established norms for the location of buildings – there will be no problems with the subsequent sale or any other option for the transfer of ownership of these objects.

How to exceed legal limits without breaking the law

Imagine a situation: the owner of the site, who did not know about the existing standards for the location of buildings, built his house close to the neighbor’s fence. In this case, his neighbors have the right to sue him. The most optimal would be to try to negotiate amicably with the neighbors. If they give a written, notarized consent to the location of the house in this way, in the future there is no need to fear any claims and lawsuits on their part. After all, this document will become a guaranteed proof for the court that the neighbors have agreed that an incorrectly located building does not infringe on their rights.

In some cases, the parties also agree on the payment of material compensation to the injured party for the inconvenience caused, which is additionally recorded in a notarial document..

If relations with neighbors are tense and they intend to go to court, you can see what the technical standards were at the time of construction of the controversial buildings. According to Article 4 of the Federal Law No. 123, if they were less stringent than those that are currently in force, and also since that time there has been no major repair or reconstruction of the building, it is necessary to be guided by the old norms.

Even if it was not possible to find any grounds to justify the violation of existing SNIPs and SP, one should not get upset ahead of time. The neighbors still need to prove that they are causing any significant damage. Exceeding the required height of the fence by a few centimeters will definitely not be the basis for winning the case.

Often there are situations when it is not neighbors who find fault with the location of buildings, but members of the SNT board, which includes the owner of the site. They can demand the payment of a fine or bringing the site into a form that meets the current technical regulations. Before fulfilling such requirements, you should familiarize yourself with the SNT charter. If it does not provide for the imposition of a fine for such violations, you do not need to pay anything. If there is a corresponding clause in the charter, the members of the board or the chairman of SNT in the presence of representatives of state bodies should draw up an act in which the fact of violation should be recorded, and SNIPs or joint ventures that were violated should also be indicated.

Many participants in the “neighboring wars” hope that all claims against them will be removed after the statute of limitations comes (according to the general rules of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, it is 3 years). Here they will be disappointed: according to Article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the limitation period does not apply to the owner’s claims related to the violation of his rights, and a fence that obscures the light in a neighbor’s house may become the basis for a claim both ten and twenty years after its construction.

Answers to common questions

Question:I want to make the house oriented to the cardinal points, and for this it is necessary to conduct construction along the diagonal of the plot. Will this violate existing SNIPs and SP?

Answer:There are no prohibitions on this account in the existing technical standards. The main thing is that the size of the site allows you to observe all the necessary indents: from the fence, trees and other buildings.

Question:When reading the standards for the location of buildings, it remains unclear from what exactly the permissible distance is counted: from the porch, roof, walls or something else?

Answer:It depends on the intended purpose of the land plot, and, accordingly, the requirements of a specific SNiP or joint venture that regulates the location of buildings on it. For example, if the intended purpose is low-rise construction, then SP 30-102-99 should be followed, which says that the indents to the walls of a neighboring house and outbuildings are counted from the windows of a residential building.

Question:I want to build a guest house on the site. What distance to the neighboring land must be observed in this case?

Answer:There is no concept of a guest house in Russian legislation. If it is used for living, it is considered residential. Accordingly, the indent from the neighbor’s fence should be 3 meters.

Question:How to correctly record the consent of neighbors to exceed the permissible margins to their site?

Answer:There are no requirements in this regard in the legislation. Therefore, it is compiled in any form.