Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Washington

Re: view obstruction

This depends on a host of factors that I can't responsibly evaluate in this forum.

You can check with the Department of Land Use where you are (Renton? or King County?) to review what permits he filed for; if there are no permits, you can tell the County what is going on in his backyard and ask them to abate it. If there are permits, did he accurately describe the project? If not, object.

There is an administrative process you go through with the City/County before going to Court on a matter such as this.

Chances are your HOA has no jurisdiction; generally they are responsible for what is visible from the street, and not a lot else.

You are correct that you probably don't have a view easement over his property, but . . . approached properly, you may be able to get this scaled down if it is truly overreaching. The City/County will have codes about decks. You can probably get to the codes on line.

Or, call Jay Rockey in Bellevue, he's the guy for real property issues in King County.

Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell