Neighbour wants to replace MY fence, I don’t want them to!

I bought a dilapidated terrace and also wanted uniform 6 feet fence around it for privacy and my pets. Knew I'd have no joy with one side as rented and very obvious that they didn't spend any money so on that side I did put it in front of the old fence. They then removed their fence and thus stole a foot of my garden! Now that's cheeky, not offering to fund a new fence for op!

They've done everything right! They want 6ft and smart all round. They might have kids/dogs to keep in or just want privacy. They offered to pay for your boundary and then when you declined theyre gojng to lose some garden to get it how they want.

You have no right to a view over their garden

Sounds awful. As pretty much everyone on the thread has said.

I had the this situation except the reverse. They didn't want to go halves (their fence was rotted and needed replacing it was sqaying dangerously in the wind) I was doing my garden up and offered to go half because they had to replace it anyway. They said no the fence was fine and had no intention of changing it. Okay fine.

I put my one up inside the boundary. Had concrete posts too, no issues installing and it didn't damage the neighbours fence in any way. There was a small gap. Mine ended up being 6ft and their was 5ft and yes it won't look great from their side. So much so after telling me they couldn't afford to go halves (total bs) they tore down their fence down less rhan one yr later and tried to say my fence was the actual boundary. They got a nasty shock when my lawyer sent them a letter reminding them of the legal rights around boundaries. Now they will spend more money either installing a new fence on the boundary to mark it or have a problem selling as the boundary is no longer marked. They will most likley have to get a surveyor out to declare it where the boundary is now.

Very shortsighted of them.

If they had agreed (it was only £400) they could of painted their side and so on. But since they caused alot of stress including involving other neighbours who threatened me I have refused them any rights to do anything to the fence.

So i woukd personally agree, it's free for u but get something in writing about who is responsible for it and if u can paint or, attach plants to it and so on.

You will still end up with a 6 foot fence even if on the other side of yours, so for uniformity and a tidy view from your side I would accept their offer, as fencing and installation costs are quite pricey, could actually be doing you a favour in the long run.

Take the free 6ft fence! I had no idea there were so many places with low fences where people are exposed to their neighbours and chat to them when out in the garden, sounds absolutely horrendous. I get on fine with my next door neighbours, we've lived next door for nearly 30 years but there's no way I'd want to be chatting or seeing them every time I set foot out the back. Fine to say hello at the front in passing, but my back garden is my private sanctuary. Good fences make good neighbours as they say.

Community feel 🤣🤣🤣 fuck, I can see exactly why they want a 6ft fence. Just let them do it- your property will look bloody stupid with two fences next to each other.

They are within there rights to do as they wish to their property , there is some restriction due to road traffic regulations however this doesn’t seem to apply in your case.

They are doing what benefits them as they should.

https://www.prettys.co.uk/newsletters/issues-consider-if-you-are-replacing-your-front-garden-fence-wall-or-gates#:~:text=Fences%2C%20walls%20or%20gates%20that,with%20or%20without%20a%20vehicle.

I'd be happy for them to cough up for a 6 ft fence. So long as they didn't expect me to contribute and it was a nice one. 😁

I wouldn't want anything less than a 6ft fence as I like privacy. Do you not want a private garden?

Exactly. We have open plan front gardens, and that enables everyone to be very chatty and friendly when they’re on the ‘public’ side of their property, but the 6’ fences at the back means we can all enjoy our own private gardens in peace. They are an extension of our homes, so it’s natural to think of them as private space. I don’t want someone trying to talk to me over the fence when I’m grabbing 5 precious minutes of my break to hang out some washing, or enjoying my early summer morning cup of tea outside in my pyjamas.

Yes, I know it will be within their own boundary which was why I opened my comment saying they could do this. However, if it’s close to the OP’s fence, the posts may cause damage to the existing fence and its structure when it’s installed. We lost a huge number of flower beds when we installed some fencing a few years ago because of concrete posts. Furthermore, if the fences are close together, there is the likelihood of leaves being trapped in the gap that cause rotting.

Is community feel code for you want to do your nosey?

This! Ewwww to "community feel gardens" 🤮🤮 what that means in practice is "nosy parker neighbours with no boundaries"

It is something to be wary of but perhaps a point of negotiation. Agree to the fence but on the proviso that you can add wires and grow plants up it. Most reasonable people would agree to this.

I think you are going to have to agree to this, sorry. It might very well make your property more saleable as most people want privacy these days.
We were a bit put out when our new neighbours replaced the fence on their boundary with one with those enormous concrete posts. But it has weathered (and we let our shrubs grow big and wide) and we don't even notice anymore. Whereas if you had a half meter demilitarised zone between the fences, it will definitely be noticeable forever and ever.
As pp says, the issue will be upkeep - e.g. if it comes down in a storm, legally the neighbour or any subsequent neighbour in that property might point to the little Ts on the deeds and say it's your responsibility to fix.

I mean they were not wrong. You can’t grow stuff up or attach to someone else’s fence without permission and if the ball broke the fence you would have damaged their property. If they paid for the fence they did own it.

I think you're shooting yourself in the foot. Just accept their original offer and be grateful. Why would you want a 4ft fence unless you want to be nosey?

You don't need a community feel in your garden, that's what the front is for. The back is for privacy.

Op this post is the exact same story that happened to us a few years back and it didn't end well. We said yes then they put this awful plastic type fence up that looked nothing like our other fences and then had some sort of weird obsession that the fence was their property. It turned them a bit obsessive saying we couldn't plant stuff up it, let the kids kick the football onto it etc. with hindsight I wished I'd said no if you want a matching fence you add a new one I front of mine, I'm happy with mine as they are and I suggest you say the same. They're new fences might match but yours won't any longer and fence wars are so common between neighbours 😬

Another thought: one thing I would be wary of is growing plants. Currently you’ve got your own fence, which means you can put in wires and vine eyes and train things up it. If you took it down and accepted their new fence, you wouldn’t be allowed to cover it from your side, or paint it.

So I’d let them do their fence on their land, and keep your own: that way you can grow what you like up it – add trellis to the height of your fence and train a plant over it and you won’t even see their weirdly placed fence! And you’ve lost your community feel that side anyway, so it’s no further loss to increase your fence with some trellis and greenery. Then gossip over the other side about the new lot.

This is not relevant. They are within their rights to put up at 6ft fence. If it were me I would just accept the new fence.

The wise choice would be to agree they can put up the 6 foot one where the 4 foot one is as you get more privacy and there aren't 2 fences and the boundary is clear. The legal issue of who is responsible for upkeep of new fence should be looked at too - first start my looking at the title plan with your house deeds - costs £3 to buy on line. It probably does not have T markings to show who is responsible for the fence repair but do check. Then perhaps agree with the neighbour they will deal with upkeep of the one they put up rather than you. Some people even have that drawn up by a solicitor and registered with the title but most would not bother.
I was delighted my neighbour put up a fence. It was a bit strange he placed it on his land and not where the existing metal posts and bits of string marked the boundary as he lost a bit of land but that was fine by me and I kept the metal in there to show the boundary (and all of that is behind trees anyway so none of it is seen in our case.

If they are going to put up a 6ft fence anyway, you may as well accept the offer that they will pay for it. It would have other advantages too if it goes where your current fence is - assuming your fence is the actual boundary, it would avoid likely boundary line disputes between owners in future. Also, it is the convention that the person putting up a fence puts the more attractive side towards the neighbour, at least on one side of the garden, so you could ask them to do that.

I hated when I lived in a property with low fences. I felt I couldn't go outside without being looked at, or worse, talked to! Really happy that where I'm now, even though the gardens are small, everyone has a 2m fence. I can still hear people, but have privacy.
Your neighbours have done their best, they aren't asking you to pay, so there's nothing you can do.