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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think my neighbour is being a CF? Garden fence related.

116 replies

MavisTheMonkey · 16/07/2025 20:25

Our neighbours to the right are the last house in the road on a corner so we are their only neighbours. They have a wall between them and the pavement of the road around the corner and we have a fence in between our gardens.
For 11 years of the 12 years we have been here a couple lived there who had been there for 40+ years. They told us that they were responsible for both the wall to the road (on the right hand side of their garden) and the fence between us (to the left hand side of their house. They always maintained the fence and replaced a number of fence panels over the years. They moved out around a year ago and a new couple moved in.

Yesterday I bumped into the new neighbour and he said “oh I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the fence. I called land registry and they think it is shared. I’ve arranged for someone to come round on Thursday so can you keep your dog inside”

When he caught me I was super stressed and in the middle of something so he said he would catch me later and I didn’t ask questions or make any comments. Later that evening I checked to see if I have a copy of my title deeds as I know these sometimes show who is responsible for each boundary but I can’t find my copies and the originals are with the mortgage company. I also looked on land registry and can’t see how they would have been able to tell him it is a shared responsibility for that boundary.

He has just knocked on my front door and said that people coming tomorrow are replacing the entire fence. Then he showed me pictures of what the new fence will look like and a quote for £2300.

At this point I said “are you thinking I should pay for some of this?” And he said “Well what do you think the split should be?”

I pointed out that I don’t believe it is a shared fence and if it is it should be a shared decision on any work, not something he presents to me the evening before the work starts. I told him to go and see if he had a copy of the title deeds and then we will take it from there but again said if he believes it is a shared boundary it was not up to him to make the decision to replace the fence.

I am now thinking even if he can prove it is a shared responsibility for the fence I’m not going to pay any of the costs as he should have discussed it with me beforehand. AIBU to take this stand or if it is proven to be a shared responsibility then should I contribute towards the cost? I have the money but that’s not the issue in my mind, however I don’t want a bad relationship with our neighbours.

OP posts:
whynotwhatknot · 17/07/2025 22:28

you dont even have to have a fence unless its stupulated as part of ownership

tell him to pay for it himself

Sadworld23 · 17/07/2025 22:24

Hrft but my answer would be

'Sorry I don't have access to that sort of money right now. Let's talk about it next week when I'm less busy'

Toodles89 · 17/07/2025 22:04

MavisTheMonkey · 16/07/2025 20:53

My fear is that there will be no definitive answer re who is responsible.

If he had come to me and had a reasonable chat I would have agreed to pay half the costs exactly as
you have done with your neighbour. I well may end up deciding to do that for the sake of maintaining a decent relationship but I am so pissed off at him presenting it to me as a done deal that I’m just expected to stump up for!!

Show quote history

Do the deeds say there must be a fence? Or give any specifications?

Suggest chicken wire and wood posts.

Fair chance there's no docs saying who owns it so it'll be deemed shared.

You sound reasonable and have a dog who presumably needs to be kept safe so I'd come to an agreement.

Shesellsseashellsnotinmystreet · 17/07/2025 21:58

Why would you agree with a ndn about how your hard earned cash is spent if you weren't consulted /liable?

QuickFawn · 17/07/2025 21:46

We have a shared fence
we we wanted to replace it, spoke to our neighbour. They didn’t want to pay towards it (understandable we were having work done and wanted all fences to match but they were functional as they were) so we just confirmed suitable dates & we paid in full

you’re not obliged to pay half just because it’s a shared fence

godmum56 · 17/07/2025 21:43

Rightsraptor · 17/07/2025 21:29

He called the Land Registry?

No, he did not. He's lying.

This. I have been dealing with LR recently and its just sbout impossible to "just call them" and they don't give individual opinions by phone. Even the general stuff I was dealing with was done by email and it took around 48 hours to get an email reply to each of my questions and they were only simple ones about which form to use and how to send them information. Don't give him a penny.

Blushingm · 17/07/2025 21:38

K2054 · 17/07/2025 19:09

It really does show you, here's where to look. In section A point 1 tells you that the title plan shows the boundary shown by a red line. Point 2 then tells you who the original builders were and the housing company. However there is a second paragraph to this point which will say something along the lines of:

"It is hereby declared that the fence on the northerly side of the
property belongs to the Purchasers and the fences on the southerly and
easterly sides belong to the adjoining owners and shall be repaired and
maintained accordingly."

Obviously yours might say a different side, but this gives you the detail. You are only responsible for the fence it says belongs to the purchasers. If you then look at your copy of the Title Plan there will be an arrow depicting north so you are able to work out which side of the highlighted boundary you are responsible for.

Good luck with it. It sounds to me like they are trying to pull one over on you or they would have been able to produce these documents themselves as they said they had taken the information from them. Sometimes though people just read them incorrectly, but the underhanded way they have gone about it seems suspicious to me.

Show quote history

That’s only on newer houses I think.

mine says absolutely nothing like this - builders aren’t even mentioned

Rightsraptor · 17/07/2025 21:32

He should have the 'bad side', not you. The fence posts should be on his side too. As it's a way of deciding ownership it could cause confusion in years to come if the posts are on your side.

Rightsraptor · 17/07/2025 21:29

He called the Land Registry?

No, he did not. He's lying.

Namechangetheyarewatching · 17/07/2025 21:16

Are you in touch with the old neighbours would they give you a letter stating which boundaries they looked after?

dogcatkitten · 17/07/2025 21:06

Do you look after the fence on the other side? Usually each house looks after one fence, if from you down everyone takes the fence away from the one you are talking about then that is the consensus. The fact he is at the end and also has a wall is his problem. There is nothing on our deeds, but in our case everyone takes the right hand fence. Also if the previous people accepted responsibility for that fence for many years and particularly if this is the side everyone takes along the road it likely makes it his responsibility.

Shesellsseashellsnotinmystreet · 17/07/2025 20:47

My mate's ndn asked her for 2k last month for half the fence costs.
She simply told him she didn't have it.. Deeds(which she had to hand in 5 mins!) showed he was responsible. He kept asking. She kept saying no. He installed new fence. 4ft as before. Enough to keep his shit machine ddog off her grass. Some people are chancers... If you really were jointly responsible op he wouldn't have gone ahead imo.

. He can't make you magic the money.
Responsibility for the boundary could mean a bit of string.

Doorwayss · 17/07/2025 20:46

Him giving you the bad side is perfect.
Its his fence.
He has only spoken to you to try and extract money from you.
CF.
I wouldn't pay a penny.

Original poster
MavisTheMonkey · 17/07/2025 20:40

Thanks for all the replies. To update the new fence is half installed and will be finished tomorrow.

I have got the “bad” side of the fence and the first two panels which are on our patio areas are reduced in height - they were previously 2m but are now 1.8m, which is annoying as my husband will now tower over them.

I haven’t said a word as I’m taking the approach that he’s chosen it all, it’s his fence and so I’m not entitled to an opinion, and it’s all ammunition as to why I’m not going to pay for it.

I got chatting to the fence installer whilst I was out with the dog (had to keep her on a lead in the garden so she didn’t wander into their garden) and he said he’s installed fences for 30 years and locally all houses follow the left hand side rule, but I appreciate there is so much confusion and here say re fences. The Scottish system seems much better!

Nothing further from next door neighbour and I am not going to follow up on it. I will just wait and see what he proposes when he’s ready.

OP posts:
Doitrightnow · 17/07/2025 20:31

If the boundary is shared/can't be proved (sounds likely), and the fence needs replacing (sounds like it does) then I'd agree to pay half but I'd want to get some quotes myself and discuss the type of fence before proceeding.

Our cf neighbour (who definitely DOES own the fence) has tried something similar. We said no to paying and consequently there's been no fence along the boundary all year. V annoying.

Abitofalark · 17/07/2025 20:07

There's information and advice about fences and boundaries on Garden Law Forum. May be worth having a look or posting a query there.

ZoggyStirdust · 17/07/2025 19:55

either it’s shared, and he can’t replace it without your agreement, or it’s his and he pays it all. There’s no scenario where he can replace it then present you with a bill.

I imagine this will be a tough conversation and it’s always a shame to fall out with neighbours but you should stand your ground I think.

Overwhelmedandunderfed · 17/07/2025 19:48

If he is expecting you to contribute then of course you should have been involved in choosing the style and the company installing it! He could be paying a friend to do it with an inflated invoice for all you know! It seems a lot of money. I would imagine it’s a shared boundary to be honest but it’s his choice to install it so if it were me and I was happy with what it looks like I would pay half of what I was prepared to pay a company if that makes sense?

TiptoeThroughTheToadstools · 17/07/2025 19:45

MavisTheMonkey · 16/07/2025 20:25

Our neighbours to the right are the last house in the road on a corner so we are their only neighbours. They have a wall between them and the pavement of the road around the corner and we have a fence in between our gardens.
For 11 years of the 12 years we have been here a couple lived there who had been there for 40+ years. They told us that they were responsible for both the wall to the road (on the right hand side of their garden) and the fence between us (to the left hand side of their house. They always maintained the fence and replaced a number of fence panels over the years. They moved out around a year ago and a new couple moved in.

Yesterday I bumped into the new neighbour and he said “oh I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the fence. I called land registry and they think it is shared. I’ve arranged for someone to come round on Thursday so can you keep your dog inside”

When he caught me I was super stressed and in the middle of something so he said he would catch me later and I didn’t ask questions or make any comments. Later that evening I checked to see if I have a copy of my title deeds as I know these sometimes show who is responsible for each boundary but I can’t find my copies and the originals are with the mortgage company. I also looked on land registry and can’t see how they would have been able to tell him it is a shared responsibility for that boundary.

He has just knocked on my front door and said that people coming tomorrow are replacing the entire fence. Then he showed me pictures of what the new fence will look like and a quote for £2300.

At this point I said “are you thinking I should pay for some of this?” And he said “Well what do you think the split should be?”

I pointed out that I don’t believe it is a shared fence and if it is it should be a shared decision on any work, not something he presents to me the evening before the work starts. I told him to go and see if he had a copy of the title deeds and then we will take it from there but again said if he believes it is a shared boundary it was not up to him to make the decision to replace the fence.

I am now thinking even if he can prove it is a shared responsibility for the fence I’m not going to pay any of the costs as he should have discussed it with me beforehand. AIBU to take this stand or if it is proven to be a shared responsibility then should I contribute towards the cost? I have the money but that’s not the issue in my mind, however I don’t want a bad relationship with our neighbours.

I have a fence on my side and neighbour has their on fence on their side. Just tell him to put the fence on his property and not on yours.

nomas · 17/07/2025 19:42

Even if the fence is shared, you’re under no obligation to fix it.

GrouachMacbeth · 17/07/2025 19:39

We had this.
Don't agree to pay
He can put the new fence entirely on his property, it is then his, his responsibility to maintain.
Absolves you of all involvement.

Doggymummar · 17/07/2025 19:35

OtherBarry · 17/07/2025 19:13

I thought everyone was responsible for the fence on the left side of their garden but maybe that’s just a local thing

We had a new fence last year and I asked the fencers about that and he said that's the case on new build estates, but not on older detached properties like our so it seems quite arbitrary

Autumnnow · 17/07/2025 19:30

Being legally bound to maintain the boundary does not mean being obliged to provide a fence on that boundary. It could just be post and wire markers. If he'd like a new fence adjoining the boundary line he is welcome to do so. There are a lot of myths around boundaries and fences.

OtherBarry · 17/07/2025 19:13

I thought everyone was responsible for the fence on the left side of their garden but maybe that’s just a local thing

K2054 · 17/07/2025 19:09

MavisTheMonkey · 16/07/2025 20:48

I did get a copy of the title register from Land Registry yesterday and an a copy of the title plan. There is nothing in the title register and the title plan just shows the boundary.

As far as I can see if it’s marked anywhere it will be in the title deeds but these aren’t available online and involve sending a paper request and a checks to land registry. I haven’t got a cheque book so won’t be doing that.

I think he’s instigated this problem so the onus is on him to show I’m legally responsible to pay towards it.

It really does show you, here's where to look. In section A point 1 tells you that the title plan shows the boundary shown by a red line. Point 2 then tells you who the original builders were and the housing company. However there is a second paragraph to this point which will say something along the lines of:

"It is hereby declared that the fence on the northerly side of the
property belongs to the Purchasers and the fences on the southerly and
easterly sides belong to the adjoining owners and shall be repaired and
maintained accordingly."

Obviously yours might say a different side, but this gives you the detail. You are only responsible for the fence it says belongs to the purchasers. If you then look at your copy of the Title Plan there will be an arrow depicting north so you are able to work out which side of the highlighted boundary you are responsible for.

Good luck with it. It sounds to me like they are trying to pull one over on you or they would have been able to produce these documents themselves as they said they had taken the information from them. Sometimes though people just read them incorrectly, but the underhanded way they have gone about it seems suspicious to me.