neighbour query... wwyd?

[hopeforthebestplanfortheworst]

My new (ish) neighbour has painted her side of the boundary panels between us, which I own, without asking or checking.

Should I say something in a friendly way to mention she should've checked as it's mine, or leave it? It can't be undone so it's more about getting her to remember to consider my property in future.

I don't want to fall out but nor do I want her to do anything irreversible which could be more serious or annoying in the future. I would never dream of doing such a thing without asking & think its a bit rude!?

i'm painting my side of the fence soon, will I ask my neighbour? Will I fuck it's my side.

I asked my old neighbours if they minded if I painted my side of the shared yard wall. I knew for a fact they owned it because my landlord refused to contribute to the cost of replacing it (landlord was an arse) so the neighbour paid for it all themselves. It was a courtesy to ask in that case, but when it comes to fencing, I probably wouldn't ask as it's more easily replaced.

Oh what was that thread about a fence and it being painted on one side ( red was it?) and the 'owner' saying they'd repaint it?

I would leave it.

So, just to clarify, in MN-Land, if I live next to you, I can pay for a fence and I can erect it on my own property. This apparently gives you the right to do what you like with the side of a fence you don't own and didn't pay for. Have I got this right?

If it's in my garden then yes I can do (within reason, not talking about damaging it). I can paint it on my side, plant honeysuckle to grow on it etc.

Why is there a rule telling me I cannot look after my own garden?

Its like the opposite of HiddenHome's thread from about 2 years ago.

MN has become a reverse timewarp.

We had a lovely fence put in and painted it harvest gold. My neighbour didn't want to pay halves and told us to leave the old fence in.

We went away and he ripped out the old fence and painted his side a dark green. It came through the wood now we have horrible patches all over it.

He drilled into the concrete posts to put up hanging baskets too and one has a massive crack in it now the twat.

Technically it's not in her garden though... the fence is the boundary of OP land.

That said it wouldn't bother me unless they started hanging all sorts from it leading to potential damage that I would be responsible for rectifying since I was the owner.

NiceBitOfCheese yes, why should my side of the fence look boring and unprotected from the elements?

Most people don't know who owns the fences. We appear to own all of ours according to the neighbours! It can't be right but we've more or less replaced them all. I really wouldn't care if my neighbour painted their side of the fence and I wouldn't expect them to ask - I can't see it and it doesn't affect me.

I would definitely say something and I would ask them not to affix anything to the fence. I would be polite but I would be clear. I know that's not the usual MN response but it's not ok to go painting other people's property.

I put up a new fence and one of my neighbours spray painted the side that faces his garden with a dark paint. The paint seeped through and made my side ugly. He also 'accidently' spray painted my shed, brand new patio and greenhouse while he was at it.

I was livid. What was done was done so I didn't see any point getting mad with him but I did let him know that he mustn't do it again.

in most cases it's very straightforward to work out who owns a fence. I wouldn't dream of painting someone else's property without asking. It's extremely stupid and rude. Just because lots of people do it doesn't make it ok.

I'm a bit that so many posters admit that they would even bother asking their neighbours if they can paint their neighbours fences. It's polite and would take a couple of minutes. Chances are they won't mind but at least you should give them the choice rather than decide for them.

letscookbreakfast. You don't seem to understand the law on this. If the fence belongs to your neighbour you are not allowed to paint it unless you have permission from them. It really is that straightforward.

If you don't like looking at your neighbours fence you may pay for your own fence to be put up on your own land and then you can paint it any colour you like.

Alternatively you could just ask your neighbour.

Where my mum lives there's those concrete slab things in between gardens and wooden fence panels slit into them.

I don't think there's ever been a question of who owns them decides what happens to them. People are just responsible for the upkeep on their side.

If there was an argument then I'm not sure how it would be decided who gets the right of the concrete holding things that the fence panels slide into. You'd get people taking their neighbours out and putting their own in and so on...

Greysanalogy They could be jointly owned. It depends what, if anything, is stipulated on the deeds and the land registry.

We had some people who moved in behind us and put up a very tall (actually illegally tall) wooden fence.

We had planters with peas and beans growing up the back wall, and had used string to attach a bit of trellis to the back of the fence. We got back one day to see that they had somehow taken offence at the microscopic bit of string holding up the trellis that was looped round a post, and cut it, which caused the trellis to collapse and crush all of the plants. And the snottiest signed letter pushed through the fence asking us to please not attach string to THEIR fence ever again.

I wrote them a reply back, pushed back through the fence saying basically okay, we won't. I signed it "String Enthusiasts". And we did a lot more walking back and forth naked in front of the window that backed onto theirs from then on.

They were ex council houses so that's probably why. Now though it would create problems because say one neighbour bought some green panels and put them in, and my mum wanted red panels in.. well who wins

Which is why i'm just of the opinion of whatevers on your side you deal with, But I'm lucky enough to have laid back neighbours, as am I.

This is one of the many situations where the law is an ass and common sense (and being nice) really needs to take precedence.

IcecreamSkoda the law is an ass in this case. I'm will not erect a fence right in front of my neighbours fence.

Erecting a fence in front of the neighbours fence must rank as one of the more barking 'only on MN' ideas.

Aaahhhh, a MN fence thread. Excellent.

If you're not bothered about the paint I'd mention it in a friendly yet don't even fucking think about doing it again way.

Talking of ludicrous laws, it is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down. Lol.

If the fence is the responsibility of the neighbour than you should always get permission if you want to paint your side. Least of all by doing so you do not open yourself up to any legal action. I had a conversation with my neighbour recently as their fence (put in before they moved in) has not been treated and the bottom panels are heavily covered in green mould - contrast to the sides I own and I have painted them and barely had any mould this year.

I thought this was the done thing... After all it is inside their garden

Otherwise you would have odd coloured fences, as you could only ever paint 'your' fence.

If it doesn't affect the side visible to you, what does it matter?

Chunky - The thing is that it can affect the other side if the paint dribbles over the top or if it seeps through.

Bottom line is that it belongs to someone else. It's just common courtesy to ask before making any changes. I would imagine that ninety nine out of one hundred neighbours wouldn't mind you painting your side but if you have a knobhead difficult next door neighbour then you could have problems if you don't get their permission first.