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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not pay for neighbours/our fence

45 replies

MsJamieFraser · 09/02/2016 20:22

neighbours last year (Oct) without our consent pulled our fence down while we were at work, (it needed a few slats renewed and dh was going to get round to it (he had ordered everything, but we just did not have the time to get it done) as we were doing a lot of renovation at the time, and also dh had just finished painting all the pation and decking and laying fake grass.

So one day we came home from work and a 5ft fence had magically appeared.

At the weekend neighbours pulled dh and produced a hand written bill for the fence repair Hmm dh said he was not paying for the fence as they did not get our permission and we had already wasted £68 on new slats that were now unused (we will be turning them into a bench/plant pots)

They grabbed the bill and walked into their car, mumbling all sorts of "we did you a favour..."

Well they did not.. we now have a 2 odd fences, one side is slats and the other is doomed feather edging. It is also not painted, or been treated, and is a different colour to our neighbour fence and our decking

At the time we were not happy but for neighbourly harmony, we just left it, and assumed they wanted more privacy to their newly build conservatory.

Would be be UR to treat and paint the fence also, dh thinking of just buying willow screening to cover it, if we are considered to be UR

AWBU not to pay.

OP posts:
Vintage45 · 09/02/2016 20:26

Is it your party wall? Did they erect the fence the same day?

expatinscotland · 09/02/2016 20:28

I wouldn't give them a bean. They didn't have your permission.

limitedperiodonly · 09/02/2016 20:31

You are right, they are wrong.

They have a lovely new fence. That's reward itself.

Whatever you do, do not enter into negotiations with them. Ignore anyone on this thread who says you should go halves or give them flowers or a Creme Egg to show goodwill.

DrGoogleWillSeeYouNow · 09/02/2016 20:31

If I came home to find my neighbours had, without asking or saying a word about it, pulled down a fence and replaced it with something completely different, I wouldn't give them a penny.

Original poster
MsJamieFraser · 09/02/2016 20:33

yes its our party wall, our fence was only 4 years old, with the Strom damage in October a few of our slats had split, so we were planing on renewing them, however time ran out in the summer, we came home from work with all our posts/panels and slats in the skip.

OP posts:
Vintage45 · 09/02/2016 20:34

I wouldn't give them a penny either but if its their side of the wall then they're fully within their rights to put the fence up. Did they do it in a day or did you see what they were doing over a period of time.

StillStayingClassySanDiego · 09/02/2016 20:39

Posts, panels and slats in the skip without discussing it with you first?Shock, I'd be extremely phased off.

Don't give them a penny, cheeky buggers!

StillStayingClassySanDiego · 09/02/2016 20:39
  • pissed off, not phased off.
Original poster
MsJamieFraser · 09/02/2016 20:40

I should say, we needed to paint it in the summer... we didn't get time to do it (ds2 hospital admission, me starting a new full time post, dh also manages a youth football team) dh was also re-pointing the front and rear brickwork of our property, and we had all the bedrooms plastered and decorated. (dh did all this himself)

In October the first storm hit and we seen the damage and ordered new slats, by the end of Oct our fence was on the skip, which also happened to be when the new neighbours conservatory was completed.

OP posts:
Aworldofmyown · 09/02/2016 20:42

If they ask again tell them you will take the cost from the amount they owe you for throwing away your posts. Thos things are bloody expensive.

Original poster
MsJamieFraser · 09/02/2016 20:47

work was being done in their garden vintage, with the building work being carried out, we went to work one day and came home to a 5ft fence at our kitchen window, which to be fair does not look like a 5ft fence, but is, I would post a pic, but its too dark outside.

OP posts:
Potatoface2 · 09/02/2016 20:57

they were in the wrong to take your fence down....they should have left it and put a fence on their property alongside yours....you cannot stain, paint or attach anything to their fence...but you can put a new fence up if you wish leaving theirs there which you can do what you like too....your fence must be on your property and theirs must be on their property....you do not have to pay them anything for their fence at all....you had no arrangement to pay so they had a cheek to ask

sleeponeday · 09/02/2016 21:01

Think they have a bloody nerve, and of course they weren't doing you a favour I take it both sides of their fencing match? The willow screening would be best I think - cheapest, and making the point that you don't like it while not doing anything to "their" fence.

Neighbours are such a lottery. We have always had properly lovely ones, and it makes me nervous - one day our luck will run out!

Vintage45 · 09/02/2016 21:05

They had a nerve to ask you for payment but they can certainly put up a fence if its their party wall.

Original poster
MsJamieFraser · 09/02/2016 21:05

Patato their fence is on our land, as their conservatory is right on their e boundary line, (they needed our permission to have our down pipes moved as they were overlapping the boundary line) we had no issue with this.

if they wont give us permission to paint, we will be putting willow up, and will be attaching it to their fence, we dont have a choice to to this, as out kids playhouse is right at the boundary wall which they pushed along Angry and dh had to then add new slabs so the playhouse did not wobble when the kids enter it.

TBF I do think we have been overly nice with it all.

OP posts:
Vintage45 · 09/02/2016 21:06

If its their party wall then its their fence.

Original poster
MsJamieFraser · 09/02/2016 21:07

Its our party wall and on our land

Tbf they are nice neighbours, we have lived alongside each other for 8 years with no trouble at all.

OP posts:
Vintage45 · 09/02/2016 21:08

They asked you if they could do the works you said yes, I'm sure they paid for it. If its their party wall then they can erect what they want, but they'd be a bit unreasonable to say that you can't paint your side of it.

You both sound a bit silly to be fair.

Vintage45 · 09/02/2016 21:10

So, right, its your party wall, then they have no right whatsoever to do that, Im not sure why you would worry about painting it your side.

Original poster
MsJamieFraser · 09/02/2016 21:13

because its out our fence,as we did not pay for it.

we gave them permission to move the downpipe by a foot, that was all (we have the paperwork) we did not give them permission to bin or fence and put a new one on our land.

OP posts:
Original poster
MsJamieFraser · 09/02/2016 21:16

excuse the typos

we are worried they will say no to us painting their fence when the time comes to ask.

I think they may get difficult because we have refused to pay their hand written bill to us.

but also the original point of this thread was if we were being unreasonable to not pay for their fence.

OP posts:
Vintage45 · 09/02/2016 21:19

Got all that now.

Sounds like the fence is great and really private (id not want to see my next door neighbours going about their business in the garden and vice versa).

I'd not pay anything though of course.

I'd also paint my side whatever colour I wished.

Vintage45 · 09/02/2016 21:22

They erected it on your land without your permission so why should you pay for it?

Vintage45 · 09/02/2016 21:24

but if its saved you money and is a great fence then coming to some arrangement would be neighbourly of course.

Penfold007 · 09/02/2016 21:26

How much was the bill for?