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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Wwyd? Neighbour and fence!!!!!

65 replies

kp78 · 22/06/2018 22:34

Neighbour at back of our house has said she wants to replace back fence. She says she believes it's a shared fence and wants us to pay half. Our experience before she moved in was that it was her fence as the man who lived there had it fixed a few times. We also have the good side.

The fence is fine for us but she says it's going to fall down. I've said no we can't afford to contribute at the moment (we've had a lot of work done on our house and every penny is going towards finishing the work) but she's now put a note through saying it's £250 and she wants half and she will happily allow us to pay in instalments.

On the one hand we can find the money but on the other we've said no twice already and we are also not worried about the state of the fence!

Wwyd?

OP posts:

GandalfTheGoat · 23/06/2018 09:28

Oldraver and OP - the title plan won't show you the boundary responsibilities. You need to look at the original Transfer (the plan in it) for the property when it was first sold by the developer. The Transfer will have the T marks in for the boundaries / fences.

AlecTrevelyan006 · 23/06/2018 09:30

No one has a responsibility to provide a fence. If you are the owner of the boundary then it is up to whether or not you choose to erect a fence, or build a wall, or plant trees... or just leave it with nothing. The boundary exists whether or not you can see it.

If you do put in a physical barrier it is your responsibility to pay for it and your responsibility to maintain and, if necessary, replace it.

The neighbour is simply trying it on.

Honeyroar · 23/06/2018 09:41

It's nice to share the coat generally, but if you're sharing costs they should have approached you, discussed what needed doing and what type of fence you both wanted,calling with costs. Not I'm doing X and you need to pay Y for it. It sounds more like she's being cheeky, and the constant hassling and sarcastic comments would definitely pee me off. I'd have replied "ok, don't throw the ball back if being peevish to a child will make you feel better".

Mix56 · 23/06/2018 10:00

I would say, "the are happy with the fence on our side. we are sorry but will not be paying half for unneeded repairs we cannot afford"

Mix56 · 23/06/2018 10:01

on a fence that we are not responsible for

Mix56 · 23/06/2018 10:02

something very wrong with my computer today...
Shd read, "we are happy ....."

WheelyCote · 23/06/2018 10:09

Can't you get the thing through land registry...costs a few quid online.

I may be on completely the wrong track

Collaborate · 23/06/2018 10:16

If you do put in a physical barrier it is your responsibility to pay for it and your responsibility to maintain and, if necessary, replace it.

Not correct. You cannot be forced to maintain it or replace it. Whoever owns it, OP cannot be forced to contribute.

40isnew50 · 23/06/2018 10:24

Can't she just put up a new fence on her side if she wants a new fence so badly? We don't sharw any fences. We bought a new build and when we moved in all the gardens had fencing around them i.e. we had our own fence and so did our neighbours. There is an itsy bitsy gap between the 2 fences but it certainly helps if there is damage as it is easy to see who the damaged part belongs to.

WeaselsRising · 23/06/2018 10:35

our last house was a new build and everyone owned the fence on their left as you looked out the back.

The 6ft fence the neighbours put in our our right fell to pieces and he bodged it with bits of panel. Just before they moved out, 2 of the panels fell down.

New people moved in, lnocked the door and said what were we going yo do about the fence. I said we weren't going to do anything as it was theirs. He insisted the estate agent said it was ours, then said he had a big dog who might wander into our garden. I did point out that if it did then I wouldn't be held responsible for anything our Jack Russell might do to it.

DH was so mad. We got confirmation from our solicitor in the end. What a great way to introduce yourself to new neighbours.

TwoBlueShoes · 23/06/2018 10:44

I can see your point, OP as the fence is longer than the width of your garden but exactly the width of their garden.

Just keep saying no, it's nothing to do with you and you didn't agree to it.

I would put the onus on them to prove ownership.

TwitterQueen1 · 23/06/2018 10:47

Don't say you can't afford to contribute
Don't say the fence is fine as far as you're concerned.

Simply stick to the facts - it's not your fence and the responsibility for replacing it is not yours. (It can't be your fence if it stretches across multiple houses/gardens.)

SevenStones · 23/06/2018 10:57

Neighbour on other side wanted us to take out some of the fence and make it higher I refused as I explained it would shade my vegetable patch. He built one on his side 6 ft and now I can't grow anything on that raised bed as it is too shaded.

I like my privacy and would have done the same.

In my current property there's nothing on the deeds indicating who is responsible, whereas there was a little T on the boundary mp of my last house to indicate who was responsible for what.

Currently, neighbour to left has a hedge whereas there's a low fence with neighbour to the right. We've agreed to replace it with a 6ft fence, and I priced up the cost and we've agreed to split it. There's no way I would have decided to replace the fence and presented her with a bill without speaking to her, though! And if she disagreed about replacing then I would have still replaced it but paid for the lot.

The people who lived in this house before me were always arguing with the hedge neighbours and made them come round to trim it. I like the hedge and am happy to trim my side of it. My right hand neighbour has a hedge boundary with her other neighbour and she goes round to trim their side - I think that's a funny set up, but each to their own!

Laiste · 23/06/2018 12:23

To chuck in another thought - and to be pedantic - looking at the deeds diagram; to the left a portion (third/quarter?) of her rear boundary has no connection with you at all. It's shared between her and the property to your left. Is she replacing that bit too? If so has she costed that in with your £250 contribution? - because that bit's not even your boundary!

And on the right side your rear boundary is partially shared with her right hand neighbor and nothing to do with her.

Therefore a new fence along your whole rear boundary will affect/disrupt that neighbor. Do they want a new bit of fence? Has she approached them and asked? It's not as simple as she's making out.
To keep it dead simple i'd just say i was quite happy as it is. Ignore the ball comment. That sort of PA stuff would make me dig my heels in more!

Original poster

kp78 · 26/06/2018 19:59

Thanks all. I said I don't believe it's shared my deeds indicate it goes across 2 houses and unless she can prove it's shared responsibility we will not contribute. I feel a bit bad, but I've done a number of things to make her happy, like turn my security light off and trying to stop my son banging the fence when playing football as it scared her child, so I need to be assertive on this one!

OP posts:

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