Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

IN thinking the fence posts are mine and CF neighbour shouldn’t be touching them?

109 replies

sweetkitty · 23/07/2018 23:46

Was discussing this with DH and I think I’m right, anyway
We stay in a detached house neighbours both sides, it was a new build about 18 years ago we’ve lived here for 12 years neighbours since houses were built.

CF neighbours paid to have posh 6foot fence put around all their back garden, everyone else has builders bog standard fence. The fence posts are on our side yet CF neighbours think they are theirs. The other side of our garden the fence posts are on the other neighbours side so it’s their fence so we don’t have a side fence IYSWIM.

3 years ago we moved our fence to move some of our front garden into the back this involved moving the fence 90 degrees on the post, CF neighbours wouldn’t let us do this as it beings to them, yes the fence does but not the posts in our garden. To save a fuss we moved the fence in a bit.

I’ve hung ropes for washing lines on the posts since we moved in, the other week CF neighbour had a knife and was trying to cut them down. The rope is around the posts not the fence.

I want to put a shed against the fence for our rabbit but I know they will moan. They moaned about DS kicking a ball against the fence even though their son did it for years. I want to put up a second fence now along their bloody fence against the posts.

So is it true that if the fence posts face your garden it’s supposed to be your fence? CF neighbours think the posts and the fence belong to them?

OP posts:
redastherose · 24/07/2018 00:12

Check your title deeds. If the builder specified who owned which fence the one belonging to you is the one marked with an inward T. Your deeds may alternatively state that the fences are party fences and that means you are each equally liable. It is often spouted on here that you definitely own a fence if it faces a particular way but that's not necessarily true.

If the deeds are silent as to who owns the fence and if the fence was put up on the exact boundary then for the neighbours to state it is theirs it has to be constructed entirely within their land (posts and fence).

Original poster
sweetkitty · 24/07/2018 00:12

Builders would have put in the posts originally so no one would have paid for them.

OP posts:
Storminateapot · 24/07/2018 00:14

Also if you're happy they own that boundary then they own the fence and the posts. The posts denote the boundary, the fence is on their side of the post because if it was on your side it would be on your land.

Sorry but the whole thing is theirs.

Fluffyunicorns · 24/07/2018 00:17

It all depends on what is in your deeds - look for the T mark pointing into your land to denote you own it. The fence and the posts will be owned by the same side. I imagine it is your neighbours though as would have thought they would of chacked before putting up a fence where they do not own the boundary. They would have needed your permission to take your fence down if it was yours. My house is an infil and I own all the boundaries so all me responsibility to maintain.

gamerchick · 24/07/2018 00:18

You can put up your own fence next to that one if you want to use a post that badly.

Mamawingingit1234 · 24/07/2018 00:19

I think if the posts are in your garden they belong to you. Our fence on the side that’s adjacent to a path we have the posts facing it. Good side of the fence always faces out. If it was meant to be shared fencing with the fence on the boarder of each garden they can’t “take” yours away, replace it with one they like and then say you don’t have any. If they are going to be precious they should have left the bloody orginal fence and built their special posh fence inside their garden so one could bloody touch it.

Re your washing line, screw a eye screw/bolt into the fence and tie the washing line to that. So if they try to cut it again they technically having to enter your property to remove it. #petty

Original poster
sweetkitty · 24/07/2018 00:19

I’m going to check the deeds tomorrow we have a copy from when we had an extension done. Everyone else on the street has the post side of the fence as theirs as they paint and upkeep them so for instance other side neighbour says the fence is theirs as the posts are in their garden but the good side is their other neighbours so it’s highly unlikely we are the only ones with no side fences.

CF neighbours were best friends with the previous owners of our house and what I think has happened is they have asked them if they can put up posh fence as it keeps their garden all the same IYSWIM?

OP posts:
TwoBlueShoes · 24/07/2018 00:21

So, the fence posts are from the original fence and they just replaced the panels?

Their fence is their fence, but it should be entirely within their own garden.

I can't understand clearly from your posts what the situation is.

BlankTimes · 24/07/2018 00:24

CF neighbours paid to have posh 6foot fence put around all their back garden, everyone else has builders bog standard fence.

Photo of posts and fence panels would be really useful.

Fence panels don't stay upon their own.

What did CF neighbours attach their fence to? Was it to the original builders fence-posts and if so are they wood or concrete and how are CF's fence panels attached? Some concrete fence posts have a
groove so you can just slot in any type of fencing you like.

Or, did CF uproot the builder's original fence and posts then install new posts to fix their new fence to?

OP, you keep saying the posts are in your garden. It's possible IF they mark the exact boundary, then they are half in your garden and half in CF's.

Original poster
sweetkitty · 24/07/2018 00:24

Mamawingingit - I don’t think they removed the fence, at the time the houses were being built they chose to have a posher fence put up and I think agreed with previous owners they would pay to have it all the same. So they think it all belong to them. The moving the post thing was really petty we were only moving the fence where it hung 90 degrees didn’t affect them at all or encroach or anything but they said no.

OP posts:
Original poster
sweetkitty · 24/07/2018 00:29

Sorry can’t do photos as it’s dark.

It’s not panels, the builders would have cemented in the posts then CFs paid for the posh fence all round their garden.

That’s what I’m asking who do the posts belong to? I was told if they were in your garden they are yours to upkeep? Everyone else has a side fence apart from us.

I’m not denying the fence is the neighbours, I’m just peed off after 12 years they are trying to hack my ropes down with a knife.

OP posts:
TwoBlueShoes · 24/07/2018 00:34

I understand you are upset.

Ok, so if the fence posts are your property and they are in your garden, then I don't think the neighbors should have used them to build their new fence. They should have erected new fence posts within their own boundary and attached their fence to the new posts.

Is that right?

categed · 24/07/2018 00:43

Two blue shoes that would only be if the posts were wholly in ops garden. If they are right on the boundary or in ndns garden then op does not own them, or only partly.
Op when you look at the boundary of the fence do the post sit into your garden or are the edges in line with your neighbours property? Regardless of what the deeds say if the fence falls within the footprint of your neighbours property it's all theirs.
Once you are armed with info you can visit your neighbour and sort stuff out.

ScienceIsTruth · 24/07/2018 00:53

When we moved, we asked our new neighbour if we could replace the fence on their boundary as we have dogs and their dilapidated fence wasn't suitable for containing them.
We replaced everything, and went from a 2 foot chain link fence to a 6ft wooden one with concrete posts.

Because we replaced it exactly on the original boundary line the fence actually still belongs to them even though we paid for it.
For it to have belonged to us, we would have had to erect it entirely on our land as it was THEIR boundary, not ours.

In the same way, if you find out that it's your boundary side, then it doesn't matter that they paid for the panels, if they're on your boundary they belong to you.

ScienceIsTruth · 24/07/2018 00:58

If it's a shared boundary, then you both own the fence equally, and if it's just their boundary then legally/technically you can't
actually even paint 'your side' (the side facing you) of the fence or even attach anything to it without their prior permission. HTH.Smile

TwoBlueShoes · 24/07/2018 01:07

How do you know the posts are definitely in your garden though?

If this was all arranged when the houses were originally built, then it's possible the builders placed the fence posts entirely within your neighbor's garden (i.e., when the agreement was made, they placed the posts slightly over from where they were originally planned) and you just don't have a fence or fence posts on your side.

Even if you own the boundary, then the neighbors can still install posts and a fence on their land. And the people who originally owned your house may have agreed to have no fence or posts.

If that is the case, then it's possible they do own the fence posts and fence.

You cannot put structures, such as rabbit huts, against their fence or damage their fence with plants or trellises or footballs.

Unfortunately if your neighbors claim they own the posts and they are on their land, then it may be very difficult to prove otherwise.

As you don't dispute the ownership of the fence and the issue is just the posts, then I'd be inclined to install your washing line elsewhere and leave their fence alone, as frustrating as that is.

TwoBlueShoes · 24/07/2018 01:14

Two blue shoes that would only be if the posts were wholly in ops garden.

Sorry, crossed posts. The OP seems to be claiming that the posts are entirely in her garden.

I think this is the point that needs to be clarified, but actually the deeds may not help. Even if the OP owns the boundary, if the neighbors arranged for the fence and posts to be placed entirely within their own garden, then it entirely belongs to them.

It's often hard to establish where a boundary lies in reality, which is why you end up with court cases costing thousands over a 1 inch strip of land.

TwoBlueShoes · 24/07/2018 01:15

Also, the OP says that her house is detached. This also may make the boundary hard to establish in real life.

nocoolnamesleft · 24/07/2018 02:57

Hang on a sec, this is the original fence? As in it has lasted 18 years? Bloody hell, is the company that made it still in business? I want their details.

SeaToSki · 24/07/2018 03:26

If you want to know for sure, you will need the boudary surveyed so they can establish to the inch where your land ends. Then if the fence is exactly on the line with half of the post on each side of the line, it is a shared fence. If the fence is actually on your side, then your own it (even if they paid for it as it is on your land). If the fence is on their side, then it is theirs and you cant touch any of it without their permission, but you can put your own fence up adjacent to theirs (but wholly on your land) and then do what you want with it

Rowgtfc72 · 24/07/2018 05:02

We've just put up a six foot fence and gone halves with the neighbours. Posts are our side but we both own the fence. We gave them the good side as i thought it looked plain and boring. Prefer the other. I'm not sure I'd tie a washing line round I though. I'd probably put a post in for that .

Barbaro · 24/07/2018 06:15

So you moved the fence, back into their boundary I'd assume, and now are trying to use it still for your washing line after complaining about the fence the entire time?

Think you're being a bit unreasonable. You didn't pay for it, and you weren't happy that the posts where in your garden, but you're happy to use them? Buy some posts of your own like other people do for washing lines and move on. It's just a bloody fence.

BlueBug45 · 24/07/2018 06:44

Seen lots of neighbourhood disputes over fences. T's on plans and the side of the fence facing you means absolutely nothing. You need to either have paper deeds which state clearly which fence you own, or have the boundary surveyed.

It isn't really worth getting into an argument about fencing - this why sensible people go halves with their neighbours on it and have it installed where they both agree where the boundary is.

In your case just put a washing line post up for your line. The neighbour then can't cut your line down.

Gaspodethetalkingdog · 24/07/2018 06:49

We bought our house last year my understanding when discussing boundaries with a very pernickity lawyer is that the fence posts in your garden are yours and you are responsible for the fence. The fence with the ‘good’ side of the fence your side belongs to your neighbours.

Mummyoflittledragon · 24/07/2018 06:51

If there is no T on the deeds and no comments about who owns the fences, they are shared upkeep and ownership.

You say the fences are on your side. Does that mean your land? Usually when the posts are on your side and the fence on the far side, it means the fence is on your land. How was it originally?