am i being a cheeky fucker?

[detectivebird]

we've just had our back garden fence done last week. we informed neighbours on both sides (garden is three-sided, so the left and right sides are facing into their gardens iyswim). we didn't expect them to offer any money to split the cost and indeed they didn't.

turns out when the fencers were here, both neighbours arranged for their back gardens to also be fenced on the remaining sides. it's being done this week. so we've paid for a side each for them!

dp and my mum reckons we should ask them for a contribution but this feels really cheeky to me. am i just being a scaredy-cat?

Check your deeds for ruling but for future reference all the homes I have owned I have been responsible for the RHS boundary out the back. You should've asked up front, but don't let it spoil your future life with your neighbours, just remember next time!

I thjink its a pity you are not all friendly enough to have discussed all his before anything was done.

what i will do, in future, is remember that clearly not everyone is as neighbourly-minded as me and some / most people are just grabby

They weren't grabby and nor were they un-neighbourly.
I'm also guessing that the fencing guys knocked on all the neighbours doors asking if they're interested in having the work done. That happens with pretty much every tradesman where I live!

(Also you've assumed that the neighbours were in a financial position to do all three sides. They might well not be)

Actually that's just reminded me..when my husband and I were first married, and really struggling to pay our new mortgage and stay in the black, our neighbour came round to ask about a fence. We were in new build houses and the builder had only put low wire fencing between the gardens.

The neighbour wanted to put good quality fencing on the boundary which was officially ours, and asked if we would contribute. We had to say no, we couldn't. It was really embarrassing. But there was absolutely no way we could even offer a fiver. We'd been prepared to live with the low fence, but they couldn't.

I don't know if he believed us (we were too embarrassed to say exactly how poor we were at that point) but I did worry that they were moaning about us.
Theirs was a large detached house, ours a two bed semi. One would hope they'd be kind and understand.

*MummasTheWord8

"Usually you are only responsible for the right side (forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=386160), but need to check deeds as not always the case."

Can I ask a very silly question, please. Which side is the right hand side. Is that the right side as you are facing the front door, from outside the house? (Or the right side as you stand with your back to the house? I am assuming the former but....

Also, we mixed our fence when we had a small child and he fence had a big gap. But now with older kids we could have lived with a big gap and not worried. So some may not be too worried about a low or broken fence. etc. So a new fence, although nice looking, may not be something some would want to spend money on.

fixed our fence when we had a small child and the fence had a big gap...

i’m not sure why they didn't mention it at the time when clearly they've had it done so soon r

Because the fencers probably went and asked them while they were doing yours!

You do realise that you now will be responsible for the up keep of the fence you have replaced? We have done the same and now have to replace the fence if they fall over or become rotten etc

In our row of houses we all own the right hand boundary fence or wall. However, not everyone is in the same financial situation to be able to repair or replace fences. One of our neighbours could, the other, a single lady living alone, couldn’t. You cannot force people to pay up.

The fence at the bottom of our garden belongs to the adjoining neighbour and we went in half each to replace it after the big storm in 1979. Recently, it was leaning and sagging a bit and we paid for major repairs and a new trellis to be added when it is not our financial responsibility.

OP, if you want to see an improvement and can afford to do something about it then I would say go ahead as you have. That your neighbours have taken advantage of your improvement to enhance their gardens is really neither here nor there. They almost certainly wouldn’t have replaced their own fences if you hadn’t done yours as they would not have been able to afford to do all round their properties and your fencer probably gave them a cheap price as he was already in the area doing yours.

The benefit you have received is that the whole area has been upgraded and improved thus adding value to your street and house price. When you look out at your garden and see theirs, they will be neater and better too.

We cut the neighbour’s grass verge when we do ours as she cannot or will not do it. It makes the area smarter and prevents the place looking neglected so we benefit.

Are all the good sides facing towards you? I'd be fricking annoyed if previously one side was the other way. You have all the sides facing the way you want and they match. No one else will have that privilege (even if one neighbour owns the boundary).

thanks @Durgasarrow. i'm surprised the thread is still going!

done and forgotten here.

It was your decision to have the 3 fences done. You didn’t consult the neighbours. You can’t ask them for money now the work has been done 🤔

bloody hell. read the thread. no need for any more comments!

Fencing usually has a nice side (just flat panels) and an ugly side (where the cross supports are. If you have fencing put in the builder should put the nice side facing into your garden and face the ugly side out to the neighbours (because it's not your job to make their property look nice.) If they did this, then for your additional money you are getting a uniform, three-sided fence with the attractive side facing you. They will each be getting a three sided fence with one ugly side that doesn't match the other two.

So, no. Don't ask them for more money. They have chosen cost over looks in not putting fence panels back to back with yours, and you have gotten a nicer finish in return for the extra money you spent. They are not beings cheeky and you would be unreasonable to ask them for money.

Actually I don’t think that’s true. Certainly the fence posts/ struts should be on the side of the owner of the fence.

I don’t think that’s true either. If it’s your fence you have the posts on your side as they are past the border. The fence is on the ‘line’ between the two properties and the posts need to be on the land of the person who owns the fence.

Not rt whole ft but next time I'd leave the rickety old fence in place and build your new one in your own garden and not on the boundary. Then no one but you can remove it.