Neighbours and fence

[Pandy37123]

Probably a very dull AIBU but me and dh are at a impasse and I’m not sure if I’m being unreasonable or if he is.

We live in a semi detached with fences separating our garden from neighbours each side. One side is detached and the other side is attached to us. Our deeds say that the fence between us and the detached neighbours belong to them. The fence is on their border and we don’t have a fence on our side. The fence between us and the house attached to us belongs to us. The fence at the bottom of the garden is ours too.

We have been in our home for 8 years and get on with neighbours on both sides. Detached neighbours are both retired and have raised their family in their home. They are very well known and respected in the street. They always ask after my children, check the house when we are away, take in packages etc.

Last week our neighbours (detached side) advised that the fence has failed on their side and that they have a contractor coming out to see it with a view to replace the whole thing. They gave us a knock when the contractor arrived and asked our opinion on fence height etc. as they planned on reducing the height and wanted to confirm we were happy with the level of privacy.

Anyway on Wednesday morning we awoke to find next door neighbours had pushed a copy of the quote through the door. It was broken down by the contractor to show two amounts - our contribution and the next door neighbour’s contribution. The price is £4,000 which doesn’t look too bad as it a 40m fence and includes VAT. I spoke to the neighbour and detailed that our deeds show that the fence is theirs however they say their deeds detail repairing fences are shared responsibility and the previous two owners have always gone halves. I believe them and don’t think they are trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

Now to the AIBU - dh says I am a complete idiot to even consider paying. He says ourdeeds clearly state they have responsibility and the fence is on their land. I understand his point of view but do not want to be arguing/jeopardise the relationship we have with our neighbours over £2,000. If the fence came down (it’s on its last legs) and the neighbours didn’t put one back up we would have to put a fence up so that the children were safe. We will have to take the money out of savings and I’d rather spend on it something else but this feels like general house wear and tear and not worth the potential damage to the relationship.

Who is being unreasonable and/or is there an approach where everyone wins?

I would love to remain on neighbourly terms, but definitely could not produce £2k out of thin air like that! It's a significant amount of money.

Sellers questionnaires supplied via conveyancing solicitors often ask who is responsible for each boundary? ( deeds often have a "t"? Mark on the plan
but further questions sometimes ask about historic contributions towards boundary fences.

Can you refer to your sellers questionnaire?
Are you happy for them not to replace the fence? Might you prefer Shrubs or hedges?

The best way to resolve this is to get copies of both of your registrations (or all 3) and copies of the relevant deeds. It will be £9 for 3 registers www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/search-the-register

and £21 for the deeds www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds

£30 is a small outlay vs £2k.

As pp state it is possible each house has different responsibilities. However, the extract you have included looks like a more general covenant so you need the deeds to confirm.

£4k sounds about right for the fence. If you do decide to pay remember you can expect to be consulted over type of posts, fencing and height as you are paying 50%.

I'd split it. It's to your advantage as you say. There is no obligation to even have a fence, so if it falls over and they don't care to replace it you can't make them.
Agree with you it's in respect of keeping good relations.
I needed the brick walls, which my surveyor said were dangerous, replaced when I moved to my house. The deeds did not specify who was responsible for which side and the walls had been there longer than any of the owners. I asked both sides if they knew, snd if they would share the costs. One was very rude, the other was 95 and said happy for it to be replaced but could not afford to contribute. I replaced them and paid in full. I picked the design and height and had the 'good' side facing me. I did tell both sides what it would be and neither objected so I got what I wanted. Worth the extra money no question.
If your husband os do get up he can deal with it all, but if it had been an unwritten agreement previously it makes sense to continue.

We had something similar and ourselves and the neighbours went halves for the section between our back gardens. You only have to read on here to see that you can't put a price on good neighbours . In contrast fence gate happened across the street and six years on there are still issues from it and a coolness between neighbours of 30 odd years who had never fallen out before. The same person did all the fences and he was filling me in on the drama across the street .

A bit much for your neighbour to spring this upon you and expect you to be able to pull £2k out of thin air at short notice, and shady of them not to have made that position clear when 'consulting' with you so 'nicely' in the first place.

It may be a priority for them, but doesn't make it one for you. As previously advised, check the legalities of this, and also whether just a section has 'failed' and is in needed of repair, rather than the whole length. Also, agree to get multiple quotes.

Two points jump out.

Surely if your deeds do not mention shared maintenance of the fence then theirs are meaningless. How can they insist you cover half if your deeds make no mention of it?

Your deeds relate specifically to your house. Their deeds relate specifically to their house. Unless both were built at the same time by the same builder who put identical guidance into both sets of deeds I can't see how one persons deed for their house can have any legal bearing on another's home.

The second point is that even if your deeds do state shared maintenance, it's just that. Maintenance. Maintenance of a fence involves painting it and making good if there are rotten bits. It doesn't involve completely replacing it. That would come under 'replacement' not 'maintenance' in my opinion.