Good fences make good neighbours.

[Windypants21]

I would like to raise a small portion of the fence between my neighbour and I, but my neighbour is telling me what i can and cannot do. I want to get a dog and she is telling me what height I can build it up to and that I have to have her approval as such. She rents the house out to a man but she is a friend of his and calls up to see him regularly.

To picture it .....down the left side of my property, from the front low level wall I have a 6 foot high hedge which is about 10 metres long but stops just before it gets in line with the front of the house. It then drops to a short 'fence' that is about 1/2 metre high which is made up of 2 wood posts and a couple of pieces of wood across. This then adjoins a 6 foot high wooden plank fence that continues to the end of the house on my side and the beginning of their garage at the end of their drive on their side. The fence does continue on further back but it is a fence between their garage and my garden. The fence carries on round the circumference of my garden.
My understanding is that the builder erected the fence between the houses around 1997 when they were built. So I'm not sure who 'owns ' them. The nice bit of the fence is facing my side.
My attempt at securing my garden for when I get a dog and getting more privacy by building this up in line with the rest of the fence has had my neighbour over at my door 3 times in the last 5 days. I thought we had come to an agreement the other day ( i agreed a lower fence ) but she was back today at my door practically wanting architectural 'plans' for the fence. Omg

What are the rules for fences, ownership etc. Can someone tell me please. Not so I can bulldoze her just so that I know what I'm talking about when she comes back....this weekend apparently. She has told me her lodger isn't well and when he passes away she will likely move into this house. If she is like this a 10 foot fence won't be high enough to keep her out never mind keep the dog in ! Help please.

Well your chosen pooch does have rotty markings!!
😁

You can get the deeds but it’s extremely common for them not to show fence ownership. So, to all those saying you need to check the deed…this might not help that much.

Ask on the other side too if they know which fence they own. Sometimes you can work it out like that.

Otherwise, you are entitled to build a fence on BOTH sides if it’s on your own land. So the question about this fence you’re talking about, is does it go into the ground on your or neightbour’s land? If it’s on theirs, then to get what you want you might need to build another fence immediately next to it, on your own land.

If this turns out to be the only say, I’d try telling neighbour that if they won’t agree to the fence being extended (at your expense) then you will build another fence right behind it which is taller. The impact on them if a taller fence will be the same as if you extend. Ask them if you really need to do that, or if they will reconsider the fence being extended up. Ask them if you can discuss different options - trellis etc, so it’s not so impactful.

If the fence is built on your own land, I would tell neighbour that the deeds don’t identify fence ownership, so whoever’s land it’s built on assumes ownership and because of this, you will be extending the fence. Again, I’d say I was happy to discuss different possibilities but will make the final decision.

Its best if you can come to an agreement as you need to live next door to each other. Try to be a bit flexible yourself over exact height, materials etc, but also don’t be deterred from doing anything if you really want it and just because neighbour is more assertive.

I can't really understand wade through the description but is your neighbour wanting a lower fence? Why? Who are these people who like less privacy in their back gardens?

I echo the stop talking to her, it's none of her business. Just put a fence on the inside so it doesn't affect her. 6 feet all the way. My small springer easily jumped the 5 ft fence between us and the neighbour.

She wants it low because she claims she can see the oncoming traffic ....apparently .. while ignoring the fact that after the gap in the hedge there is a 10 foot high, 10 metre length hedge, before she reaches her gate.

The gap looks directly across my front door and garden toward the far bend in the road. About 50 yards away. She has to reverse out of her drive and claims she won't see the traffic coming. So unless she is a rally driver, she is still going to have to drive slowly out her gate to get onto the road.

I have amended my wants to accommodate this claim but she has now come back twice since still unhappy. The h&s man is her friend. My brother is fixing it so it goes back to its original state and so that in theory should end the debate but I can just imagine what the next knock on my door will present.

I have been flexible, listened to her, amended my initial plans but her, 3 visits to my door, behaviour and multiple questions, (most of which I haven't answered, or simply returned the query as absurd and unreasonable), means I just don't want to engage any longer.

Just build your fence inside the boundary. Fuck her.

if you was suddenly putting up a 6ft fence where she would be trying to manoeuvre to join the highway I would see her point as that is something taken into consideration when granting permission for dropped kerbs.

Get on the Land Registry site and request your title plan. Look out for the Ts on the fence. The inward facing Ts show which fence is yours and where there's none it's likely joint.

Such cute dogs!!!

Install a new fence in your boundary. She ought be reversing onto her drive anyway, has she not read the Highway Code 😉

It doesn't matter who owns the fence. Get your own up on your side to the height you require and ignore NDN, she's had way too much input on this already. I would recommend you get netting or mesh or similar on your side of the hedge to ensure neither your nor her dog can get through (or make) any gaps.

She sounds a total pain in the arse who hasn't got enough to do. I'd tell her I needed to make the garden secure as required by law and that I wouldn't engage with her any further on it. Channel Joyce Grenfell in "That will DO, Dorothy*!" ringing tones if need be.

The cheek of some people!

*Or whatever her name is

The original fence has been restored. If h&s man comes Sunday, as promised, there will be zip all to see ...or photograph. Solicitor says neither of us own it outright. So I'll just do my own thing in my garden. Thanks for all the suggestions , links, feedback and tellings off, helped enormously.

Hire an absolute psychopath of a dog for half an hour so she thinks you’ve went and got one (I can lend you mine if need be), go out shouting his name, we’ll call him Jackson.

Jackson leaps over this tiny fence into your neighbours garden. She will very quickly want the fence raised 🙃

Surely Fenton not Jackson?.

@Windypants21 I had that problem. The fence to my right is my neighbours chain link fence, that she didn't want to change. She liked the view across our gardens as it made hers feel bigger. All my neighbours have 6f fences as per our councils guidelines. No permission is required, no informing the neighbour is required.

The important note: I put a fence right up against the existing fence, on my land. She came out shouting abuse, that I was trying to take away her light and make her garden a prison. Funny thing is the sun rises at the bottom of her garden, and goes up and over her house in the afternoon. The fence does nothing to block her light. Wouldn't matter if it did.

By the sound of it, this boundary fence may belong to the neighbour. So you can do what I did and ignore your neighbour as I do. I too have a dog, who escaped into their garden twice. I couldn't risk that again, their garden is wild.

Stop answering the door, when you're not expecting visitors. You do not have to engage. I act as if they don't exist as they are just very unpleasant people. Never had a problem with neighbours in y whole life before this.