Neighbour wants to replace MY fence, I don’t want them to!

[Fencewoes]

We have recently had new neighbours move in next door. A month ago they said that they would like to replace all of the fences around their garden (sides and back) which includes replacing mine. They said they will pay for this as they want their garden to look uniform. At first I was on board with this, actually quite pleased at the thought of having a brand new fence as mine is quite old, however they have now said they will be replacing my current 4ft fence with a 6ft fence instead.

I have told them I do not want them to replace my fence with anything higher than 4 ft. They’ve now said that in that case, instead of replacing my fence, they will just build another fence against mine in their garden. So basically, I will retain my current fence, then there will be another in their garden, but I will have double fences on my side! Is this even allowed?

Yep, I’ve been your neighbour. I moved in with a large dog, but I also wanted the 6 foot fence for privacy. Thankfully, my neighbours were all happy.

A community feel of 4ft fences?

Hell no, i would be getting the 6 ft fence too

This is perfectly legal and VERY normal

This. Just accept their offer quickly.. you can still be perfectly neighbourly.

My neighbours wanted a new fence because they don't like my concrete post and concrete panel one, so they put it in on their side, no fandango, no issue.

However, as we are on a windswept hillside theirs keeps blowing over, my concrete one stays put, that's why I went with concrete, they will learn (poor loves moved from a flat in a city to the sticks in lockdown, lots to learn, they will get there in the end😀)

It depends, OP. Will their 6-foot fence block light from your garden? If not, YABU, but if it will, you should lodge an objection with your local Council…

I'd just go with the new fence on the property boundary, since it will look very strange otherwise. Yours is getting old you say, so it's a good time to do it.

@12345change Weird reply.. it's privacy in your own garden, your home. Being out in public is different.
Thanks @StarlightLime for getting it

I haven't yet no, though it's currently empty so perhaps a good time to do it without pissing anyone off! I don't spend any time in it really and I'd gain nothing really in terms of usable space so it's an expense just to reinforce the boundary, but I probably should do it.

The deeds are clear and there is some physical marker of the real boundary so less worried about a legal issue and more any potential new neighbour arguments if they assume they own up to the fence. (as I did for years, proving people don't pay attention to what they're buying!)

At mine, because when we moved in, we had a 4 foot fences, with a row of small trees on the other side.

My garden is feckin tiny. With the 4 foot fences, we got sun through the trees, and we had a lovely view of the hill.

I could sit on a chair with the sun on my face and have a lovely view of nature close up and in the distance.

Now, the trees have been replaced by 6 foot fences for privacy and my garden gets very little sun. If I sit on a chair in my garden, most times of the day I have no sun on my face and the "view" is of the back of a fence. This is not an improvement.

That’s very unusual. Rhe sun is very high in the sky. Six foot would not normally block the sun. What country are you in?

Indeed. 4ft fences have the same sort of ‘community feel’ as syphilis, and I wouldn’t want that either.

It’s an improvement for your neighbours though.

And as MN says, no one owns a view.

We own all of our fences (I know this is unusual and yes it’s on our deeds). Our garden is very wide and there’s a lot of fence. We live on the coast so we get a lot of wind. I would LOVE a neighbour to pay for one of our fences - we’ve spent thousands on them in the 10 years we’ve lived here.

My parents moved into a new build estate in the 1970s and the gardens all had those ghastly 4ft chicken wire fences. One by one, all of the neighbours replaced them with 6ft wooden ones. Maybe some of OP’s neighbours want taller fences too and the new neighbour will start a trend.

That is absolutely none of your concern.

@InterIgnis 🤣 you win the thread. 👏

How is respecting my neighbour's privacy unneighbourly?

"Every other garden here has 4ft fences, it has a real community feel. They will be the only ones in the row that have 6ft fences."

@Fencewoes You can check if it's in a conservation area and what rules apply. In a similar area I know you can't mess with the gardens like that, but that's because there is original separations that's part of the conservation area. Again, small gardens and community feel. So there might be something in your area, I don't know.

THe people giving you snotty comments about being nosey are being totally unreasonable. There are areas like this and I think it is unreasonable to move to an area that's clearly designed to be more open and to install something so high, whatever the rules. It might be they feel they have no choice for whatever reason. But there are some areas where it is designed to be more open and where gardens are small and to maximise light and utility it's pretty mean to put something in like this.

OP, I'd check the rules first just so you know and then maybe try to have a friendly conversation with the neighbours to understand more about their point of view and see if there might be a compromise at all. For example slightly lower or maybe it would be less imposing if a trellis with climbers on or something.

Again like someone said above, a lot of people actually would prefer to get on with their neighbours and not really upset them and vice versa. When a neighbour of mine was putting in a fence that was going to block a lot of light, we talked about it and they kindly found another version that wasn't so dense and let more light through. Similarly I've been conscious of things in my garden taking the light from those on the other side and it has made a difference to my decisions. It's not all about "rules" sometimes which is why talking with people is key. You might be neighbours for a long time after all.

is this a serious post? You think the op is twat enough she’s not know if she lived in one of the very Rare places (and I’m not even sure they exist, please post a link) where you can’t have a standard 6 foot fence

and getting on with your neighbours goes two ways, including respecting their right to do as they wish in their own garden, and their right to privacy.

you or the op don’t have the right to tell people what they are permitted to do in their own garden or you fall out with them.

homestly. Some of these posts.

It's pretty mean and unkind to ruin someone's privacy!

My neighbour complained about shading his (bloody massive!) garden when we put up ours. He liked to park himself right by our house every time he went outside and frequently stared into our windows. By comparison we had a tiny garden that meant every time he was sitting outside we could see him from the kitchen. So invasive.

He complained and refused to let us take the fence down so we put one inside instead. He came storming out and shouted at us ‘enjoy your shaded privacy’ as we were putting it up 😄

We did, very much. He never spoke to us again.

Thankfully we’ve moved now but still laugh about it years on.

Yes of course it’s allowed. I wouldn’t want neighbours saying coo-ee over a 4 ft fence.
What’s wrong with privacy?

they have a right to a 6 ft fence...
you could, install a platform, decking or something, to have the sun in your face when you sit...
but is the “view” another persons garden? in that case probably dont :D

@Janehasamane Well you sound delightful. Are you really meaning to say the OP is a twat?

"you or the op don’t have the right to tell people what they are permitted to do in their own garden or you fall out with them."

Where did I say that? What a really weird post.

Are these replies from real people? It's all so hysterical and angry. People have different ways of doing things. Since when is talking to people in real life "telling people what they are permitted to do"? Noone told me what I could or couldn't do in my garden but as I knew that people would be grateful if I could help get more light if possible. The gardens affecting the light a lot of other gardens due to the angle, so I did factor this in to my decisions. It didn't dictate my decisions, but I factored it in. Maybe cos we live crushed up against each other and if I'm conscious and reasonable of other people, they will be conscious and reasonable towards me.

Also people haven't mentioned conservation areas, where you have to apply for planning permission and what's permitted on fence heights can be totally different.

That tends to relate to front gardens, not back.