Neighbour's Fence

[ProfessorDent]

The fence on the left hand side of my 85-year old Dad's house is down. One portion came down a good many months ago, but in the Xmas high winds a whole section has come down and we can see into their garden. What's more, I noticed over the weekend that the sticky in posts that constituted a fence for the last 40 years in the rest of the 100ft garden are also pretty much gone.

Otherwise they have been good neighbours the last 30 or so years. Married couple with kids, that kind of thing.

But I have come to realise our neighbour on the right can also see into their garden, it is unsightly for them too.

Guess I have to have a word, but if they act up (and they should have done it by now) what is the next position, a stiff legal letter? It does seem a shame when a family who we have had no problem with over the decades just start taking the piss like this.

The responsibility for fences is not normally on the deeds,but an agreement made by the original neighbours. Mine are the fences on the right side stated on the solicitors questions form to the seller.
Any neighbour can erect a fence on both sides of his garden so long as it is on his land, not his neighbour's - i.e his side of the boundary not the neighbour's side.

Okay, thanks for the responses. A bit bemused by those who suggest that it's okay to look into their garden, I mean over a fence, yeah, but surely some kind of demarcation line is normal? Perhaps I should explain that their garden is a bit higher than ours and sort of slopes down towards ours a bit.

But I agree about starting a neighbour war, it's best avoided.

As for building it on our boundary and not theirs, it's an odd one, I mean a fence is a thing thing and surely just goes along the demarcation line, it wouldn't need to be the few inches on our side? Ah well, happy to let this thread fade out, with enough comments so far, thanks.

I don't think that long term its ideal to have no fence but i reckon that if it is their fence then they will probably do something about it when the weather improves and they want to use their garden regularly.

Don't really see a problem if it isn't fixed until late spring though. Until then id personally have more opportunity to look into my neighbours garden when in opening the blinds in the morning, compared to the time i spend in my garden outing the washing out etc.

Our council told me that when a fence or wall is to be erected it must sit on your side of the boundary, not on it and not on your neighbour's side.
If on the boundary then your both share it.

you not your