Can I fence my front garden?

[marksmirt]

Good day all. i want to fence the front of my semi detached house garden. as am having some problem with the neighbour. i have gone through the deeds but not really sure if am allowed or not. please can anyone who understand deed tell me if am allow or not. Below is the deed.

As regards the side boundaries of the property between the front elevation of the property and the road upon which it abuts not to erect or cause to be erected or to grow or to permit to grow a fence wall or hedge(as the case may be)exceeding one and a half metres in height PROVIDED that where at the date of this Deed there are no such division fences walls or hedges then not without the consent in writing of the transferor to erect or cause to be erected or to grow or permit to grow thereon any walls fences or hedges as the case may be but to keep the said area of the land as a grassed open space and/or as a footpath or driveway area

It's terribly badly worded isn't it? Did the author never learn punctuation? Did they never read the clause back to themselves?

If I were you I'd assume that it means you can build a boundary up to 1.5m high, but if there is a boundary feature at the date of the deed that breaches the height limit that doesn't apply. the rest is so unclear that I would fail to see how anyone can enforce it.

Oh my that is some confusing wording there!

So is there anything marking the boundary at the moment? Eg is there a hedge there that you want to replace with a fence or is there nothing at all?

Also, who is the transferor in the deed? Not their name but what is there relation to you/your property? Eg is it that the previous owner of your neighbour's property sold off some land and your house was built there, and so the transferor was the former owner of your neighbour's property?

You can't put up any fences/hedges higher than 1.5m, and in addition, if it was open plan at the front when the property was first built, you need to obtain written permission from the developer to put up any fence/hedge etc.

(Property solicitor )

Just to add that my interpretation of it is that it's saying that A) you can't have any fences etc. that are more than 1.5m between the properties AND B) if there's no fence between the properties, you have to get the transferor's permission in writing before putting one up for the first time.

But as above I'm not clear who the transferor is...

I say developer as I assume it's on an estate where the "transferor" referred to is generally a big housing developer, that's usually where these restrictions about keeping the front looking open plan come from. In any event the transferor will be defined in the deed.

Thank you all very much for spending your time to respond to my enquiring. I bought the house in question from housing association. I called the transferor and i was told i need a written permission. must of the tenant in my street have a fence so i don't know why i need a permission.

They might have got permission before putting their fences up, but it's a good sign anyway - if the transferor (the housing association) is generally happy to grant permission for other people to put up fences it is more likely they will let you put one up.

Even if you don’t get permission, presumably you can put in a barrier that isn’t a hedge or a fence? We have a similar clause in our deeds and I have planted a flowerbed by the boundary. Some plants will grow quite large, but all a mixture so you couldn’t say it was a hedge. I’m assuming it’s fine as I’m sure one of the neighbours would have complained by now if not!

Apart from the deed, you are likely to need planning permission if the fence is over 1m high and adjoining a road. You could search online to see if it has previously been granted to another property - should give you an idea of whether it would be permitted.

Yes, you need their permission because it says so in the deeds but they may well consent. In my area were a conservation area and also need the council's permission and a planning application to put up a new fence or even a new driveway so check local rules carefully. When you bought the place your solicitor's Report on Title to you might well have a section on this so digging that out might be a good idea.