Fence dispute

[ayupducky]

Hi, could anyone help with legal advice regarding a dispute with a neighbour?

He is unhappy that we have a patio and gazebo next to his fence as he says the rainwater runs off onto his plants. We moved it away slightly but he wants us to move the patio to the other side of the garden. The patio was there when we moved in.

Today he has leaned over the 7 foot fence and hammered an unsightly piece of wood to our side which heightens the fence by about 4 inches. He's used a lot of large nails and says if we try to remove it he will involve a solicitor.

Can anyone tell me if he was allowed to lean over to do this from our side and if we can tell him that he must remove it legally?

Unfortunately he's not approachable and we were warned that he is like this by his previous neighbours.

Many thanks in advance.

The fence is higher than the permitted 2m so you could complain to the council and he’d have to apply for planning permission. Regarding whether he’s allowed to nail something to it - that depends if he owns the fence?

However, it’s unreasonable for you to put something beside the fence that pours water over the fence and floods his garden. You need to install a gutter to keep the water on your side and avoid causing damage to his property.

If its a gazebo and it's not right up to the fence, then you don't need to do anything. He can't make you move your patio, he's being ridiculous.
He'll have to apply for planning for a fence over 6 foot, as per PP.
Are the nails unsightly or unsafe?
And is it his fence or yours?

Sorry missed that bit. As it's his fence you can complain if he's left it unsafe, but not if it's just unsightly.

If its a gazebo and it's not right up to the fence, then you don't need to do anything
I disagree. If OP’s gazebo is pouring water over the fence and damaging the neighbour’s property then she does need to do something, because her negligence is causing damage and OP is liable for that.

Thank you for your replies.

It's his fence but he leant over and hammered the nails in from our side. They're unsightly but not dangerous. The wood however is very jagged at the edges and could be a hazard.

We've already moved the gazebo back so that no rainwater goes into his garden but he wants us to move our patio as theirs is on the other side of the fence.

Thank you for the 2m rule info.

What is with these crazy neighbours???

I don't understand. Why does he care that your patio is near to his patio?

And what is the purpose of the strange bit of wood?

He's just not a nice person. The wood is just to make our side look a mess. He said he'll remove it when we move our patio.

I have no idea why he doesn't like it. He used the gazebo as an excuse (it's only small by the way) but then refused to remove the wood even when it was moved. His excuse was for it to stop the rainwater.

He did say he was moving his patio at one time but think he realised that children lived on that side of him and it would be much noisier so now he's trying to make us move ours.

How the fuck can you move a patio? I wouldn’t e terrain thus and next time it’s windy, blow his trellis over.

Ignore. He can't ask you to move your patio. What a bully. Tell him to crack on with a solicitor letter of need be.

Could you erect some freestanding trellis to your side or large pot plants to screen the fence and wood bits?

Have a look on Gov.uk and search fences. All the law is there.

As someone who ended up moving over a fence issue caused by a frankly psychotic neighbour I sympathise.

Is damage being caused or is he making it up? What is it about the patio he doesn't like?

I'm not sure how he expected us to move our patio to be honest. We live on a new build housing estate. Detached but still very close together. My husband did tell him that for the privacy he's after he'd need to buy a house away from any others and pay the price tag for it.

I think freestanding trellis May well be the way to go for us. The previous neighbours (on the other side) warned us about him but we thought we would just take him as we found him. I think we've now found out what he's like

No damage was being caused - rainwater did sometimes go over but he has large tall bushes there. When he said it was bothering him we moved the gazebo (only bought it about 6 weeks ago). I think it just gave him the excuse he wanted.

Thank you for the website advice, I'll take a look.

I'd be delighted if a bit of water came over my fence and watered some of my plants 🥳

Sounds like he's an idiot. Glad your other neighbours are okay!