Neighbour wants to change garden boundary

[TakingAffence]

Garden boundaries are just wooden fences on a small early Victorian terrace. Narrow long gardens, roughly equal amounts of garden in wiggly lines and in patches with no fence at all. Historically everyone on the terrace was happy, done this way presumably over a sequence of owners to accommodate a big mature tree and various old rose bushes. I moved in ten years ago and haven’t changed anything.
New owners next door are extending and say that on the plans for their house, the fence lines are straight so now we must straighten. It’s my fence responsibility. It could mean the end of the nice old tree etc depending on where line is drawn and various of my shrubs. I’m keen to keep up a good relationship with everyone.

Do I have to change the fence line and pay for that as it’s my fence? Who should decide on the ground where the right line falls, if it’s straightened? Do I have to pay for any professional boundary advice/decision? Who should pay for taking down a big tree, big bushes etc if that needs to happen?

TLDR- Do plans going back over a century to when a property was built, override today’s reality as purchased?

A fence and a boundary are not the same thing. A fence doesn’t have to be on the boundary.
No way in hell would I destroy a mature tree to please a neighbour who wanted to change the established boundary into a straight line. There’s no “must” about it, they’re just trying to make you go along with what they want.

You might get advice if you repost in Legal OP.

Thank you FictionalCharacter. I didn’t know that. So that means, I could 1) acknowledge that boundary is not same as fence and say the fence stays as is, or 2) agree with them and re-fence according to legal boundary documents. Who decides which should happen though?

Thanks endofagain I didn’t know that there was a legal section, will ask for thread to be moved.

www.gardenlaw.co.uk/

This website above will give you a better idea of the legalities OP.

Thank you AcclimDD

All the best op

It's usually a surveyor who'd decide on where the boundary is btw.

Thank you

I also just found a bit free advice on the Citizens Advice Bureau website just in case this is helpful for anyone else https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/problems-where-you-live/if-you-disagree-with-your-neighbour-about-a-wall-or-fence/

Everything stays as is unless the two parties agree to change anything. You don’t have to change the fence just because the other party wants you to. If they want to get legal advice they can, the onus is on them to fight for a change, not on you to fight to keep things as they are.

Your post isn’t clear. You cannot have a fence on their land. If any of your fence is on their land, then yes you need to move it. Is this what they are telling you?

who owns the tree? And whose land is it majorly on?

There is no legal requirement to have a fence between properties. At all.

If it's on their land then they can remove the fence at their cost. If it's on your land then you can do what the hell you like. If the tree is on their land then they can chop it down (providing it doesn't have a TPO.) if it's on yours, they can't touch anything that not on or overhanging their side.

So do nothing. 🤷‍♂️

Just to add, if you installed the fence and didn't just buy the house like that or replace an existing one, you'd be financially liable for its removal but I'm guessing by the way you describe it, they've always kinda been there?

Get a TPO via your council to save it.

I think it matters whether your existing fence has stolen some of their land, or if the existing fence is wholly on your land.

We have a large oak on the boundary. When we fenced we did it up to the trunk either side, so the boundary is secure, the fence just has a big tree 'in the middle' of it

tpo on the tree.

there is no requirement for fences at all (unless an old garden wall falks under grade listing) but any dog owner is responsible for keeping their pet secured.

You don’t need a fence and they can put one up slightly on their side but if your roses bushes etc are on there side and they want to cut them back then they can destroy it all the way up to the boundary.

If the tree doesn’t have a TPO and is half on their side they can also take away half the tree.

Get a a TPO put on the mature tree ASAP by the council and then it can't be cut down

This

...and where's the obligatory diagram? 🤔

Imo get deeds for both houses and seek legal advice. Possibly via your home insurance (?)

Your neighbour can pay a surveyor and a solicitor to establish the true boundary.
You don't have to do /change anything in the interim. The onus is on them. It may be case of adverse possession anyway, after a certain length of time. 🤷‍♀️
If it comes to it and you need legal advice, have a look on your house insurance policy as there's usually a legal advice service attached to the policy. Or some credit cards have legal advice attached too.

Thanks everyone. I think for TPO doesn’t it have to be viewable publicly or something if it’s not on my land? It’s just a nice old tree in back gardens. I’m not quite sure who owns the land it’s on, kind of growing in the middle between us.

I think maybe the best thing to do is to apply and get boundary information on their and my plots and see where the existing fence and nice tree shrubs etc map on to that. That will also confirm for sure who owns the relevant fence.

tpo is for any tree, no matter where it is.

The first thing I would do OP is download your's and your neighbour's land registry details from:

www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds

It will cost you £3 per property to download. That may tell you more.