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Original poster

Please look at photos and tell me where I stand re neighbour's fence

40 replies

pseudo · 21/08/2007 15:27

Didn't really know what to put this under. To cut a very long story short neighbours fence fell down several times. He replaced two panels (badly and not straight) and "mended" the third by hammering several bits of 2x4 to it. Not a problem except he put it up with the "mended" side in our garden.

We assumed this was a temporary fix because he had trouble getting the panels which are 7ft high, but they now have a buyer for their house... This has been ongoing for over 6 months and I think we've been quite reasonable in putting up with it.

I've got to go and ask him to sort it out. What I want to know is where I stand if they refuse? I'm assuming that pulling the wood off (and giving it back) is technically criminal damage?

OP posts:
MaureenMLove · 21/08/2007 15:29

Show us the pictures then!

LIZS · 21/08/2007 15:30

Photos ? If it is his fence then as long as it is in the correct place and height I doubt there is much you can do tbh.

LadyVictoriaOfCake · 21/08/2007 15:32

are you sure it isnt 'your' fence lol. how do you know which side is yours and which isnt? i can never figure out the fence thing.

goingfor3 · 21/08/2007 15:32

Could you just grow aq climbing plant on it so you don't have to look at it.

NAB3 · 21/08/2007 15:33

look in to your garden. on the right is theirs, on the left is yours. In our road anyway.

Cappuccino · 21/08/2007 15:33

I think the left boundary may be your responsibility

but this may be cobblers I have dreamt up

Cappuccino · 21/08/2007 15:33

no it is not cobblers obv

nab agrees

LIZS · 21/08/2007 15:34

Title deeds state it , we are responsible for all ours behind the house and neither at front.

smeeinit · 21/08/2007 15:35

ive seen much worse fences than that! get a nice clematis to climb up it and it'll look gr8!

zippitippitoes · 21/08/2007 15:35

apparentluy there was a worldwide shortage of fence panels this year

and no you can't tell by which side it's on or which side the fence posts are on..that's a myth

MaureenMLove · 21/08/2007 15:35

I always thought it was the left to. Well we just replaced all 15 on the left anyway, I didn't notice the neighbours sniggering!

RGPargy · 21/08/2007 15:37

Our fence is on the right. I always thought it was the left too - and that's coming from a property secretary!!

PrettyCandles · 21/08/2007 15:38

Difficult to tell with your fence. When you have a fence made of vertical panels with aris rails (the long spars with triangular cross-section) running across from fencepost to fencepost, then the side with the aris rails is your responsibility. Also should be stated on the house deeds who has responsibility for which boundaries.

LIZS · 21/08/2007 15:38

Can't you put a trellis in front. It is perfectly functional if a bit unsightly. Actually if you were our neighbour you'd probably be beating down our door ! I'm nto sure if the fact that they are selling their house is relevant, but maybe you could offer to go 50/50 to resolve it with the new people ?

goingfor3 · 21/08/2007 15:39

It's not that bad but it would really piss me off. I would take the peices of wood off and not say anything, deny all knowledge. Does he have some wood on his side too?

Original poster
pseudo · 21/08/2007 15:39

Are the photos visible yet? It's a real eyesore and sticks out a good way into our garden.

Our deeds state that the fence on our left is ours and that one is theirs. They took down the 4ft fence that was previously there when they moved in and replaced it with a 7ft fence (which is actually above the legal limit of 3m).

OP posts:
FioFio · 21/08/2007 15:41

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Biglips · 21/08/2007 15:41

it shows on my Deeds papers of which side is MY fence, which is on the left. Unsure if everyones the same??

FioFio · 21/08/2007 15:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

LIZS · 21/08/2007 15:44

Seen them all now . I can see what you mean abotu the btiched job but I don't think apart form disputing the height, you would have any legal grounds. How long has the fence been that height ? You could open a formal dispute with your neighbour and the council but it will be declared to the prospective purchaser and may well delay the sale , which may not be in your best interest longterm.

Original poster
pseudo · 21/08/2007 15:45

They have no wood on their side. All the crap is on our side

The relevance of them moving is that obviously the new people won't be aware it wasn't us that did it IYSWIM.

I don't want to go 50/50 because they are very expensive panels (not the £9.99 B&Q jobs) which I didn't particularly want there in the first place, and they would have to be delivered. I just can't afford it and AFAIC it isn't up to me to sort out. We have already had to buy replacement panels for the bottom of our garden because the neighbour broke the fence that was there coming into our garden (without asking) to put his up...

OP posts:
PrettyCandles · 21/08/2007 15:47

I don't think you can make him do anything about it. It's his fence and he can probably do anything he likes with it - unless there's a restrictive covenant (not sure if that's the correct terminology) on the deeds. Something along the lines of being obliged to keep the boundaries walls and fences in good order, probably. That might give you a leg to stand on, if you can find it out. If you're on an estate then your deeds would probably have similar restrictions.

louii · 21/08/2007 15:47

Its only a fence, would you not just buy a new panel for it and put it up yourself?

I thought fences were a shared responsibility.

smeeinit · 21/08/2007 15:47

seen all the photos now and have to say i would be more peed off about the gap at the bottom than the repair job.
i personally dont see it as a major eyesore.but then i ahve an enormous 180ft garden so wouldnt notice terribly in mine! how big is your garden?

chocolateteapot · 21/08/2007 15:49

I've don't think there is anything you can do legally. To be honest I think if it was all painted with some wood stain or whatever you use on fences that you would hardly notice it.