Boundary Fence

[crystal90210]

What's the rules/etiquette on back garden fences?

I have lived in my house for 8 years and the back garden has a fence all the way down the side I "own" but the other side (which is my neighbours responsibility) just has a row of bushes and trees but no fence. It's quite a long garden - about 100 metres in total.

I've recently had a new neighbour move in and they've just been round to say they'd like to put up a fence and it's going to cost about £4K and will I be able to contribute to the cost. I haven't said yes or no but my inclination is to say no as it's not my boundary and I quite like it just as it is.

What should I do as I don't want to fall out with my new neighbour.

Imo they should pay and put it in the inside of your boundary line.
Ime never get into talks /cost about /of fences!!

No way.

Bloody hell £4K - is it made of solid gold 🤣.

That's proper cheeky of them to ask you, if they know it's not your boundary. Just honestly say - I've replaced my boundary's and so won't be interested in replacing that side as well.

A similar thing happened to me only my neighbour tried to make me pay for the whole fence thinking I didn't know which was which.
Anyway, as they are new neighbours of yours, I think it's worth a gentle but firm approach to try to establish a good relationship going forward.
I would go back to them and make it clear you can't pay as it's not your side in fact but possibly engage them in talking about why they want a fence rather than leaving it as it is. It's always best to live in a place for a while before doing something major unless it's a hazard to life and limb of course. Eg. is it because they have pets and/or children or they're afraid your pets and/or children would wander in their garden? You then have the chance to reassure them and say something like the current set up has worked well so far .... and save them 4K
If they say something like the it's more work to maintain the 'living' fence you currently enjoy and want to just put in the fence then it's a bit trickier to argue with. Just how I would approach it.

Fences and neighbours is always tricky!! On one side, not our boundary to pay for we had a straggly hedge that was more bramble, elder and sycamore saplings that actual hedgerow. When new neighbours moved in we offered to pay for a fence between us if they were happy to remove their hedge, allowing them privacy and to plant a new hedge in its place - they said no as their hedge was 'perfect' and got really funny with us, so we put the fence up anyway inside our boundary, we lost almost a foot of garden and they went ballistic - now they had to look at our ugly fence, how dare we blah blah blah. Problem was, their drive was set further back than our back garden, so anyone in our garden was clearly visible from their driveway. I wasnt happy my daughter and her friends being in the hot tub which could be seen from theirs as well as both our dogs being able to escape (had never been a problem as the house was empty the 18 months we'd lived there)
Yet neighbour on the other side, we explained we'd like to put a fence up to keep the dog in, would like 2 metres to match the other side and would she mind as we appreciate hers is a small garden and dont want her feeling 'hemmed in' she was over the moon, ripped out large shrubs that she only had there for privacy and insisted on paying half

The point is, people are weird about boundary's, fences and paying for things.
If there is a fence there, do you want to paint it or grow anything up it? If you do, pay half, if not let them pay it but fully expect them to become territorial about 'their fence'

Look at the "deeds" of your hous and of theirs (you can get them from the Land Registry (make sure you use the gov.uk site)

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry

They may or may not specify ownership and responsibility.

You are under no obligation to build a fence yourself, nor to pay for somebody else's.

We paid for a fence on our neighbours side. Half of it had blown down and was quite old and battered anyway. We own our house and theirs was rented and when they and we contacted the owner (property management company) they said that it wasn't an urgent repair and gave us a date 2 years in the future! We were in the process of getting a dog and couldn't safely let them out there. It cost us 2.5k. We've recently had an extension and removed big shrubs that were on our side to create about 1m of extra space but left a gapping hole! Again we had to pay to put a fence up as it was our responsibility.

If you plan to stay there and you don't foresee boundary costs on 'your' side then I would offer (if you can afford) a contribution. Will make your side look nicer- ask for the good side!

The problem is the title deeds to a house (and records held by the land registry) usually do not show who owns which boundary structure. Mumsnet always says to check deeds to work this out but even the government website says this information is very rarely shown on title deeds.

Some people say you own the left side boundary looking out to your garden and some say the right. When we moved to our current house the property info said boundary fences were shared but each neighbour insisted the boundary fences were all ours????

So if you're happy with your boundary OP then you can say that you're not interested in paying for a fence. But if they pay for and install something you don't like the look of then it's tough I suppose.

Boundary fences bring out the worst IMO.

I’d say no and be clear that you’re not responsible for that boundary. If they want to put up a fence they can. £4K is ridiculous though!

In many cases the land registry docs will show who is responsible for which boundary. It should certainly be the first port of call.

In many cases the land registry will say who owned which boundaries when the house was built. If you are the first owner they may require you to maintain the fences too.
Beyond that they are mostly a guide and you can feel free to remove all your ones and leave it open. The neighbours can feel free to put their own up at their own expense.

Our new neighbours tried that one too. He is a builder. I just smiled and said “oh sorry no it isn’t our responsibility it’s yours!” I told DH not to waiver. He tried it a few days later but I heard him and came out and told him again. They didn’t ask again. They had the fence put in. Stand your ground if it isn’t your boundary responsibility. Ours tried to say he had never heard that before cf.

Agree 4K is a laugh you would be paying for all of it. He’s trying it on!