Fence etiquette

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

DH and I are hoping to move within the next 18 months. I've already started looking at Rightmove to get some ideas and I've noticed a few places that don't have 6' fences on all sides.

What is the etiquette for replacing the fence? If it's ours I obviously know we can change it but what if it belongs to the neighbour? Can we just put a 6' fence on our side of the boundary line and can they object to that? As well as wanting privacy we'd be cat proofing the garden hence needing the high fence.

In the paperwork you get from the sellers it'll mention who owns or is responsible for maintaining the boundary. Sometimes it's shared or unknown, in which case usually there's a mutual agreement between neighbours.

Regardless of who it belongs to though, it's always worth mentioning your plans to your new neighbours as some are fussier than others and it's always worth avoiding getting off on the wrong foot.

If they don't have a problem, great, nice and straightforward. If they do, keep it on your side and no more than 6ft and there wont be much they can do.

One thing I would say though, based on experience is that if yours is the only 6ft fence along a stretch of houses, be prepared for it to take the main brunt if there's a storm. In our last house ALL of the other houses had 4 ft fences or hedges. Like you, I wanted privacy so we put up a 6ft fence on all sides. However, this meant that every time there was strong winds, our fence was the first thing to be hit. This quickly became expensive when a fence panel or two needed replacing every time there was a storm.

Thanks for that. It's a long time since we last moved and fencing wasn't an issue here! I don't want to upset anyone if we move. That's a good point about being the only 6' fence, something to bear in mind.

Broach it carefully. Quite a lot of people don’t want tall fences and it can cause disputes and bad feeling. Some neighbours of ours have been at daggers drawn for years about an insensitively handled new fence and it’s made for a rotten atmosphere.

That would be my worry, I'd hate to upset anyone, but I'd also hate to have no privacy and not being able to catproof isn't an option. Fingers crossed when we're ready we'll find something with 6' fences all around!

Based on experience, a 6' fence isn't cat proof.

We'd be putting netting on the top, attached to our fence and on free standing brackets on the neighbour's side if they weren't happy for us to attach it to their fence.

You also need to check deeds. Not allow allow fences over 1 m.

Definitely. My preference is a garden with a 6' fence all round already so there's no problems!

Some people look at pictures on Rightmove and think what a beautiful garden, look at all the plants. I look and think that's a lovely fence and what a brilliant low maintenance garden - the less plants the better!

@PinkSparklyPussyCat I used to be one of those people! We then moved into a house with a beautiful garden courtesy of the former owners and it's a bloody nightmare to keep on top of!
I'm now with you, nice and low maintenance is the way forward.

In terms of cat proofing, one of my previous clients had a cat proofed garden they had these roller things on top of the fencing all the way around so the cats couldn't get over. They said it cost £3k, so by no means cheap but a very last resort maybe?

I'm glad it's not just me - I look at some of the gardens in Rightmove and start to factor in the cost of a gardner!

I've looked at the rollers but my cat is so accident prone he'd fall backwards and injure himself! We've got netting that is tilted into our garden where we are now which seems to work so hopefully we we can do that when/if we move without upsetting anyone.