Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Dispute with council over fencing

13 replies

Pegs11 · 28/04/2021 15:05

Hi, I own a property and the house next door to mine is council-owned. The fence between my property and theirs has perished and is looking very shaky indeed. It’s also full of holes.

I have approached the council, who referred me to their repairs service (called Response Repairs). They have come back saying they don’t do fence repairs and it’s the responsibility of the tenants/neighbours.

This doesn’t sound right to me?!

The fence in question is on the left as you look down our garden, so ordinarily I believe that would be considered the responsibility of the house next door (the council in other words). But there is nothing in the property deeds about who owns the fences.

I’m not sure what to do, as the fence is on the verge of collapse. We’ve already had to pay to get the fence on the other side fixed. Surely we can’t be expected to fix the fence on the left too?!

Any help appreciated. Thanks 🙏

OP posts:
Pinkearedcow · 28/04/2021 15:12

As I understand it, there is no requirement to have a fence or maintain it if you do have one. The only thing you can do is put up a new fence yourself if the neighbours/council won't fix the one belonging to them.

Pinkearedcow · 28/04/2021 15:14

This is quite useful:

www.boundary-problems.co.uk/boundary-problems/fences.html

RogueRebel · 28/04/2021 15:18

As a council tenant, I can confirm fences are the tenants responsible and the council will not replace or put a fence in that is missing at all

worriedatthemoment · 28/04/2021 15:28

I am on a ha house and yes the fence is our responsibility , only time ha will do is if backs onto a main road etc
I don't think you can make anyone do a fence of you want one you will have to pay and no guarantee who is who's unless you look at deeda
My mum is actually responsible for all 3 fences on her house

worriedatthemoment · 28/04/2021 15:29

Have you asked your neighbour of they would share the cost or contribute ?

Lou98 · 28/04/2021 15:29

A fence being on the left doesn't mean that it's that house that owns it. It makes no difference what side it's on. I'm surprised it doesn't say in your deeds.

As PP said, there isn't actually a requirement to have a fence between two properties so even if the fence does belong to the other house, it could be removed completely and they still wouldn't be responsible for having to put another one up.

Unfortunately OP it's a case of if you want a fence, you will need to pay for it and have it on your boundary

Floralnomad · 28/04/2021 15:32

It’s irrelevant whether it’s council owned or privately owned , nobody has to repair or even have fencing . If you want fencing then you pay for it .

Original poster
Pegs11 · 28/04/2021 15:41

Ok thanks for the advice everyone! I didn’t know this, I really thought the council would be responsible for the fence. The council did come a couple of years ago and replace the fence to the front (between our driveway and the neighbours’) and they didn’t consult us first, so I assumed they considered themselves responsible for that entire side... and that they were now trying to wriggle out of fixing the back fence. But it sounds like I’m onto a loser here, and these days I choose my battles carefully 😂

Sadly I cannot ask my neighbours to contribute to the cost. They are thugs. We don’t speak to them (on the advice of the police after one of the thugs assaulted me) 😞

OP posts:
worriedatthemoment · 28/04/2021 15:57

Not ideal but could you put a fence up on your side in front if the broken one
Sorry you have crap neighbours , nothing worse

Pinkearedcow · 28/04/2021 16:55

Oh that's horrible Pegs11, but a good reason to put a nice, high, secure fence between you and them!

Original poster
Pegs11 · 28/04/2021 18:12

@Pinkearedcow if I had the money I’d built a 10-foot high brick wall between us and them 😉

OP posts:
gurglebelly · 29/04/2021 09:41

We are surrounded by HA houses and had the same issue - when we queried we were told that they have a responsibility to maintain the boundary but not necessarily a fence, so the piece of wire strung between posts was sufficient

It's a pain as we now have responsibility for all 3 fences

Original poster
Pegs11 · 29/04/2021 10:58

@gurglebelly that sucks... we’ve got fences on two sides now that we need to fix 😒 luckily the adjoining garden at the back of ours re-did the fence last year so at least that’s one we don’t have to worry about.

If I can ever afford to move from where I live now, I sure as hell won’t be buying next to council housing again. For more reasons than one. (I’m not a snob, just had very bad experiences and don’t want to risk it again!£

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page