Neighbour ruined our fence...

[Scottishgirl85]

Our neighbour has painted their side of our fence, and it has seeped through to our side... As you can see, it looks ridiculous! This affects about 50foot, but we have about 150foot more of the same fence around other parts of our garden. It's a very open garden so I think we'll need to paint the whole lot. I could cry, we're busy working parents with young children so could really do without this. Do you think neighbour should offer to compensate us? Will be speaking to them tomorrow...

There is no law or rule about the bad side to good side, just weird British hearsay about giving your neighbours the “good side”.

Those horrors! It looks like they sent you you a positive/ considerate email and then spent the weekend planning how to bully you into conceding. I’m so sorry. That’s awful

Engine oil is removed from a car and is normally oil that is really dirty. It’s not something that you would use on a fence and needs to be properly disposed of.

It’s awful. I hope you can reach a resolution. Your friendship is over now anyway so you may as well get the fence fixed. Don’t be disheartened, they are 100% wrong. Good luck.

CFers, that is truly awful and who the actual fuck uses engine oil to paint a fence?? Even if they wanted to paint it they should have asked first. They are panick that they have to buy a new fence and are now shifting it onto you when they know they are in the wrong. Go round and speak to doddery neighbour and help them look at their fence. So sorry they are being shits about this.

Can you contact the council and environmental health to ask if they are allowed to do this as it will posing the soil beneath it surely?

I would ask them to pay to have the panels replaced. If they want to dispute the boundary line, they can pay for a survey. It will delay things, but it wont cost you anything.

Have you got legal cover on your home insurance? Perhaps you can force them to remove and replace it.

Are they really saying that because the other neighbour hasn't complained you should be fine with your fence looking like a dalmatian?

It was easy from this to find out your exact address and view your home on google street maps.
I've nothing to say re your situation apart from the neighbours should replace your fence. But you may want to ask for this plan to be taken down for safety reasons.

Op I'd call their bluff if they want to move the boundary by a foot to put up new fencing

no they are not! not if they don't own the fence.

That’s not good. I agree that there’s no getting it off. I think reporting it to the council and a strongly worded solicitors letter are a good start, but if they dig their heels in it may be hard to force them. What utter bastards though!

Oh. My. Days.

This is awful!

I would be calling my house insurance first thing in the morning regarding using legal cover

However, more importantly- you've given away your exact address with that map! Please consider taking it down!

Omg that is not OK....

Me too, I'd do this...

It looks like used engine oil which is a waste product, contains all sorts of nasties and shouldn't be used on fencing - new oil could be, but it will likely shorten the life of the fence.

Also how many years ago did they put up the wrong fence line - over 10 years and they've no come back.

They've ruined your fence so they should sort it. If you have legal cover on your household insurance, call the helpline. Good luck, you sadly don't know your neighbours until something goes wrong!

😐

There's no "getting off" engine oil.

You should get that map taken down OP. I’m on the other side of the world and I know where you live.

Engine oil, plus they’ve confessed to using it, and they’re throwing a boundary dispute at you in defence of damage they’ve caused to your property. They also had the weekend to think it through. All I can say is that they’re not very clever. They’ve given you a lot to get them into trouble with.

Nobody wants to go straight to legal letters with neighbours. But it’s an option I would hint at, at this stage. I would write a letter/send an email pointing out the dangers of using engine oil/creosote and any applicable rules against this (Google them); that the damage was caused by them applying this to their side of your fence, as they’ve admitted to; that you had the land surveyed two years ago and here’s a copy - they’re free to take it up with their solicitors if they want to (they won’t); that what they’ve is damage your property with no means of remedying the problem other than wholesale replacement; here is an estimate from the people who installed the original fence for the replacement cost (attach it); you’ll give them 8 weeks to get it done; if not you will take any appropriate legal action and seek any available recourse with the council and EPA (and whoever else you can throw in). You hope you can fix this problem in an amicable and neighbourly fashion. Send it registered/ signed for. Don’t drop it round/put through letterbox.

People can be such fucking idiots sometimes.

Controversial but I don't think they should pay for anything, for the paint to have seeped through like that then the material must be cheap and thin. Also most people paint the fences within their garden perhaps you should do the same, unpainted fences make a garden look unfinished.

You are most definitely not being unreasonable and I do feel for you @Scottishgirl85 Speaking from experience, the red boundary line shown on the English LR is only valid +/- 0.5m. A boundary dispute could be massively expensive. And if either of you plan on selling anytime soon the query will be declarable if this escalates. However, that said your neighbour introduced the idea that the boundary is in ‘the wrong place’ so it is up to him to prove this is the case not the other way around. And you may have time on your side regarding adverse possession. If not he might be able to claim trespass. No one here can give you exact advice, you need a lawyer who is competent in this area who can review all of the docs, particularly if this dispute is not in an English jurisdiction where the rules may differ. Personally to avoid costs escalating, I’d seek your neighbours getting the decorator’s professional insurance to pay for the error. Or their household insurance if this is not possible. It cannot be your issue that they have used an incompetent tradesman. Claiming on your household insurance will only increase your premium and you will have to accept their decision unless you want to be liable for the fees incurred. The insurance decision might not be what you seek which is understandably to be put back into your original position. If floating this idea is a no-go then you’ll need to get an expert solicitor to look at it.

in the meantime, I’d be simultaneously following the advice regarding the HSE/council and the likely increased flammability of the fence. Building control might be able to assist you there.

@WhatDoIDoNow3 have you actually read the thread? It's toxic engine oil.

Yes, I have fully read the thread and studies indicate engine oil is too viscous to permeate high quality wood panels in such a manner. I honestly don't believe the OP.

@WhatDoIDoNow3 depends on the type of engine oil. The lighter ones will definitely permeate fence panels in this manner. Especially if pressure sprayed on.