Would you pay half for fence?

[horseyhorsey17]

I've pretty much decided I am going to do this, but interested in views of others nonetheless!

The fence on the right of my property blew down in the wind last week - it was rotten and clearly the whole side needs replacing. That fence is actually my neighbour's (mine is the other side) and she was very quick to say she was prepared to 'go halves' on replacing it. I would obviously rather she fixed it as it's her fence, but there was a massive hole in it when I moved in that I fixed (because I have dogs and didn't want them escaping) and apparently it had been there for years because both she and the former occupant of this house refused to pay to have it fixed, and he wouldn't go halves. I've had to chickenwire the missing fence to stop my dogs roaming freely round her garden but obviously this is a temporary solution. Do I just suck it up and pay halves for the fence (I know a guy who'll do it for me for a good price) or try and push her to pay it as it's actually her problem? I just don't think she cares enough to actually get it done.

You have to be pragmatic by the sounds of it. Make sure you get a quote first that she agrees to, and have you both sign the contract with the fencer.
If the posts need replacing get a quote for concrete ones.

No, because I wouldn't care about the lack of fence and have other things I'd rather spend the money on. But you do care - more than her by the sound of it - so I think it's right for you to go halves.

I would pay but voice it that it should be her responsibility but you are concerned about the safety of your dogs, so this one time you will go halves to make the fence good.

She probably doesn't have any obligation to maintain the fence (it may be that in her deeds it ays she has to, but this is more common in new builds, and it is rare that anyone enforces this).

So the obligation is probably on you to maintain the fence to stop your dogs escaping, even though the deeds may say she is responsible for the boundary/owns the fence.

In order to do that you can either build a second fence on your land inside the boundary which solves the problem completely (her fence can then fall into ruin but that's not your issue) or you can take her up on the offer of paying half.

It's kind of cheeky because if it is her fence and her responsibility then she is using the fact that you have a requirement to maintain the fence to get some cash out of you. That said, if she doesn't care about the state of the fence then why should she have to pay it all to fence in your dogs ?

I would also think about this in the context of selling the house if you intend to move.

Nope, sorry. I’m not picking up the bill for my neighbour’s fence. You could pass on details for your contact who will fix it for a decent price, but that’s as far as I’d go with it. She knows it’s her fence - CFer saying she’s “prepared to go halves”. 😂

We did in this scenario as the house next door (not attached) was occupied by housing association and the waiting time for them to repair was 2 years. We had a dog so paid nearly 3k to get it all fixed.

Been there done that, ended up paying for the lot! Yes,dogs to keep in, and the fence was ruining my garden when it kept falling in
My garden is my big thing,it's why we moved here,it's where the money goes. Having said that,it saves us as well,both serious mental health issues, and the fact we grow a lot of our own fruit and veg.

I wouldn't. It's not your responsibility. If the other fence goes you'll use to pay for that as well.

She most likely has no obligation to even have a fence but you have an obligation to contain your dogs and going halves on the fence seems to be the easiest way to do that, so I would (though I would be a bit hacked off about having to do so).

GasPanic, this was suggested to us, but there are big trees along the boundary line. We tried it at one point (between the trees) what happened was, the broken fence was damaging and pushing over our new fence.

The left/ right hand ownership is an old wives tale. If you want your garden secured you do it, really is as simple as that. If you have a neighbour willing to share costs great but ultimately it’s what you want for your garden.

I'd pay half to get it done.

Your neighbour may have no legal obligation to replace the fence and no reason to care if they don't have pets themselves. In which case going halves might be your best option.

This

We have the same - partially broken, and heavily leaning over our side. Not a problem to our neighbours as it is screened by tall bushes their side. He actually said, “well, we can’t see it” to me, when I raised the subject. Trouble is, if we insisted they get new fencing, we’d end up with the cheapest solution available, which isn’t necessarily what I’d want. I’ve said to dh I think we ought to just get it done, or ask what they’d be prepared to pay and then top it up so that we get something solid and fairly long-lasting, not just a temporary fix.

I wouldn't pay for it. She could move on and the next occupier could take it down, which would be a waste.

Our neighbours wanted to mend a huge hole in our fence. There was a hedge in front of our fence so we could not see it and therefore it didn't bother us a jot. However, it bothered them because they had dogs they didn't want getting out. They were going to pay for the whole fence to be replaced. It was £1800. I did actually go halves with them which they were delighted about. Similar situation to you.

That's an odd suggestion. There's no reason a new neighbour would take down a fence that gives them privacy and protection from a neighbour's dogs.

I would pay half. I have done this for a neighbour who didn’t expect it and was very grateful. The fence was long and expensive to replace and the neighbours were pensioners. They were clearly upset when it blew down in the storm.

There is no requirement to have a fence usually. If there is the fence can be as flimsy as a post with a wire indicating the boundary.
The neighbour doesn't care if the fence is broken. You can't make them build a new one

I would, but my thinking is based on my own set of circumstances. I get in with my fence sharing neighbours and i would want it done. Also, the new neighbours who own the fencing to one side have replaced with short fencing, so we're going to add in our own. Neighbours to the others put up higher fencing above our shorter fencing - were on a slope. We all get on but we don't want to be in each faces whilst in the others of our own gardens.

Yes I think you are lucky she is willing to go halves tbh, she doesn't have to have a fence that will stop your dogs roaming. You need it more than she does.

Well, you need a functioning fence and your neighbour does not.

Even though it's "her" fence, she doesn't have any obligation to replace it.

It's arguable that it's the OP who "wants" a fence to secure her dog, so that she should pay for it entirely if she wants a fence but the neighbour doesn't!

Depends on so many factors. Do you generally get on with each other? Is she short on funds? Do you want to move? How important is a fence between you? How reliable is she for actually paying half?

(currently we are refusing to pay for our neighbours fence - they’ve asked us to pay 100% of removing their fence because they are simply the highest cf going. So I’m going to be biased).