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.

It’s your responsibility to ensure that your dog is secure.

Has the neighbour said she doesn’t want or isn’t bothered about erecting a new fence?
Appreciate that the OP probably does need one due to her dogs, but I’d be expecting - hoping - that the neighbour would replace her own fence. It’s the presumptuous “prepared to go halves” that would grate a bit.

I would definitely pay half to get it done and its securing your animals. I would pay for whole thing if I needed to secure animals and other side was unwilling or unable to pay half. I think half is very fair.

ultimately IME the "responsibility" for the fence doesn't matter as much as who wants it more.

In our case, the neighbours on the side of "our" fence wanted a particular style and for it all to match, so replaced it and declined our offer of money. This was fortunate, as on the other side the house is tenanted, and the landlord did not respond to our emails to discuss joint funding a replacement of "his" fence. This was becoming unsafe, so in the end we just emailed to say we would replace and take a lack of response as implicit consent.

In this circumstance, then I would pay halves, as you have dogs and she doesn’t have to replace it (unless in deeds).

You say you have a mate who will give a good price. Definitely get a quote from him, but don’t pay it upfront or you could be paying for the lot.

The next debate is, who will get ‘the good side’ if you pay 50:50 !

Legally your neighbours only need to mark the boundary and they can do that with a bit of wire. You, however, need to stoip your dogs going into their garden, so paying half is probably good deal for you.

If it came down in the gales last week, why doesn't she claim it on her insurance?

It's very unlikely to be covered

Your neighbour is a CF.
Her fence, her responsibility.
I'd certainly not be rushing to go halves and I'd make it clear that she should be picking up the tab.
However, you may have to be a pragmatist here if you ever want to get that fence replaced.

Yes I would and have. We went halves with one neighbour which enabled us to get a really nice fence with concrete posts and gravel boards.

The neighbour the other side “owns” the fence (yes it’s on everyone’s deeds) and they keep patching it up with crappy bits of wood. We offered to go halves with them to get it done the same as the rest of our fence but they refused as they’ve got massive bushes behind it and don’t care. It’s bloody annoying as 3 sides of my fence look great and one is falling down.

Well we have great neighbours and have done it and had no problems. It kept the peace and we are still good neighbors to each other

If she doesn't want a fence she doesn't have to have one. If you want your dogs to be able to use your garden you do need a fence. If I were you I would just put a fence up.

I would too, because I'd want to protect my dogs from escaping.

This is a classic
"Do you want to be right, or do you want to get what you want"

Personally, I'd say I will pay half on the proviso I run /manage installation to be pre-agreed with neighbour so no surprises for them.

Then you ensure you get fencing of the quality and work of the standard I want.

She doesn’t need to have a fence or maintain a fence. If she is responsible for that boundary then all she needs to do is maintain the boundary. She could plonk some rocks down in a line or tie up a string. She doesn’t need to put a fence up.

You have dogs. It is your responsibility to secure them. You need to do something permanent and secure to keep your dogs in. If she is offering to pay for half the fence then do that. Or pay for your own.

Put your own fence up just inside your boundary. You lose a bit of garden but then you have the fence you want.

We've paid to fence all around so that we could have the fence we wanted. We often go halves with the neighbours over things. Makes life more pleasant and things more affordable.

I would be careful about assuming one side is yours and the other is hers. There's an old wives tale that the left is yours and the right is the neighbours but legally that's not correct and there isn't a way to find out who is legally responsible for maintaining the fences and boundaries without checking the deeds (unless you asked this specific question when you purchased and got a definitive answer). I would pay halves and move in.

I am in a similar position as the fence between me and my neighbour needs replacing. It is his fence, however he thinks it isn't as he hasn't bothered to look at the deeds. He was the one who broke it by climbing over it to retrieve balls his children kicked into my garden ironically. I'll be buggered if I'm paying for it, although eventually, it will piss me off enough to do something about it as I'm sure he will leave it.

Do you have to legally mark it? There's nothing on the boundary between me and my neighbour. I do have a fence but (for ease of installing it I presume) the previous owner put it a few feet inside the boundary.

I'd go halves in your situation but I'd probably feel annoyed 😅. I have neighbours who would like me to go halves even though it's their fence that is falling down but as I'm not going to. I don't have a dog and am already responsible for all the fence along the back of my garden and the fence down the other side of my garden.

It’s usually in someone’s deeds that they are responsible for maintaining the boundary so yes, they need to maintain the boundary. Just mark it out in some way; doesn’t need to be a fence or wall or permanent structure.

I wouldn't

She'll soon get fed up of your dogs running in her garden

Right… but if you own the dogs it is your legal responsibility to keep them enclosed. You can’t let them run in your neighbours property. The neighbour doesn’t need to put up a fence. No one needs a fence between their properties (unless specifically included in the deeds). But if you own animals, it is your responsibility to keep them in your property. It isn’t the neighbours job to do that.

I've always gone half, most people seem to expect it and are happy to pay.