Storm - Neighbour's fence panel just collapsed into my garden...

[Greenseawitch]

I live in a terraced house.

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that one of the panels in my neighbour's fence was coming loose.

The elderly owner is in a care home and the house is for sale so I informed her son who said he would look into it during his visit to the house.

The panel has now collapsed into my garden because of the strong winds, causing damage to plant pots, plants and a garden lantern.

My deeds state that I am only responsible for the fence on the right side of my garden so this repair (on the left) is my neighbour's responsibility.

I have texted them and will take pictures of the damage tomorrow.

Frankly I am angry that they just let this happen although I had warned them of the problem but hope it can be resolved amicably.

Can anyone give me some advice on the right steps to take/ the best approach?

I live alone and don't have the strength to lift the fence back I think but should I try to push it back in their garden once I have taken pictures? what can I do if they are slow in repairing this?

I def wouldn't try fitting it back in place on your own in these high winds. As soon as you lift it off the ground it will become like a sail and take you for a trip into someone elses garden...maybe a few streets away !

There’s no obligation for them to replace the panel if they choose not to. Boundaries do not have to be fenced.

I do hope they sort it out for you asap though.

Also bear in mind that they’re probably responsible to pick up the fence panels etc, it’s not a legal obligation to have a fence.
After storms, tradesmen are busy anyway and you’re likely to need tp wait.

Insurance companies don’t cover fences

Who the f calls their insurance company over a fence panel?!?!

maybe read the OP's post? - not just a fence and not her fence anyway...

The panel has now collapsed into my garden because of the strong winds, causing damage to plant pots, plants and a garden lantern.

And some insurance companies do cover fences and all sorts of other parts of a property - don't generalise! Anyway - hence my comment about the OP may or may not be insured in this case, but can speak to them...

Of course an alternative is to go onto a forum and swear at people - so constructive! 😉

Blimey OP, he’s elderly and in a home. His son is probably worried sick, doing visits and working. Probably didn’t predict the future of the fence blowing down. Have some compassion. While it’s a shame about your plants, etc being angry is OTT.

My neighbour set my entire garden on fire (after I had warned him several times about his crazy big bonfires next to my hedge)and burnt down 52 trees, two sheds, a garden office and 30k plus of contents. I managed to shake hands with him two days later after he apologised.

No, they don’t cover fences

and as the other poster said, you wouldn’t make an insurance claim for your plant pots (unless you were mad, anyway)

They will be having to do masses of admin with sorting the care home and the house sale, on top of whatever their normal lives are. You need to learn patience. That's not nasty just fact.

Unfortunately, I think you may be a bit stuck here. There are a number of challenges. If the relatives have no power of attorney, there is no obligation for them to pay for anything or to lift the panel back. Morally, of course it would be nice if they did, assuming that they have the physical capability.

If they do nothing, your options are limited as any action you take will incur cost and likely be more than just paying someone to move the panel yourself.

In the event that this isn't possible, patience is your best bet, with maybe a polite note to let them know you have incurred damage.

It isn't always as straight forward as one might hope. I am on the other side of this as my in-laws both died recently and I am the only surviving relative, however am not an executor of either will. It will likely take me a couple of years to resolve even with a solicitor which I can't afford.

Have to say I agree, never known fence panels be covered. The OPs insurance might cover her plant pots but I suspect the excess might be more than the cost of pots?

I also doubt the neighbours insurance will cover it. After the fire which started in my neighbours garden my insurance said they couldn’t claim against his insurance even though I had camera footage of the fire starting his side because they said it wasn’t deliberate.

and obviously if you claim on your own insurance your premiums go up the following year.

Seriously ? The bloody wind is still blowing a hooley here!! Give him a break, and a chance. Poor guy. You sound deeply unpleasant.

OP you are obviously feeling very stressed about this, but I think it has gotten out of proportion.

i recently noticed a wobbly fence post - it took over three months to get someone to come out and redo the fence. And it cost over £1k to replace the rotten wooden posts with concrete posts along the length of the garden. Luckily it was done before the storm - but only by luck.

you only noticed the wobbly panel two weeks ago. That’s not long to contact people, get quotes and get work done. Give the guy a break. If he hasn’t removed the fence in a few weeks then complain. But you need to be realistic - unless he can do it all himself (which most people can’t) he will have to compete with every one else who has storm damage.

I hope it all gets sorted

Yes. There's a fence panel between my garden and the next that often goes during storm weather - I think it's to do with the position and the angle that the wind catches it. The neighbour and I just replace it between us.

I think we're on our fourth one - I'm just hoping that both the fence panel and the picea omorika hold on this time round.

Unless you have kids or pets I wouldn’t say a fence panel is very urgent. It’s annoying that it damaged your plants, I lost a small tree when the same happened to next door’s fence, but these things happen and I was just glad it wasn’t me who would have the eventual expense and annoyance of repairing it. I think you’re being a bit unreasonable to expect urgent fence repairs during two storms and to not think that maybe the fence wasn’t top of the list of priorities for the neighbours son or elderly neighbour

No point being angry. There was a massive storm. The owner is in a care home. So presumably nobody lives there?
Push it back over to their side. Either your insurance or the neighbours one should compensate for the damage.

I'm sorry for your plants though. It is sad if they were mature and permanently injured.

There's nobody in the house, so there's no actual urgency for the fence panel to be replaced. The man will be having a lot to do, with selling the house, his mum going into a home, and everything normal people have to do with their own lives.

Give him a break, and just try to think a little bit kindly about the situation he might be in.

Claim on your insurance

Before you go in guns blazing make sure the wording on the deeds is fence and not boundary. If they are responsive for the fence, then yep ask them to fix it and expect it done. If responsible for the boundary, ask them to fix it but the legal obligation is not a fence but a maintenances (i.e. continued understanding and lack of encroachment) of the boundary line and this does not have to be physical, so no legal requirement for a fence/ wall or hedge

Take the photos and ask family / friends to come over on the weekend to help move it over to their side..
Tidy the mess and move on.

They aren't required to have a fence up at all.

If it were me and my situation, I have dogs so if there garden wasnt secured all the way round meaning my dogs could escape then I would want it dealt with promptly. Maybe if the op had made up some pets, she wouldnt be getting the replies shes had.

We are on the other side of the fence with this - pardon the pun.

We've had absolute hell with land registry etc selling my recently deceased grandmothers property.

The property itself is 150 miles from us, my parents are deceased and no siblings to help. My husband and I have two small children and both work... We try and go up as regularly as possible to keep things as tidy as possible.

We have people like yourself firing off messages at the smallest thing and it's really stressful as we want it sorted as much as anyone else! Please try and be a little more empathetic - you say the son is retired but he may have a whole host of other responsibilities you aren't taking any time to consider.

If you had dogs you would have to pay for, and be responsible for, securing all sides of your garden before letting them out. The neighbour would be irrelevant really.

Not everyone has family or friends capable of dealing with lifting that, to be fair. At one point, it was easy for me to get help for that kind of issue - not so now, that everyone is so much older.

The OP probably needs to take the photos and to ask the owner's son to organise for someone to lift the panel out of the way.

If you knew it was loose and that a storm was coming why didn’t you move the pots and lantern?

The poor bloke is trying to sort an elderly parent moving to a care home and selling the house on top of his own life

Contact the estate agent in the morning. Send pictures. They'll want it fixed asap