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?

Sometimes things happen. If it is one panel and the posts are still intact it will be a relatively quick fix. Even if the posts need replacing, it is not that big a job. I do not think you should feel this cross.

The responses were completely valid and reasonable, the only unpleasant person seems to be you.

My fence blew down, smashed a neibours car and damaged a shed, took a few weeks to sort out and that's only because I had the money to do it. He may not have avaliable money and decide to not have a fence so chill out and see if he can manage to get a fencer over the next few weeks.

😂 going to pay for it are they?

People calmly pointing out that you’re over-reacting to a very minor inconvenience are not being unpleasant. You are revealing yourself to be quite an unpleasant character, however.

Excellent idea!

Obviously not, but it's in their interest to contact the son and get him to sort it out.

The OP has said that she's disabled and not able to move things herself. When you're feeling poorly, something like this can seem like the insurmountable final straw.

I just checked and mine does...but if its the neighbours fence panel then its their insurance that she should be claiming against...possibly via her own insurer.

Honestly I can’t imagine anyone giving a shit what their estate agent thinks of their fence.

Who is your insurer?

This is a good point and I think does explain OPs upset

Lloyds. I made sure it covered my garden as well as my house, inclding fences and so on that I owned.

Well, any time I've been involved in house sale, the estate agent has given information and/or advice about anything that can just be left or something that needs to be fixed in order to effect a sale.

Is there a rush to move it asap? Do you have a dog that might escape?

If not then wait.

Bet you were their favourite customer!

even then, while I understand the urgency, the fence owner is not responsible for other people's animals.

I am familiar with Lloyd’s and they don’t cover storm damage or wear and tear to fences (at least, currently) and I’ve not come across any insurer who does.

Oh grow up for Christ’s sake. It’s one panel and it’s only just happened. Chill the fuck out. Fucking ridiculous.

This. You may have all the time in the world to fret about a fence panel, they don't. Retired does not mean "has nothing to do". And maybe it's just not a priority. If you are that worried, do it yourself in future. You may have a disability, but if you can post on MN, you can write an email to a tradesperson.

If that's the only storm damage you get, you have got off lightly.

I agree but was going to suggest that if op is panicking about the fence needing to be fixed because of a dog or something that she could ask someone to help her to make it safe until the son can get to it.

no they don't cover wear and tear but storm damage they do, just as they cover storm damage to other insured items that are in good repair.

I'm disabled and I love gardening but some days I can't even lift a watering can.

I'm still responsible for making sure my belongings in my garden aren't near potential hazards.

Our fence (NDN responsibility) is also very wobbly, it's about 40 years old and I'm not sure how many more winds it will survive but I'm not just going to stand there and look at some plants and think oh aye my plants will get squashed if the fence comes down, ah well, nothing I can do about it. I'd ask someone for help if I couldn't manage myself or I'd have to just accept that I would have some casualties and that's life.

I'm sorry you think mumsnet is being harsh but this is just one of those situations where there were opportunities for you to rectify the situation first and you didn't and now you're blaming the son of the person who lived there and is now in a care home.

Specific examples from when I sold a house which had been empty for a while...

Old-fashioned pink bathroom suite? Leave it - not worth spending money on it.

Broken fence, giving security concerns and the impression that the property is not maintained? (It needed a couple of posts and three palings replaced.) Worth repairing.

could you be mistaken as they literally publish the fact they don’t

https://www.lloydsbank.com/insurance/home-insurance/help-and-guidance/weather-hub/storms.html

Well yes they obviously do this, but people don’t listen to them! Particularly when selling a mortgage free property with no onward chain, at likely huge profit.
Who is going to sink money into fencing because the estate agent said so?