Neighbours' fence panel down

My deeds show that the fence on the right is mine, and the posts are on next-door's side! I discovered this after I had paid for new fencing on the left, thinking it was my boundary.

The way forpward is to ring the dog warden for your area. I had to do this about neighbours dog. It is again st the law to allow dogs to roam off your own property. The dog warden will visit snd instruct them to make their garden dogproof. Good luck x

My solicitor told me when I bought my house that my boundary was on the left when facing the house from the front.

KazzaK my deeds actually say there are no "T" marks, so does that mean none of the fences are my responsibility? My fences are beginning to need attention but I wasn't sure which side was mine. I have a gap like the OP and have put that reed screening on it to cover for now.

I don't think it matters who owns the fence as there is no legal requirement to maintain a boundary in a normal suburban area.

Your options seem to be to deter the dog or put up your own fence.

Legally this is a really tricky situation. I don't believe your neighbor has a legal obligation to repair their fence. And I don't believe your landlord has a legal obligation to keep the garden secure.
If you owned your house you'd simply erect and maintain your own, just inside the neighbor's fence. If you are allowed to under the terms of your tenancy you could buy a roll of netting and fix it up where the fence is broken. And start looking for another place, this time examining the state of the garden as well as the house!

I totally endorse what you recommend Corner gran.
Tricky situation to manage and keeping things harmonious with the neighbours
is always a good plan. All the best.

My daughters house has neither boundary as hers shown on the deeds This can happen i m told ...so she continued looking after the side the neighbours on the left told her was hers when she first bought the house , then when her right hand fence blew down the owner ( not on site) wrote to her and told her that was her responsibility she politely wrote back and said the left hand fence had been mended by her She got a very nasty letter back and was a bit frightened that's when the solicitor tried to find out which was hers without success Anyway she ignored the second letter and luckily shortly after the house was sold and the new owners seemed happy to put up the new fence but to be honest I was going to help her get a new fence sooner than have her live with nasty feelings between neighbours it's far to unpleasant and life's too short even if it's not fair

Mardler123 I think it is the 'left' as if you were standing in the road facing your house - at least that is the side our letting agent says out landlord is responsible for. The fence here is falling to pieces but the landlord isn't willing to replace the panels yet. I have bought expanding trellis and stapled it to the fence posts (which are in good condition mainly) to cover the gaps. Hoping to move to our own house before the year ends so the fence will no longer be our problem. I would suggest a trellis type covering and then plant a climbing shrub that will further deter the dog from trying to get into your garden.

Mardler123. It's generally the left hand side facing the property from the front. Land Registry title plan should show the boundary with "t" marks. If the "t" mark is on the inside of the boundary line that boundary is your responsibility. Anyone can obtain title information and plan from HM Land Registry by going on to their website and creating an account. Cost is £3 per document and they usually are instantly available to download.

mardler 123, generally speaking if you stand in your garden facing your house your fence is on the left hand side, facing up the garden with your back to the house your fence is on the right..but there's no hard and fast rules, Your deeds will show the boundaries.. In the case of a rented property it used to be said that the side with the posts on belongs to the neighbour, because it was always good manners to erect a fence with the ugly side to yourself, but nowadays hardly anyone abides by that, so having the posts your side is no indication of who owns the fence unfortunately.

I've always understood it to be determined by the fence posts. If they're on your side then it's your fence, but if on the other side then it belongs to neighbouring house.

It isn't always "the left side". Our house has one side that is owned by next door and the other side is shared, so the deeds need to be looked at, although that isn't a tenants responsibility, the agent should sort that out!

Please talk to the owner of your house. They have a duty to maintain their property. This is actually not your problem. The neighbours have a problem the owner of your house has a problem and the letting agency has a problem. Go to Citizens Advice. You have been put into a very vulnerable position and I suggest you complain to letting agents they are exposing you to risk.

It would seem you have heard nothing from the neighbours at all, so is it unreasonable to assume that they are not aggressive or unhelpful, just non communicative? This could be for many reasons (Maybe someone in the house is ill and needs a lot of attention, or some similar scenario, and the fence is the last thing on their minds.) Contacting 'The Police' seems a heavy handed route, and as they evidently don't even respond to CCTV images/number plates of villains actually handed to them (lack of manpower - no criticism here) I can't see them rushing round to sort out some dog poo. I would just put up a sturdy barrier, either a fence panel or anything suitable, and sprinkle some hot spice as suggested around the area. The worst thing is to fall out with neighbours but you do seem to have an absolute dread of people that you haven't seen or heard from as yet - bad past experience is very hard to get out of your head isn't it?

Please tell me what is meant by 'the left side'? Is it the left when facing the house or left when facing the garden? Thanks in advance.

Just put your fence up your side and say nothing then you will be free of dog and dog poo
No point in talking or asking them you won't get anywhere and certainly don't call the police They sound benign just ignorant
Take the path of least resistance always in neighbour disputes bad feeling can escalate and cause enormous lifetime problems it's just not worth it

I've written about this on here before - but my neighbour had me 'arrested' (even had to be put in the cells!!!!) because when I arrived here I was cutting the hedge on my side (it's his hedge and I was trying to 'level' it my side.) He would continually shout abuse at me when he passed in his car, and eventually stopped at the end of my drive one day as I was picking flowers. I went to his car to suggest he came to look at how the hedge had improved since I 'layered' it, but as I had a small pair of scissors in my right hand (for posy picking!) he reported to the police that I had tried to attack him with them........... whatttt?????? Long story, but the upshot is they didn't charge me and I had a battle to get my fingerprints, DNA etc.wiped off the records............ so, yes, I do sympathise with people who have awkward neighbours...!!!!!!!! Good luck!

Try sprinkling extra hot and strong chilli powder applied to the area, spread it liberally, all around and regularly reapplied. The dog may only have to sniff it once to get the message.

A rental tenant has very little rights i have found. The 'gentleman' who owned the house next to the one i rent took down the fence & refused to replace it as it was supposedly down to my Landlord. Landlord refused to replace the fence panel so i was left with a large gap that the tenants next doors child climbed through & ran& riot in my garden! I now have new neighbours with 3 dogs & 2 fence panels propped across the gap. About the best i can hope for as i have no one to help!

It's quite legal to erect a fence running parallel to next door's provided its inside your garden and no more than two metres high. My last garden had beautiful hand built fences and my neighbour was upset that it was less than two metres so he put one on his land next to mine. It blocked my view of the beautiful countryside, but there was nothing I could do about it.

A rental tenant would presumably need landlords permission to erect a permanent fence??

Erect the fence where needed yourself. I'm sure they probably don't even care much about anything and wouldn't fuss over a fence being put up either.

You can leave their fence alone and put up something on your side. As you are renting, the easiest way would be something like chicken wire which does not require pemanent fixing. if you staple it to your side, you can remove it if they object as they or their landlords probably own the fence, if the letting agents are right. i would expect packing boxes to disintegrate in the rain?

At our old house we had snotty aspiring-posh bullying neighbours from hell - they would have enjoyed having the upper hand (i.e. fence being down; you being annoyed about the dog poo). I learned that it is best to act quickly. Consult the neighbours if you wish/feel up to it (I got to the stage where I couldn't, and I would feel sick as I approached my own house). However, my understanding is that yes its the left side which usually belongs to you BUT you can put up what you like in your own garden - so you can put up a new inner fence, a leylandii wall (heaven forbid), or another fence panel. The existing fence is their responsibility to replace but a new panel on your land belongs to you. My ghastly neighbours erected a whole inner fence at the bottom of their tiny London garden as they didn't like the fence the neighbours had put up. And pretend you are getting a very large, very fierce dog and it is for their own good if challenged about the fence. Rottweiler, Alsatian etc. And perhaps erect some plants that are really prickly, pyracantha for example and that should deter the little dog. You can always take the plants out once things have settled down.