Fences...

Have a look here www.gov.uk/your-property-boundaries

To be honest I think getting the deeds, tedious though it is, will probably in the long run save aggro. Boundary fences seem like a very minor issue, but can cause years of problems. We had issues with one neighbour on and off for about fifteen years until I went round with the paperwork. At that point he stopped moaning about fences and moved onto complaining about tree branches. If they dared to grow even one inch across the dividing line of his property he would cut them and then pile the debris on our doorstep. Sigh.

It is a complicated issue and its full of pitfalls so beware. We had a fence that was in poor condition and our neighbours had a dog that was constantly in our garden. My young daughter was frightened of the dog so we asked if we could replace the fence with something a bit more sturdy but they said no it was their fence. So we put a new fence up on our garden 6 inches away from the other fence. Problem solved for us but they have ignored us ever since. I am not really bothered by this if they have so little understanding I'm not sure I need their friendship.

I really empathise with you. We've lived in our house for nearly 32 years. Our neighbours on the left when we moved in were a lovely old couple. they used to maintain the fence between us and them, even though it was our fence as previously our house was rented and the fence was neglected. Parts of the fence still predate our moving in.

About 15 years ago new neighbours moved in and are total nimbys. They regularly complain to the council and the police about us, all of whom dismiss the complaints as without foundation.

About 7 years ago they decided to claim about 1m of our garden as theirs, saying the boundary was wrong. We have photos dated nearly 32 years ago, clearly showing the fence was the same as it is now.

We have the deeds from our house, dating back to when it was built, around 1936 and sadly at that time they weren't specific regarding fence ownership and the measurements aren't as clear as they would be today.

There are so many other issues with them, they bully us with their complaints and there is nothing we can do about it. Legal action would be far too expensive so we put up with it.

Check the deeds first (you may need to get an office copy from the Land Registry which you can do online and for which there is a fee).
Look for T marks on the boundary. They may show you clearly who owns the boundary fence.
If it is not there read the wording on the register which may be more easy to understand than people think.
If it is silent, then the history will be looked at and the fact that you replaced the fence and that she agreed to this at the time. I would assume this to be a fact unless she can refute it.
Get the office copies first and if they are clear, show them to her. If not, write her a letter stating as a fact that the fence is yours, that you installed it at your expense and at her request and that you will not be making any changes to it. Let her dispute it if she wants to and make her pay any costs to do so. Unless you get a solicitor's letter, ignore her.

My daughter's fence blew down in the gale force winds. Her neighbour is hardly ever at his property so we took an executive decision and got a reliable builder out to replace the fence. We asked him about fence ownership/responsibility and he said it is a very grey area. She has had no complaints from the neighbour - nor should there be, it is a very nice fence and cost quite a bit, saving him money! The fence posts were/are on her side and I always thought that meant you had ownership and responsibility but from this thread it does indeed seem a cause for confusion.

Funny old thing boundaries. We get so excited about them. I've just had a recent (Monday) confrontation with a lady whose hedge is between our gardens. Can't remember how long she's been there - 20 years? - and every one of them she diligently sent the person trimming it round to my side to do the needful. This year, for some reason, she decided not to trim 'my' side. I went to her door to check on this and she was pretty rude. I invited her round to have a look at it. She came and took herself round into the privacy of my back garden before knocking on the door. She then told me to feel free to hack away at it as often as I please. Her arrogance, attitude and rudeness caught me unawares and I remain frustrated that all I managed to say was 'it is YOUR hedge'. Ugh!

I have always understood that "your side of the fence" is the one where the posts are in your garden. You might look at this.

First of all, you need to check the deeds, even if you need pay. Right or left isn't legal, the deeds are. Sorry. Perhaps ask the other neighbour and other houses as see if there is a pattern? Secondly, if it is your responsibility, the definition of a fence can be two lines of barbed wire to anything more elaborate/substantial. If it is your reponsibility legally you can decide the type of fence. If you neighbour doesn't like your choice, they are free to errect their own fence on their own land. This happened several doors up from me.
Good luck.

Get a copy of the boundary lines from the land registry office. You can also get a copy of your neighbours. I paid £27 for a copy of a neighbours property as I was told that I should to replace a fence that wasn't mine. Sometime just showing your deeds isn't enough! All is now good £27 well spent.

Either of you are allowed to erect and maintain a fence, it just has to be your side of the border. If your neighbor bought the materials and erected a fence on your side, even by an inch, then you have the right to ask them to remove it so you can put up your own. (Or you can remove it and return the materials to them) But even if it is on your side, you don't have the right to risk damage to it by fixing things to it without permission. So basically if it's a fence you paid for, then you can fix what you like to it. But if you accidentally put it even slightly over their side, they have the right to ask you to move it. That's why mostly there is the agreement in the deeds about who does what. However that is all worthless in the situation the neighbor who's meant to have the responsibility doesn't keep their fence in good repair. Thats why the fence on all sides of my garden is mine, but I put it up where the old fence was which was probably within the boundaries of the neighbor on at least one side! However, they've not complained, and I have not attempted to stop them fixing stuff to it. If later they want to claim it's theirs, then that's fine by me.

GrannieBettie That used to be a guideline if there was no other indication but it was based on the idea that people were polite and would put the most attractive side of the fence towards their neighbours. Courts don't generally assume this any more so it is not particularly helpful.

If you think a fence is a problem, try having a ditch as a boundary!Never any problems in over 20 years until new neighbours arrived and started questioning whose responsibility were the trees growing along the edge of ditch, fence must be ours etc etc. In end we took legal advice and we now share cost of tree lopping and the cost of a fence. Didn't make for good relationships between us though. We speak, but that's about it!!

Just to add (as we cannot edit) that's my choice, but I am aware that tragically large numbers of people can't even afford a passport and I know, personally, at least one person who is without a doctor due to this situation through lack of means. She can't be the only one. We have national insurance cards why can't they just have our photo on them?

We replaced the fences on both the left and right hand side of our garden that way it's up to us what we do with it. Expensive yes but at least no falling out with neighbours.

tegan2.
You need to know your boundaries Not always accurate however and can lead to disputes even over a few inches. If you have always got on with your neighbour can you not get together and sort this out in an amicable way.
Not as costly as getting legal advice

We've lived in our house over 31 years. The couple on the right facing the house always maintained the hedge was theirs and duly kept it trimmed every year coming round to our side and clearing up the mess. The next couple to move in did the same. The latest residents cut their side but my husband is having to do our side now. The fence on the left side we replaced about 10 years ago as the panels kept blowing down - the then neighbour was happy about it but then died and the new couple who moved in were quite different. We came home one day to find they'd removed all the planks from their side and were quite rude and belligerent when we pointed out we'd put the fence up saying the previous owner had done it and it was dropping to bits. There ensued quite a heated argument - my husband is slightly obsessed with the boundaries and was worried they would encroach on our side with a new fence. To cut a long story short they put up a new fence on their side which is very nice - we removed the old one and ended up with a much better outlook. After a couple of months they started talking to us so all is well now. It really is better not to fall out over boundaries if you can help it. We have recently had out deeds so probably should check them to establish just who is responsible for what - we have lived here longer than anyone now so no one else can remember!

Nokkie
Very sensible solution.You may have lost six inches of your garden but what is a few inches compared to a bit of peace

Who owns the fence should be on the deeds. I must say that if I owned the fence and the neighbour started erecting things onto it like trellis or other structures I would be extremely annoyed and telling them to take it down. As for the dog eating it then I would expect them to replace/repair to the same standard.

The fence on the right is ours but we had a similar problem with the left, we asked the neighbour to repair a rusty wire fence but he wouldn’t so we put a wooden fence up just inside it on our property because it was an eyesore and i really couldn’t really do with the agro, he has since planted a hedge on his side to hide the wire fence and i assume our wooden one.

We own all three of our fences. There is no fixed rule. Usually the side with the fixings is yours and the smooth side is not but there is no real rule about this either. The only way you can tell for sure is look at the deeds of the property.

We are responsible for all of all of our boundaries - I'm told it's for historical reasons to do with a chicken farm back in the day :-) The good thing is there can be no boundary disputes as they are our responsibility. I know from previous experience that it can be a nightmare and feel your pain.

The issue here seems to be whether you have the right to attach items to the fence on your side. I can't see why you shouldn't, as long as it doesn't interfere with what's on your neighbour's side.

Always do what you can to avoid neighbour disputes - if you ever sell your house you are obliged to declare any disputes you're having with a neighbour and that could put off a potential purchaser. That's worth pointing out to the neighbour - it's in both your interests to reach a friendly solution.

I'm not sure who owns what but I wouldn't be bothered at all if neighbours wanted to fix something to it - not even really sure how I'd know!

Apologies for the offtopic post - I had meant to post it in a completely different thread!!!