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Fencing and gate

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Mark_G
Mark_G Posts: 40 Forumite
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in House buying, renting & selling
Posted this on another part of the forum, but was suggested to repost here.

I live in a top flat of a 4 in a block of flats owned by a housing association. For years 3 of us have never really got on with the 4th.
He is now erecting a fence between the gardens, which in my view is not a problem as such.
the problem is that he is building it with no access directly to the back of the house, ie there is no gate to allow me and my downstairs neighbour access to our windows or gutters etc.
He is building the fence from the bottom of the garden to the wall on the side of our property

Does he have to put in a gate by law or not?

It would be handy to know before I complain to the housing association on monday, at least I can go armed with some info!
In The Silence Of The Night, We Still Hear Their Screams...

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  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    Mark_G wrote: »

    Does he have to put in a gate by law or not?

    It would be handy to know before I complain to the housing association on monday, at least I can go armed with some info!
    What does the legal paperwork for your flat say about access to the windows, gutter etc? That will be the key thing here.

    Under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act, you have a right to enter a neighbour's property, by prior agreement, to perform maintenance work, but obviously, you want something less formal.

    Do you know if the HA has been involved with this? They may have rules about what they'll allow, just as a freeholder would probably need to be consulted if it were a privately owned block of flats.
  • Norman_Castle
    Norman_Castle Posts: 11,871 Forumite
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    edited 11 June 2017 at 1:09PM
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    If the garden is shared he cannot block your access to it or prevent you from using it. Speak to your landlord. Its likely he will need their permission to fence the area.

    I've got a similar neighbour who likes to claim the garden as theirs because they are on the ground floor. Its called wishful thinking. Ask the HA to clarify who has use of the garden and to explain this to all tenants.
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    Are you and the neighbour both tenants of the HA? Even if your tenancy agreements aren't explicit about it, I would have thought you all have an obligation to allow access for necessary maintenance etc of the other flats. That doesn't necessarily means he has to build a gate - he could just let you through his flat.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
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    edited 12 June 2017 at 1:35PM
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    1) what does your lease (if you're a leaseholder) or your tenancy agreement (if a tenant) say about the garden? Do you have access? Is it communal/shared? Do you 'own' a specific area of it? Or none of the above?

    2) If the HA owns the freehold, surely it is the HA you should be asking about this?

    3) whether a fence has to have a gate in it depends on whether anyone has a right of access through the fence. A fence with no gate would by definition block access and breach whatever right the other person may have.

    But no, there is no law that says that all fences must have gates. There are 100s of fences around the country with no gates. Indeed, the fence round my garden has no gate.
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