shared fence post damaged but landlord next door won't pay up

binkyboo_2

I live in a terraced house and the fence post which is attached the back wall of our house and next door has crumbled away on their side which has in turn caused the fence panel to fall down and it cannot be fixed without a new post. The property next door is owned by a landlord and tenants live in it. We have contact details and contacted her about arranging to get it sorted last november when it first happened and she instructed us not to get it repaired as she would not pay towards it she knew someone who would do it for next to nothing. it is now march and we are still waiting. We are about to get out garden done up and some other fencing fixed so i am just going to go ahead and get this done. My question is should we just send her a bill for half the work and hope she pays? at the moment i feel she is at fault as because of the fence being missing we have had dogs from next door in our garden, children coming through and in general have lost our privacy for nearly 3 months.
But i know that she just doesn't care because she doesn't have to live there herself, but i don't think that means we should suffer!
Does anyone have any experience of this or any ideas about what steps i should take?

fayew_2

I think you need to give her written notice that you intend to bill her for any costs.

I would write a polite letter stating that if nothing is done you will be repairing the fence post/fence yourself in 30 days and will then proceed to recover the costs from her through the small claims court.

Citizen's advice will be able to help if you want a suggestion as to what to write and the minimum notice period you have to give before doing it yourself.

fayew_2

Of course, in saying that, it does also depend on the cost of the fence.

If the cost of the repair is not much, it might be better to just get it done and be done with it, rather than worry about claiming it back (as small claim will cost around £60 I think, to file, depending on sum claimed).

The problem with neighbours is that they don't go away. My father had a border dispute with a neighbour that dragged on for almost two years and caused him untold stress. Some people (like my Dad's neighbour), just stick their heels in the mud for the sake of it. Better to avoid any dealings with them if you can!

binkyboo_2

yeah i think it is best just to sort it out ourselves send her a bill as we have already warned her months ago we would do this if she didn't sort it. But i won't be expecting to get anything from her! My only issue is that if wefix one thing ourselves then she will continue to ignore things and next time a fence panel comes down it will again be up to us to pay up because she knws we've done it before

dacouch

To cover yourself, get two different quotations for the work so you can prove you got the most competitive deal

fayew_2

You do have a point - if you fix once, she won't bother in future.

If you're on decent terms with the tenants, you could always ask them to complain to her about it.

Or ring her once every three days until she gets it done. Sometimes persistence is the only thing that gets you to the top of someone else's list.

Alias_Omega

B&Q have some good sales on at the moment.

If you get on with the tenants, then maybe ask them to help you repair the fence. Then between the two of you, im sure you will have the tools, or know someone who can pitch in with the work.

Im sure you could get a post, the fixings and a new fence panel for under £40. Then its the use of the tools and elbow grease.

Landlords are tight, and they wont pay out unless they really have too. A fence is a perishable item (unless concrete i guess) and then it will be all replaced.

polybear

One thing to consider first - who's fence is it? Your house deeds will tell you if you are responsible for the fence or the neighbour. If it's the neighbour then it's pretty much up to them if they fix the post I'm afraid. If it is theirs and the condition is such that it's causing a safety hazard then you have cause for complaint - but all they would need to do is make it safe I think. As for a fence, they could even do something as basic as stretch some wire strands from one end of the garden to the other to mark the boundary (in fact they may not even be legally obliged to mark the boundary at all).

Brian

binkyboo_2

thanks for all the advice everyone.

the tennants next door have kids too so the guy who lives there has temporarily managed to get the panel to stay up because it was a nice day and they wanted their kids to play out but it is by no means a solution.

i will have a look into our deeds to see who owns what before i go any further but i suspect we will end up doing it ourselves.

plumb1_2

I would take photos before and after.