Boundary Fence

Natividad

I have just recently moved into a nice new (new build) dream home with my girlfriend about 2 weeks ago. The neighbour to my left erected a fence without asking me but he seems like a nice bloke and gave us a bottle of wine and a card on moving in day and always goes out of his way to say hi, so I offered to pay half which I think is reasonable.

The neighbour to my right has been to my home whilst at work tonight and upset my gf saying that its law in this country (England) that I pay 100% for a fence to be built on the right side and demanded to know when we'll be doing it because he needs to put his kids toys in the garden.

Is this true? I've been doing a bit of research and it supposedly depends on the deeds but I cannot find anything. All I can find is the following paragraph:

All fences walls or hedges separating the Property and the Estate (save those adjoining Estate Roads or which are external garage walls or which are marked with an inward or outward "T" on the Plan) and any walls separating buildings on the Property from any other buildings on the Estate are party fences walls or hedges and shall be maintained accordingly"

I cannot see any "T" on the plan.

Me and my gf stretched our budget for this and cannot afford a fence right now but I'd rather do the reasonable "go halfs approach" but our new neighbour won't. Does anyone know where I stand legally. In theory, if I am liable, there is currently a tiny, crappy 3 foot fence, can this be "maintained accordingly"?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Tell him you've decided to plant a native hedge - things like Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Holly and the like. Maybe some Yew, so he'll need to keep his kids three foot away from the boundaries at all times. If he says he doesn't like the idea of evil thorns everywhere, say you also considered Leylandii, which should get to about 12 foot tall by the end of summer.

He may decide that the little fence is sufficient for his needs.

:cool:

Hintza

Natividad wrote: »

there is currently a tiny, crappy 3 foot fence, can this be "maintained accordingly"?

Tell him you alredy hve put up one on the right but you were looking the otherway .

Seriously the builders have a put a fence in (as above) and if he wants more then that is up to him and your offer to go halves sounds more than reasonable.

bob_a_builder

Tell him you will be happy to comply if he can show you documented proof of this law. (on pretty safe ground there, I think)
Otherwise he is free to install a suitable fence for his needs inside his boundary at his own cost

pinkcandyflossprincess

no it is not the law in this country!
you dont actually have to provide a fence, mad as it sounds as i have found out recently!!
if there is a fence as you say then it is up to you if you want to keep it or replace it , yes you can just maintain it as you wish.
it would be fair to both go halfs ideally. i would suggest this nicely to your neighbour if that is an option.
i suggest you google fencing debates etc as there is a few sites dedicated to this madness.
my neighbours kids broke my fence so i had to take it down as it was dangerous -all they have is the origional wire boundry on there side of where my fence was which the kids have broke too and yes you guessed it-they want me to pay for it:mad:
I told them i am putting a fence up when i have saved but they offered no help and i live in fear the kids will break it too:(
if you dont want to fork out for a new one, why not plant honeysuckle or another climber along? it will provide some privacy but not be as costly/more attractive too:)
http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=d4bb81f290c706b27ba47b501fdc2a6a

antrobus

Hintza wrote: »

Seriously the builders have a put a fence in (as above) and if he wants more then that is up to him and your offer to go halves sounds more than reasonable.

Absolutely. According to your deeds your legal responsibility is to contribute to the maintainance of what's already there and nothing more. Strictly speaking, if he wants to replace the current 3ft fence with a 6ft fence that's entirely his affair, and if anything, (given that it's a party boundary) he needs your permission to do so, and you could well ask him for money in return for granting said permission.

(Question: why does the placement of 'kids toys in the garden' require the construction of a 6ft fence? Would they otherwise make a break for freedom? Is the neighbour implying that you would otherwise steal them?)

Anyway, since it's usually a good idea to try and get on with your neighbours, even if they are the kind of conmen who resort to pseudo-legal BS, the 50% offer is more than reasonable.

Natividad

Thanks for the replies everyone!

antrobus wrote: »

(Question: why does the placement of 'kids toys in the garden' require the construction of a 6ft fence? Would they otherwise make a break for freedom? Is the neighbour implying that you would otherwise steal them?)

Apparently, he has too much stuff in the house for the kids so wants to put it in his garden. If thats the case, surely he must have known this before and should have bought a bigger house.

bob_a_builder wrote: »

Tell him you will be happy to comply if he can show you documented proof of this law. (on pretty safe ground there, I think)

I was thinking the exact same thing. If he can prove its law then I'll have the crappiest, cheapest fence out there or go for the native hedge as suggested by jojo

My gf said to the neighbour that we'd go halves but he rejected that and said its law and I have to pay for it. He also wants the fence extending level to his house, again at my cost.

He said we should only pay for the fence on the right and I shouldn't have contributed to the fence on the left. I'm not being funny but this neighbour is a surgeon and his wife is a registrar at a hospital so they're not short of a bob or two. A hell of allot more money than me and my gf are on!

The same guy is also in dispute with the builder over the other side which he says he should have more land.

I really don't want a petty neighbour dispute and am willing to go halves but I will not be bullied into paying for the full lot!

Welsh_Totster

Do nothing, you don't have to and if he is hell bent on having a taller fence then let him do it. Seems he's trying to bully people around him and that would make me dig my heels in even more. I'm in the process of erecting a 6ft fence tween me and neighbour at the mo, she has a 3ft fence on her side of the boundary line and I'd like more privacy, so I'm erecting a larger fence on our side. In our street as you look at the front if each house we are responsible for fences on the left hand side. This new fence in the garden is on the right but cos I'd like a taller fence it's going up on my side of the boundary line, it's my choice and I wouldn't expect my neighbour to foot the bill and she's ok with it as Im not taking her fence down. Good luck

Hintza

Natividad wrote: »

I'm not being funny but this neighbour is a surgeon

Interesting, our neighbour is a surgeon too and we have an ongoing land dispute with him which I have temporarily put on hold until our new build is completed.

The guy is an a$$ and just won't see reason, he even had a surveyor out to measure but never released his findings which makes me think he didn't get th ansswer he was looking for.

One day on here I will detail all that has happened after we have sorted it out.

SailorSam

Anything to help you on here ?
Garden Law advice on fences, trees and boundaries

Natividad

Welsh_Totster wrote: »

Do nothing, you don't have to and if he is hell bent on having a taller fence then let him do it. Seems he's trying to bully people around him and that would make me dig my heels in even more.

As previously stated, I don't want a petty squabble but my heels are so dug in that my whole legs are buried in concrete

Hintza wrote: »

One day on here I will detail all that has happened after we have sorted it out.

Please do! I have emailed my solicitor and will update when they reply.