Boundary fence

FurryPaws

Hi all,

Looking for some advice on a boundary fence. I believe it should be maintained and owned by me as it is on the left and also the posts are on my side. I will double check the deeds tonight.

Thing is, the people on the other side of the fence are renting the house out. Their back garden is used like a fly tip and the dog is left outside howling with excrement everywhere (the smell assaults your nostrils as soon as you open my back door). The kids run riot out their back amongst this and lately they have been climbing up this boundary fence and swinging on it.

The fence moves at least 30cm each way and I'm very concerned about them damaging it enough to unroot it completely. The other thing is I have a large shed in my back which is about 50cm from the fence. One of the kids was climbing up the fence and made a reach out to climb on top of my shed before I went out and told him to get down, that the shed is my property and don't think of doing it again.

I'm at work all day, so I don't know what they get up to. I'm worried about the fence - what would happen if they broke it, who would be responsible to pay? Other thing is that if it comes down then they will have access to fly tip, dog crap and kids running riot in my back garden! This is what worries me most.

What can I do, any suggestions? I can't talk to the parents as they really don't care what the kids get up to.. or anything for that matter.

I was thinking of putting something at the top of the fence, like spikes but someone told me I would be liable if the kids got hurt this way... I don't want to injure them obviously but they are ignorant to the fact that they shouldn't be trying to access my property.

Thanks

SpikyHedgehog

Do you know the owner of the house next door? My parents had some problem neighbours in the house next door when it was divided into flats, but as they knew the landlord, they'd speak to him and get him to sort his tenants out - some needed to be advised what they could & could not do, one did need evicting in the end as he was tearing apart his furnished flat & burning everything in the garden!

With regards to it being your boundary fence, I think it is more to do with which garden the posts are in than it necessarily being the left hand fence, although as the posts are in your garden, it does sound as though it's your's - the deeds should show it clearly though.

FurryPaws

Thanks for the reply, I will check the deeds later.

Unfortunately the landlord doesn't seem to care. It has been pointed out that the damage they are doing to the property (not just mess but breaking front fence etc) will mean they will have to repair and replace more when they move out but the point doesn't seem to sink in...

If the fence is pulled down I take it I can get the police in for criminal damage? The thing is it opens up my back to be used in the interim.

keystone

It is an old wives tale that the "fence on the left is mine".

It is an older old wives tale that the "good" side of the fence must face your neighbour.

The key is on whose land the fence resides as it should not be exactly on a boundary. A "T" on the deeds means nothing in relation to a fence - all it means is responsibility for maintaining the boundary which is not the same as maintaining a fence. Your (or your neighbours) deeds may require you to fence the boundary to a certain specification but then you would erect said fence on your own land inside the boundary as above.

Your deeds will NOT enable (nor will the Title Register either) enable to fix the exact location of your boundary with millimetric accuracy. Actually you'll be lucky to get +/- 6 inches from Land Registry Plans.

Rinse and repeat.

Cheers

FurryPaws

Thanks. So it's up to me to maintain the actual boundary..

What if they pull the fence down? Surely I can't be expected to replace a perfectly good fence when they have caused it to come down, I would think this is criminal damage and they should pay?

ormus

yes it maybe criminal damage, but trying to enforce any compensation is extremely hard, if not impossible. esp with and absent LL and various tenants.
you are left with the option of a simple fence that is easy to repair. ie posts and barbed wire.
or a solid concrete/steel fence, ala the berlin wall.

FurryPaws

ormus wrote: »

or a solid concrete/steel fence, ala the berlin wall.

LMAO! :T

Someone must have had a word with them as they had a skip in at the weekend and have now removed all the mess.. now just to stop the kids swinging on the fence..

Errata

If it's definitely your fence, just lean over and paint the top 12 inches on the neighbours side with this
http://www.anti-slip-paint.co.uk/anti-climb-paint-antivandal-antiintruder-litre-p-89.html

FurryPaws

Wow, never saw this stuff before. Thanks! Saying that I don't think they'll take to kindly to me painting their side of the fence a different colour!

panchenlama

I have a radical idea...

why don't you speak with them and explain your concerns?

That may be a nice alternative to slagging them off in the way you have on this post. Renting a property does not make you a second class citizen who is one step up from a redneck. Kids do actually do stuff like climb fences etc and believe it or not they probably don't read title deeds etc before doing so...

meercatsunited

panchenlama looks like furrypaws has already tried the parents

"What can I do, any suggestions? I can't talk to the parents as they really don't care what the kids get up to.. or anything for that matter."

My grandsons live in rented but know how to respect other people and their property