Neighbour damage to fence and plant

Sun4

We came home at the weekend to find that our neighbour had ripped the ivy from the fence between our properties (it's our fence) and, in doing so, had badly damaged the fence. I realise neighbour is entitled to remove the ivy from his side of the fence but does he have the right to rip it off our side too? The panels of the fence are now badly damaged and the ivy may well be dead. Neighbour claims he didn't know he was doing anything wrong and doesn't seem to care that we will probably have to replace the fence. I suspect he would tell us to get lost if we asked him to pay for a new fence. Any suggestions on how we might resolve this?

Thanks in advance.

keystone

Talk to them nicely. If it was growing up from his side just taking his side off means you will get a nice lot of dead ivy on yours in sue time. If removing the ivy has damaged the fence that badly then the fence was in dire need of replacement anyway.

Cheers

27col

If my fence panels are anything to go on then it is obvious that ivy does not confine itself to just one side of a fence. It gets through any small hole and populates both sides of the fence. Any attempt to remove it will, in almost all cases, damage the fence.What keystone says about the quality of the fence is certainly true from my personal observation.

art_for_arts_sake

It's a common misconception that a side of a fence marks a boundary. Whatever the condition of your fence, unless the ivy actually grew over the actual boundary, your neighbour had no right to remove it, and certainly not to damage your fence, regardless of its condition.

You don't seem to be having much joy with your neighbours, judging from your previous posts. I hate to suggest this, but does this neighbour have any reason to be behaving maliciously or vexatiously towards you?

Unless you can convince the police it was done with deliberate intent, in which case it could be seen as criminal damage, they are unlikely to be interested, and your only recourse in law would be a civil claim for damages.

Given the cost of employing a solicitor, the easiest solution is to replace the fence yourself, as tough as that seems, and to regrow the ivy, which is probably the best way of responding to your neighbour's actions. It's your fence, your ivy, and your call.

Sun4

Thanks everyone. We've tried to be reasonable at all times wi th our neighbours and, if they had said they wanted to remove the ivy from their side of the fence, we would have said OK but these two men always do as they please and seem to think they are always right. We don't want to start a dispute so probably will replace the fence but who knows what they might do next! we tried to repair some of the damage to the fence earlier today and were told off by the neighbour for hammering!! It might be time to move........

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

TBH, I don't think there is much, short of all out total nuclear war, that will kill a determined ivy.....

Norman_Castle

we tried to repair some of the damage to the fence earlier today and were told off by the neighbour for hammering!! It might be time to move.......

Its time to tell your neighbours to swivel. He can remove plants that are overhanging his property. He cannot remove your ivy or damage your fence. Damage to your fence is criminal damage if it was intentional.
http://www.boundary-problems.co.uk/boundary-problems/fences.html#Your%20neighbour%27s%20fence

unluckychappie

I am a big fan of ivy, in the right place. Grow it up your house, shed, or arch as long as you can control it*. It is fantastic for wildlife, we have wrens, blackbirds and robins nesting every year.

* Ok on brick, a disaster on tiles, soffits and fascias.

Also very useful for groundcover, particularly near water. A multitude of newts, frogs and toads benefit from it in our garden.

It becomes a nightmare when allowed to grow out of control against boundary fences and walls, which seems to have been in this case.

Unless you are prepared to regularly remove it from your neighbours' side please do not grow it. You are imposing an unnecessary obligation on your neighbours to maintain something they clearly do not want.

Our garden has boundaries with four others. One requested I keep it away from their house roof line, but were happy I grew it up to about six feet. I removed it totally, they were really happy and more importantly relieved. I found two other sets of neighbours clipping it away from their sides. I removed the offending plants and replanted with a variety of climbers, small trees and bamboos in pots. In return they both painted their side of the fence with preservative and they are no longer strangers to us.

You may feel you have ownership over your boundary but you also have a responsibility to others, including offering to dispose of the ivy clippings.

art_for_arts_sake

unluckychappie wrote: »

Unless you are prepared to regularly remove it from your neighbours' side please do not grow it. You are imposing an unnecessary obligation on your neighbours to maintain something they clearly do not want.

Unless the ivy had physically grown over a boundary they had no right to remove it. The neighbours don't own the other side of the fence, and they should not interfere with the fence or the ivy. If they don't want to look at the ivy they should erect their own fence in front of it.

You may feel you have ownership over your boundary but you also have a responsibility to others, including offering to dispose of the ivy clippings.

The OP doesn't even have this responsibility, the ivy was ripped from her fence, i.e. her own property, without consent. Furthermore there is no obligation on the OP's part to dispose of neighbour's clippings, either.