Fence responsibility

zebedy

Hi, hoping someone can help.

I moved into my property a while ago and my title register and plan say i have responsibility to maintain the boundary on the RHS of my garden. My neighbours have responsibility to maintain the boundary on the LHS.

There is a fence on the LHS which has fallen down. I pointed this out to them but they say the my predecessors put up that fence so it is my responsibility to repair it.

I'm confused... looking at a previous thread on a similar issue. It appears that my neighbours have responsibility for the boundary but not necessarily the fence. My predecessors put up the fence, which has now fallen down

Who has responsibility to repair/replace the fence? I don't want to pay for it if i am not actually responsible (as i will be responsible for maintaining the RHS fence - why should I do both?)

It seems a grey area....any help.....

cyclonebri1

I think it's as simple as this, your neighbour may have a boundary.
He has no responsibility to erect or maintain a fence/hedge/wall or anything else along that boundary.

If a fence was erected by a previous owner of your property it make no difference, it's not the next doors responsibility.

If it's erected on your side of the boundary line then it's even less his responsibility.

If it's on his side then you have no right to maintain it.

I know it sound wrong but those are the facts, no legal need to actually have a physical boundary.


The reason what you have described usually happens is that the owner of your property would have had a dog.
It is then your properties responsibility to keep the dog in rather than the neighbours to keep it out.

Hope that makes sense.;);)

krlyr

zebedy wrote: »

(as i will be responsible for maintaining the RHS fence - why should I do both?)

If you choose to maintain the RHS fence then that is your choice - nothing to do with the neighbours on the LHS (or the RHS, to be fair). Whether they choose to maintain a fence on their RHS is their decision.
You're perfectly within your rights to erect a fence on your side of the LHS boundary if you want a fence, which may be the best way to maintain a civil neighbourly relationship rather than pressure them into putting up a fence they don't want/need.

We find it a huge benefit that the neighbour to our RHS has a solid fence that they chose to put up, but it's a perk, not a right, and should they remove it or change it to something that wouldn't secure my dogs, I fully expect to have to put our own fence up on our side of the boundary (as it is, the fence drops down to a shorter height at the end of the garden so we've had to sort our own fencing out to keep the dogs in - again, exactly how I'd expect it to be, it's not up to the neighbour to put fencing up to suit us)