semi detached boundary wall

jesmin45

I am considering puttin an offer on a semi detached property, the back garden only has a small stone wall and iron railings of about 2 ft high. I have asked the vendor if I can put a 6ft fence there and she said she couldnt see why not. Would this be down to the solicitor to check as I dont want to put an offer in, get survey done and then find out I cant build a fence. its a stone semi and not in a conservation area or a listed building. thanks

giddypenguin

Surely it would be better to ask the neighbours rather than us?

jesmin45

the neighbours are only tennants there

giddypenguin

Ask them to pass your number on to the landlord then? If this fence is so important to you that the house sale is dependant on it, you need to have a word with them.

Fire_Fox

Can you in what sense, will the council permit it, is in the deeds what?

jesmin45

im just asking if its legal just to put up a fence, I don;t know what it says on the deeds

G_M

You can erect a fence up to (I think!) 5 feet without Planning Permission (check your council website)

You can erect anything you like (so far as the neighbours are concerned) provided it is on your land. (eg inside the boundary wall)

If you wish to replace or alter (higher) the existing wall, you'll need to know who owns it - you or the neighbour. If it is yours, do what you want. If it is not, don't touch it without written consent.

Fire_Fox

jesmin45 wrote: »

im just asking if its legal just to put up a fence, I don;t know what it says on the deeds

The vendor nor we are legal advisors, check with the local council and check the deeds for covenants, you can download these from land registry.

eddddy

Hi jesmin

Just to summarise:

You can usually put up a boundary fence/wall of up to 2m without planning permission. You will need planning permission if you want a fence/wall higher than 2m. (Double check this with the local council planning department).

There may be a covenant in your deeds relating to boundary fences/walls. It's impossible for you or me to guess whether there is a covenant or what it they might say. (It might say 'you must have a wall or fence', or it might say 'you must not have a wall or fence'. It may or may not specify a minimum height, maximum height and/or how the wall/fence is constructed).

If the existing wall will belong to you, you can knock it down and replace it or increase its height (subject to the points above).

If it belongs to your neighbour, you will need their permission to do this. Or you could build your fence beside their wall.

Land_Registry

Take a look at our online FAQs around boundaries which will broadly confirm what Fire Fox and edddy have already posted. My experience of such matters matches G_M's although it is normally 6ft or 2m as the planning limit but as mentioned always check with the local authority first.

Your solicitor will obtain a copy of the title deeds for the property as and when the buying process has started. If you ask them to investigate the issue specifically then I imagine they will.

Title deeds can vary from being quite clear cut re boundary responsibilities whilst some will be completely silent. If you want to check what the deeds say before you put in an offer then start with viewing one or both titles online but do bear in mind the specific details may be contained in deeds referred to on the land register and which are only available by post - take a look at the FAQs around requesting information from Land Registry.

It is also important to note that one title may contain some information whilst the other is silent. If the properties were once both in the same larger ownership then the possibility of finding such information tends to become more likely.

There are no hard and fast rules to such things but if you plan to remove a stone wall with iron railings and replace it with something different then this is likely to be seen as a significant change to the boundary - in my experience such changes can sometimes trigger boundary disagreements so up front discussions and reaching an agreement would always be our recommendation.