Fencing issue, gravel boards andother options?

ecoelle

Hi, it's the age old question i'm afraid.

Ok, my house is number 10, as you look at my house from the street i have number 9 to my left and number 11 to my right.

My garden at the rear of the property has no divider between me and number 11, our gardens just have a path down the middle and they are the same level as each other.

The garden of number 9 is about a foot lower down than mine and it has a fence dividing the two. The fence posts and panels are on my neighbours property. So the difference in level means that in effect my garden butts up against number 9's fence.

Before we bought the property someone(i presume the previous owner) used paving slabs placed on their edge to 'shore up' the soil.

Here's the thing. The landlord of number 9 has asked us following the recent winds, which have made about half of the fence panels start to lean badly, to move some of the slabs which were leaning up against the fence to allow him to fix it. We moved the slabs asrequested.

He has now phoned me to say that we need to stop our garden leaning against his fence as it's causing the fence to fall down.

In my opinion the only way to stop our garden from causing damage to the fence is to install concrete posts rather than wooden ones, then use gravel boards at the base of the fence then put wooden panels above. He then said he doesn't see that it's his resposibility to stop our garden falling against his fence but i don't see any other way of defying gravity other than using gravel boards.

Anyone know of how i can resolve this, without annoying my neighbour, and without putting me and my partner too far out of pocket?

Thanks guys

tired_dad

Any neighbour border dispute or discussion has the potential to escalate out of control.

I would first try and garner advice from a solicitor and take a close look at what your deeds say etc.

My understanding is that if the fence is erected on number 9's land then it's his to sort out. Your thoughts on concrete posts etc may well be correct but that is just neighbourly advice which will save him more money in the long term.

As to whether he has a legitimate claim on you due to the slabs causing damage to his fence; not sure, hence advise talking to someone with knowledge.

ecoelle

Thanks, Tired Dad.

On our deeds there are no T lines at all, i do have the original forms filled in by the previous owners which state that they believed the landlord at number 9 is responsible for that boundary, but obviously that was just there opinion. I'm quite willing to share the cost of having the fencing replaced as it is unsightly, but if i'm going to share the cost then i want it done properly, not just buying the new panels and him putting them up himself, as replacing it in this way isn't going to last very long as the issue of our soil sitting against wooden panels will still exist.

Just wanted to know if anyone knew of any other ways to solve this issue other than gravel boards.

Thanks

ValHaller

I think the simple pragmatic principle is that the owner of made up land should provide self sufficient shoring for that ground. So absolutely no relying on the neighbours fence.

I have been on the other side and it comes across as a real imposition when your neighbour shores up his ground against your fence. Equally, I am now on your side of the fence having moved into the situation, and I know I must sort it.