Landlord Liable For Repair?

silvercar

Annie1960 wrote: »

Maybe that will persuade your LL to ensure his/her fence is safe. Fences should be able to withstand high winds and should tolerate gentle leaning, such as neighbours having a conversation over the fence. It seems astonishing to me that anyone would expect it to be OK if a fence panel fell and broke just because a woman leaned on it lightly.

We have had high winds this winter and the fence seemingly withstood them. Suggesting that the force exerted by the lady was greater than that of the winds.

Annie1960

silvercar wrote: »

We have had high winds this winter and the fence seemingly withstood them. Suggesting that the force exerted by the lady was greater than that of the winds.

Or, as seems to be the situation described by the OP, the fence was not fixed properly in the first place and fell over when it was touched lightly.

OP, have you taken photos of the fence and fixings?

marliepanda

If you were 'lightly leaning' on something, you would not have your full weight on it.

If you were lightly leaning on something you wouldnt fall over if it gave way as you were not using it to rest or balance?

You cant lean on something lightly, whilst using it as your only means of keeping yourself up, as indicated by the subsequent 'fall' which needed stitches.

Vectis

dimbo61 wrote: »

A letter arriving from a No win No fee solicitor to your Landlord will get a quick response.
A S21 by return of post.
Why not speak to the Landlord and say it blew down in the strong winds last week. Mention that you are worried that the kids might escape or the big dog next door might walk into the garden, security etc
Be nice and see what happens.

So, you're saying to tell lies then?

Vectis

Well, I've been a tenant and a LL over the years and I must say, as a tenant, if I broke something in the property I'd get it repaired myself.

And, as has been pointed out above, to manage to push a fence panel over (one that, presumably, has withstood the storm force winds that rocked the country for several months earlier this year) would take a bit more than someone leaning lightly on it.

jjlandlord

Annie1960 wrote: »

I agree.

It just doesn't make any sense that a tenant should have to maintain a fence that belongs to a LL.

There is what a good landlord perhaps ought to do, what makes sense to you, and there are legal and contractual obligations.

No-one said that the tenant had to maintain the fence, by the way.

Bantex_2

Is Mil a bit err chunky?

Kynthia

Who would lean on a wooden fence panel? They're not designed for that so I certainly wouldn't. As there is no requirement to have a garden fence then the landlord doesn't have to repair it but most probably would. However this isn't wear or tear but damage caused by someone's actions, so the tenant may be responsible for paying for a repair in this case.

Annie1960

Vectis wrote: »

Well, I've been a tenant and a LL over the years and I must say, as a tenant, if I broke something in the property I'd get it repaired myself.

And, as has been pointed out above, to manage to push a fence panel over (one that, presumably, has withstood the storm force winds that rocked the country for several months earlier this year) would take a bit more than someone leaning lightly on it.

Yes, if you broke it, but the OP is saying it was not correctly fitted, not all screws were fitted, so it sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

Shelter website says:

Your landlord will usually be responsible for repairs to garden paths, walls, fences, gates and outbuildings.

So, unless the OP has a contract where they agreed to be responsible for repairs to the fence, the LL should do this.

Kynthia

Annie1960 wrote: »

but the OP is saying it was not correctly fitted, not all screws were fitted, so it sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

Really? It seems like the fence was doing the job of separating the two gardens and not falling down in storms until someone was daft enough to lean on it!