Garden Fence- might be asked to pay

honeypop

I have checked the title deeds/register for our house and it says nothing about who is responsible for the garden fences. Looking from the house to the back garden on the left there is a low fence, about chest height and on the right there is a taller fence, both sets of fencing have supports on both sides so there is no 'good side and support side' to determine who may have erected them.

We have just got new neighbours on the left (short fence side) and they have indicated that they don't particularly like the low fence and may change it, after checking who 'owns' it. Now as there is no information as to who is responsible for it, having read other posts on this subject I gather it is joint responsibility and if for example the fencing got damaged or needed replacing, we would have to go 50/50 on costs. But, as they are just deciding to change it because they don't like it, am I liable for half the costs? It doesn't bother me at all that it is low enough to see over (you can see everything from the upstairs windows anyway, so it's not like a higher fence would stop me seeing what goes on in their garden!), so I don't feel that I should contribute to changing it.

I asked the neighbours on the right (tall fence side) if they knew who put up the fence between us and them, they say it was like that when they moved in (just over a year ago, we moved in 8 months ago), as was the fence on our other side, so no joy finding out who may have put them up before which might have led to finding out who is responsible.

Of course they may decide to leave it as it is, but I just want to know where I might stand if they do decide to change it and it's joint responsibility.

payless

Unless your lease or deeds demands upkeep of fences ( or you have animals to keep in) I don't thinmk you are obliged to have/ install / replace or repair fences

So Even if the fence belongs to you, your new neighbours will need to erect own if they don't like what there ( and possibly a few inches inside if owenership is unknown)

andipandi_2

you got a fence ,they don't like it,its up to them to pay for a new one

HappyG1rl

You could always contact the previous owner to try and find out who put it up and if they know whose responsible for it.

Having said that I agree with other posters - if they don't like it they should pay but leave the fence there and put one on their property just to the other side of it.

honeypop

andipandi wrote: »

you got a fence ,they don't like it,its up to them to pay for a new one

Lol, this is exactly what I thought!

If they decide they want it changd, I will let them know it's their responsibility to pay, and that also as it seems to be a joint fence I think I have to agree to what they want to put up.

sinizterguy

Isnt there something like look out the back and fence on the left is your responsibility ? or was it the right side ?

Details may only be present on the house deeds, either yours or your neighbours. If its their responsibility, you probably wont need to pay unless you, your family or your pets damaged it in the first place.

My dad's house had the fence on the right side fall down in high wind, and the neighbours came and told him that its their responsibility and that they will arrange for it to be repaired in the next few days and they requested access for the repair guy into our backyard.

honeypop

sav4it wrote: »

Just being devil's advocate here but surely you can't have it both ways.
They pay then they put what they want.

Hmm yes i see your point, i was wondering if because they pay then could they put up anything they chose?

Just that the taller the fence they choose, the less sun my garden will get. I don't know if there is a maximum height a garden fence can be, but if for example they put one up the same as on my other side, my grassy area in the garden would get very little sun apart from a narrow strip down the side which is pointless. I wouldn't be very happy about that as the original fence is fine, nothing wrong with it, and the sunny garden is one of the main reasons we bought the house in the first place. I'd be gutted if they put up a too high fence.

MrsTinks

There is a maximum hight yes, can't recall what it is off hand though... might be something like 5 or 6 feet. Unusual that the deeds do not state who is responcible for which boundary...

misgrace

I dont know if it varies from borough to borough, but in my Manor lol, if you stand at the back of the house looking down into your garden, the fence on the left is mine, and the right is next doors.
If your standing at the front of the house, your, or my side ,then would be on my right.

ajaxgeezer

It can vary between developments. For the house I live in, 'our' boundary is the left side. On my BTL, my responsibility is the right hand side. They are only 200 yards apart.

I'm very surprised that it's not on the deeds, as Tine says.

The maximum height for a fence is six feet.

titewad_2

misgrace wrote: »

I dont know if it varies from borough to borough, but in my Manor lol, if you stand at the back of the house looking down into your garden, the fence on the left is mine, and the right is next doors.
If your standing at the front of the house, your, or my side ,then would be on my right.

So if someone lives in a pair of isolated semi's,who's is the fence on the right??