Help! Restrictive Covenant - Front Fence

TomTom3009

Hi All,

Hopefully someone on here will be able to help me and know what they're talking about...

It's a long story so I'll try and keep it as short as possible!

Bought a house a year ago, next door neighbour had a fence going down both sides of his driveway. I wanted to redo my driveway and put a fence up the other side to match it. A year later and I can finally afford to do it, so I put the fence up, neighbour the other side knew what I was doing.

Once fence is up, I have the driveway block paved, it looks great and I'm very happy now. But now the neighbour has complained about the fence saying there is a restrictive covanent on the property saying we cannot do this as it's all meant to be open plan. Well there is the fence the other side, as well as trees and hedges that make the road no longer open plan...

She asks to replace the end panel with a trellis panel so she can see when reversing off her driveway, I don't like it, but I do it for her. She then says it's not good enough and she still has to maneuver around the end post, so can I take the end post and panel down!

She is disabled so doesn't find it easy to drive, and she also had friends previously park half on her drive half on mine! so I want the fence there to stop this and to stop my kids being at risk if they're out playing on my driveway... She has threatened to take it further and to court if needed...

How would she do this? Would it stand? Would I get dumped with all the costs if it goes that far and she wins?

This has started really upsetting me and my wife now as if we take it down now then the driveway will be out of line and I've wasted all that time and money doing it all, when essentially it's for the safety of my children and so people don't use my property...

Thanks a lot!!!

TomTom3009

The wording of the covenant, which is now 40 years old (I know that makes no difference) is:

"no walls fences or hedges shall be erected made or grown in front of the building line and the position type and height of existing walls and fences between the enclosed rear gardens and the open plan part of the Estate shall not eb altered."

nomoneytoday

Is your neighbour the holder of the covenant?

Marvel1

I would tell her to reverse in and drive out, much safer.

It it does comes down, then tell her you do not want her friends parking on your driveway.

LateStarter

Put in a 2 foot high fence - which should sort out both the parking issues, and her visibility problem?

Note that this "fence" can be shrubbery/hedge plants etc which you can describe as ornamental.

dc197

TomTom3009 wrote: »

Bought a house a year ago, next door neighbour had a fence going down both sides of his driveway.

Is the neighbour who already has two fences the same one who's complaining about your new fence? If so, can't you "counter-complain" back?

TomTom3009

Thanks for the replies.

Her problem was that she couldn't see, but now I've put the trellis in, her problem is now that she can't maneuver around the post.

It's not the neighbour with the fence, it's the neighbour the other side...

She says she can't drive in any other way as she is disabled and can't walk any further to the car...

We've already said about her friends parking there, she is denying it, even though I have photos of it happening...

Thanks again

superdudeo

It's a legitimate concern she has. Covenants are there for a reason and should have been looked up before you did this.

Yes she can take it further and yes you could be liable. Have a sensible conversation with her, it's not her fault. You're being borderline antisocial and selfish.

stator

The covenant will be between two parties, unless your neighbour is one of those parties she has no standing to object and she can get lost. Often the covenants are between the developer of the house or the council and the owner of the house. The original developer are unlikely to care and so if it is them you shouldn't worry about it.
If the post for the fence is on your land and she is saying she can't get around it, tough (unless she has a right of access over your land).
Fences at the front a property, adjoining a highway are limited to 1m otherwise they need planning permission.

TomTom3009

All aspects of the fence are on my own property and she doesn't have any rights over my land. The fence is 1m high.

I don't feel I'm being selfish, she has a full driveway of her own, she has most of it taken up by rocks and weeds that I even offered to alter for her if it would help. I also changed the panel at my own expense so she could see through it. She is just bitter as it's easier for her to get onto her drive if she drives over my driveway, just because she refuses to park any other way or to alter the shingle/rocks/weeds she has on the driveway.

I'm not sure how to tell who the covenant is between. It's on all the title deeds in the road, so I would assume it's between all the neighbours...?

Dan-Dan

I would recommend gardenlaw forum for the finer details of an issue like this