Problem with neighbours and fencing. Opinions needed please.

swingaloo

Posting on behalf of my sister who is having an issue with her next door neighbours.

A few weeks ago a man who has on occasion also done some work for my sister knocked and told her he that her next door neighbours had requested that he put up a new fence for them and it would entail replacing the fence between the 2 houses. My sister said she had no issue but did not want to go halves at the cost as the fencing already in place was decent. The reason next door wanted the fence doing was because they had decked the entire back garden and wanted fencing on both sides and across the bottom of the garden to match. He told her at the time that it would affect her fence as he would have to remove the concrete post but he would make good any damage.

Fast forward a week and sis comes home from work to find the job done. As the people next door have decked they have raised the garden on their side and so the fence between the houses which was 6' panels on top of a concrete strip has now been replaced by a 2'6" high white concrete slab all along the length with a 3' wooden panel on top. This looks unsightly but she can live with it by planting things along the border which will eventually hide the concrete.

However, the problem is at the bottom of the garden. Because the concrete slabs on which the fence panels rest are 6' long they have overlapped into my sisters garden by nearly 2' and then there is the upright post between the 2 types of fences. He has replaced my sisters bottom fence panel as the fence along the bottom of my sisters garden is now 2' shorter than before. Obviously where the 2 fences meet it looks ridiculous and unfortunately this is 2' into my sisters garden. So she has a neat wooden panelled fence along the bottom of her garden until 2' from the end where she has next doors overflow concrete slab and completely different type of fence panel.

She has spoken to the guy who did the job and he agrees it looks bad but from the other side it looks nice and they paid him for the job. She has told him she want the offending concrete slab removing as it should end where next doors boundary is. He said he would speak to the owners and get back to her. She has been next door and explained that it looks unsightly in her garden and also that it encroaches by 2 foot. They were a bit 'oh well we will get it sorted out' but very non committal about it.

Fast forward 3 weeks and nothing has happened but her next door neighbours are now avoiding all contact with her and just blanking her if they see her. Sis is on her own with 2 children and has had this man rant at her once before when her son accidentally hit the mans car with a ball. There was no damage and child apologised but the guy went off the deep end so she is a bit afraid to approach him again.

Both the neighbours and the guy who did the job are aware she wants it putting right but nothing is being done. I think they hope she will get fed up and decide to live with it.

Any advice on what she should do please.

Guest101

swingaloo wrote: »

Posting on behalf of my sister who is having an issue with her next door neighbours.

A few weeks ago a man who has on occasion also done some work for my sister knocked and told her he that her next door neighbours had requested that he put up a new fence for them and it would entail replacing the fence between the 2 houses. My sister said she had no issue but did not want to go halves at the cost as the fencing already in place was decent. The reason next door wanted the fence doing was because they had decked the entire back garden and wanted fencing on both sides and across the bottom of the garden to match. He told her at the time that it would affect her fence as he would have to remove the concrete post but he would make good any damage.

Fast forward a week and sis comes home from work to find the job done. As the people next door have decked they have raised the garden on their side and so the fence between the houses which was 6' panels on top of a concrete strip has now been replaced by a 2'6" high white concrete slab all along the length with a 3' wooden panel on top. This looks unsightly but she can live with it by planting things along the border which will eventually hide the concrete.

However, the problem is at the bottom of the garden. Because the concrete slabs on which the fence panels rest are 6' long they have overlapped into my sisters garden by nearly 2' and then there is the upright post between the 2 types of fences. He has replaced my sisters bottom fence panel as the fence along the bottom of my sisters garden is now 2' shorter than before. Obviously where the 2 fences meet it looks ridiculous and unfortunately this is 2' into my sisters garden. So she has a neat wooden panelled fence along the bottom of her garden until 2' from the end where she has next doors overflow concrete slab and completely different type of fence panel.

She has spoken to the guy who did the job and he agrees it looks bad but from the other side it looks nice and they paid him for the job. She has told him she want the offending concrete slab removing as it should end where next doors boundary is. He said he would speak to the owners and get back to her. She has been next door and explained that it looks unsightly in her garden and also that it encroaches by 2 foot. They were a bit 'oh well we will get it sorted out' but very non committal about it.

Fast forward 3 weeks and nothing has happened but her next door neighbours are now avoiding all contact with her and just blanking her if they see her. Sis is on her own with 2 children and has had this man rant at her once before when her son accidentally hit the mans car with a ball. There was no damage and child apologised but the guy went off the deep end so she is a bit afraid to approach him again.

Both the neighbours and the guy who did the job are aware she wants it putting right but nothing is being done. I think they hope she will get fed up and decide to live with it.

Any advice on what she should do please.

Pay to have it rectified, sue the neighbours for the cost - basic trespass law

swingaloo

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking that she maybe should write them a letter giving 28 days to get it rectified and saying if its not done she will have it fixed as you suggest and bill them for it. The thing is though that to get it fixed the person doing the work would need access to the neighbours garden as most of the work would need to be done in there, ie, cutting the concrete panel down so it didnt extend into her garden etc. She cant get hers sorted without the panel being cut down and also the tall post being repositioned on the boundary.

I dont see much chance of them giving anyone access to go into their garden to do the work.

You mention 'trespass law' and I think she needs to refer to this in her letter but I cant find anything relating to trespass that covers this scenario.

POPPYOSCAR

Does she have legal cover on her house insurance?


If so tell her to ring them they will advise her and possibly take it up for her and deal with the neighbour.

swingaloo

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Does she have legal cover on her house insurance?


If so tell her to ring them they will advise her and possibly take it up for her and deal with the neighbour.

Thank you for the suggestion, I imagine she will have so will tell her do as you suggest.

Mr.Generous

If they wont remove it I'd just smash down the section in her garden and replace it up to the corner, absolutely ridiculous to continue fence into someone else's property. You cut down the gravel boards and panel and fit the post on the boundary. You might have to go legal.

swingaloo

Mr.Generous wrote: »

If they wont remove it I'd just smash down the section in her garden and replace it up to the corner, absolutely ridiculous to continue fence into someone else's property. You cut down the gravel boards and panel and fit the post on the boundary. You might have to go legal.

Thats what she is afraid of really, she was hoping they would just agree that it was wrong and rectify it but as I said before they are now ignoring her. She is a bit intimidated by the family and does not have the means to start with solicitors so is going to try a letter first giving them 28 days.

basil92

swingaloo wrote: »

Thats what she is afraid of really, she was hoping they would just agree that it was wrong and rectify it but as I said before they are now ignoring her. She is a bit intimidated by the family and does not have the means to start with solicitors so is going to try a letter first giving them 28 days.

Don't let her be intimidated.

If they have put their fence on her land then take it down and return it to 'their' side of the boundary.

People like her neighbours are just nasty bullies:mad: and count on others not to oppose them

basil92

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Does she have legal cover on her house insurance?


If so tell her to ring them they will advise her and possibly take it up for her and deal with the neighbour.

Why should the OP's sister risk having her premiums upped by using her insurer?

The neighbours have over stepped the boundary and are hoping to intimidate next door by ignoring them.



If the neighbours fence is on her property I suggest she removes it, returns it to the neighbours (ie. dumps it in their garden), then replaces it with a string line to mark her boundary.

People like her neighbours disgust me:(

FBaby

Before you take actions, she might want to make sure that they have indeed encroached in her garden. I remember a similar dispute with previous neighbours, one replaced fences and doing so went a couple of feet into next doors. This resulted in the them taking it down saying that they could do what they wanted as it was on their property but the neighbour took them to court and was able to demonstrate that it was actually them who had previously encroached on their property and they had put it right when replaced the fencing. The neighbour who took it all down had to pay to have it all put back up, even though it wasn't his fence. He was fuming, but then he shouldn't have made assumptions on the boundaries in the first place.

moneyistooshorttomention

Possibly worth a quick check with the Land Registry/Title Plan.

But OP says the encroachment is 2' - so the positive take on that is "Thank goodness it's 6" more than 18". That being the "general boundary rule" that is followed in this country doesnt allow for absolutely exact specification of boundaries - but does so (if I recall aright) to within 18" (hence "Thank goodness it's 2' then" iyswim).