Akward Neighbours...

toddler9

and we have also painted the side of the fence closest to us (it is wholly hidden behind a shed on their side). in hindsight that wasn't a good move as now they will no doubt to try and sue us for criminal damage...

I am going to call the council now and ask them about having a conservatory on a boundary wall without obscured glass

bouicca21

I doubt you will get anywhere either with the title plans or a complaint about overlooking. It's been like that since before you bought your place.

Create a raised bed or grow tall stuff in containers.

paddy's_mum

toddler9 wrote: »

and we have also painted the side of the fence closest to us

This might be what put their backs up in the first place.

If you add to that your "mention" of extending what now appears to be theirfence on their land, I can quite see that they consider you a presumptuous twit who needs putting in his place, hence a formal written response which cannot be misunderstood.

I think a bottle of wine and a request to discuss the situation might go a long way towards resolving the difficulty.

As a matter of interest, how were these neighbours with the previous owners of your house? Their past record might give you a clue as to what sort of people you are dealing with.

Good luck.

societys_child

How does it work with putting a fence directly on the border? Do both parties have to agree?

Unless it's your boundary (often denoted by a "t" on the plans) just set your new fence 5mm in, then it's not on the boundary. Max hight 2m

DTDfanBoy

I can't wait to see a thread from the neighbours appear on here

Please help, we have recently had new neighbours move in next door, so far they have painted our fence and broken a window in our conservatory

Now they are claiming that the boundary which has existed for the last 40+ years is incorrect, that they have the right to extend our fence which is built solely on our land, and they are also reporting us to the council as our conservatory overlooks their driveway :eek:

toddler9

They would have had no idea that the fence was painted until they came round to talk about their conservatory being smashed.
I agree we should have asked them politely about the fence - but alas it was my husband who mentioned it and he is not very tactful at all.
Needless to say they aren't the type of people who would be happy to chat over a cup of tea or be buttered up by a bottle of wine. They are clearly just being awkward about the fence - we are merely suggesting to extend it along one panel to give us some privacy and security. It will have absolutely no effect on them at all.
However i think now the suggestion of fast growing evergreens may be the way forward as i don't want to get into any further disputes with them and evergreens grow higher than fences are permitted to be

toddler9

DTDfanBoy wrote: »

I can't wait to see a thread from the neighbours appear on here

Please help, we have recently had new neighbours move in next door, so far they have painted our fence and broken a window in our conservatory

Now they are claiming that the boundary which has existed for the last 40+ years is incorrect, that they have the right to extend our fence which is built solely on our land, and they are also reporting us to the council as our conservatory overlooks their driveway :eek:

Their daughter and son in law live opposite us. The police are round every single weekend. They have teenage children who are allowed to throw parties every weekend which sees 50+ underage kids drinking WKD's on their front lawn and driveway keeping my baby awake.
Believe me it us who have drawn he short straw moving here!
We have apologized and offered to repair the conservatory which they refused and yes we painted a fence panel which is wholly hidden by their shed so i'm not sure how that would have any negative effect on them?

Land_Registry

In my experience any resolution to such issues really comes down to an agreement between neighbours. A few points to consider and in no particular order are

If they have been there a long time and have 'encroached' in the way suggested then they may have a legal claim to the encroached land. That is known as 'adverse possession' and is a complex area of the law

Title plans show the general boundaries only so the reality on the ground has to be taken into account as well. Small distances, inches and a couple of feet, are difficult to be precise on from the title plan. Something to be aware of if using the title plan alone as your evidence although much often depends on your neighbour's understanding of such things and their own approach/views.

Putting a boundary feature up on your own land is often suggested in online forums. I am always wary of such advice simply because you create a situation that some years down the line may trigger an issue/misunderstanding with a new neighbour who thinks your fence is the real boundary and removes the flagstones etc etc - if you choose to do such things then making sure it is documented/shared/understood by all is probably a good idea

When you buy a property you are normally asked by the solicitor to check the boundaries and extent as per the reality and the title plan. If any questions arise then raise them with the seller. Obviously that does not always happen for a number of reasons but worth mentioning for others who may read this thread in the future. It may not solve anything but it can help understand how they see the situation and understand how the neighbours have approached it previously - you may have done that hence the wider knowledge you mention of course.

I'm with G_M re tea and cake + discussion. Disputes are to be avoided as often the boundary can be used as the weapon of choice for poor neighbourliness. All to often boundary issues arise not because of the fence/gap but because of loud music, children, dogs;bonfires/bbq when the washing is out and so on. Avoid disputes if you can as it can also effect you and the neighbour come the time you want to move on.

And finally, resolving such issues is really down to you and your neighbours. Yes legal advice can help understand what options are available but the analogy I use re such matters is a tennis match with the boundary as the 'net'. It's all about who does what to keep the issue (rally) going. That's why tea & cake is often best as not everyone is a great tennis player.

Our online blog may also be of interest in a general way

toddler9

Land_Registry_representative wrote: »

In my experience any resolution to such issues really comes down to an agreement between neighbours. A few points to consider and in no particular order are

If they have been there a long time and have 'encroached' in the way suggested then they may have a legal claim to the encroached land. That is known as 'adverse possession' and is a complex area of the law

Title plans show the general boundaries only so the reality on the ground has to be taken into account as well. Small distances, inches and a couple of feet, are difficult to be precise on from the title plan. Something to be aware of if using the title plan alone as your evidence although much often depends on your neighbour's understanding of such things and their own approach/views.

Putting a boundary feature up on your own land is often suggested in online forums. I am always wary of such advice simply because you create a situation that some years down the line may trigger an issue/misunderstanding with a new neighbour who thinks your fence is the real boundary and removes the flagstones etc etc - if you choose to do such things then making sure it is documented/shared/understood by all is probably a good idea

When you buy a property you are normally asked by the solicitor to check the boundaries and extent as per the reality and the title plan. If any questions arise then raise them with the seller. Obviously that does not always happen for a number of reasons but worth mentioning for others who may read this thread in the future. It may not solve anything but it can help understand how they see the situation and understand how the neighbours have approached it previously - you may have done that hence the wider knowledge you mention of course.

I'm with G_M re tea and cake + discussion. Disputes are to be avoided as often the boundary can be used as the weapon of choice for poor neighbourliness. All to often boundary issues arise not because of the fence/gap but because of loud music, children, dogs;bonfires/bbq when the washing is out and so on. Avoid disputes if you can as it can also effect you and the neighbour come the time you want to move on.

And finally, resolving such issues is really down to you and your neighbours. Yes legal advice can help understand what options are available but the analogy I use re such matters is a tennis match with the boundary as the 'net'. It's all about who does what to keep the issue (rally) going. That's why tea & cake is often best as not everyone is a great tennis player.

Our online blog may also be of interest in a general way

Thank you. Yes I really don’t want to get into any disputes with any neighbours. We are very friendly with all the others we have met.

I know we have not started on the best foot and now they are digging their heels in purely to be awkward. We have already discussed with the other neighbours along the same side about replacing the fence (purely at our expense) and they are all happy.

I am going to leave it for now and get on with other projects then come up with a solution in a few weeks.

ab1982

Forget all the other posts, just wrap some dog poo in paper, put it on their doorstep, set fire to it and ring the bell. Then build the fence.