Neighbour asking for half fence costs

Aylesbury_Duck

Grenage wrote: »

You've just moved in; do you think you might get on with the neighbours long-term?

Honestly, I would take any notions of boundary maintenance or fence ownership, and just throw them out of the window. The fence is knackered, you probably both want a fence - split the cost and get something with which you're both happy.

Exactly. Beginning a possibly long-term neighbourly relationship with mutual suspicion and a squabble over fence liability will cost the OP much more than 50% of a new fence in the long run.

david1951

Grenage wrote: »

Honestly, I would take any notions of boundary maintenance or fence ownership, and just throw them out of the window. The fence is knackered, you probably both want a fence - split the cost and get something with which you're both happy.

Exactly. You can't force them to build a new fence, so agree to pay half and move on.

Andrew_Ryan_89

Just pay half.

As people have mentioned before, you have the right to build a fence on your land and they have the right to build it on theirs. They are no more obligated to build a fence then you are but I am assuming you don't want the eye-sore or no boundary between your neighbor and yourself?

I have an old fence that (before I moved in) has fallen down a couple of times. It's not pretty, it's not stable but it has yet to fall. My neighbor has asked me a couple of times if I can change it and I simply said no. If she wants to pay to replace it and guarantee it for 10 years then she is free to do so. If she wants to build another fence on her land and in she is free to do so also.

Mojisola

mrdubs wrote: »

The fence between me and the neighbour blew down. They said its my fence but they will pay half if we get it all replaced with a complete new fence (Fence is very very old).

I then checked with my other neighbour and my land deeds and the fence belongs to them!

Now they are saying as they offered to pay half, we should do too.

I don't want to fall out, but what would you say is fair? Bear in mind I have a fence the other side that may blow down and I would have to pay all for!

I think this bit has been missed.

The neighbours' other boundary will be the responsibility of the next house along so they will have a fully-fenced garden for the price of half a fence - you will have to pay for a fence and a half to get to the same position. Definitely not fair.

paddy's_mum

The trouble with not using common-sense and a bit of goodwill in situations such as this is that either party may end up with the Pallets-R-Us solution.

You've seen them - a ragbag of old bedsteads, rusting wire, lumps of skirting, broken concrete posts, chunks of sheet metal....

Aylesbury_Duck

Mojisola wrote: »

I think this bit has been missed.

The neighbours' other boundary will be the responsibility of the next house along so they will have a fully-fenced garden for the price of half a fence - you will have to pay for a fence and a half to get to the same position. Definitely not fair.

I see it differently. Were the neighbour's other fence to fall down, they might reach a similar 50:50 agreement so the neighbour has paid half of both fences. If the OP is the end of a line of houses, yes you are right that they face the cost of a fence and a half to have both sides done, but that's the cost of being on the end. It doesn't need to be fair, it's just how it is.

Mojisola

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

I see it differently. Were the neighbour's other fence to fall down, they might reach a similar 50:50 agreement so the neighbour has paid half of both fences. If the OP is the end of a line of houses, yes you are right that they face the cost of a fence and a hhttp://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/search.php?do=getnewalf to have both sides done, but that's the cost of being on the end. It doesn't need to be fair, it's just how it is.

How it is at the moment is that each house, except for one house at the end, pays for one fence - that is fair.

EssexExile

Mojisola wrote: »

Definitely not fair.

Life's not fair, that's just the way it is.

Aylesbury_Duck

Mojisola wrote: »

How it is at the moment is that each house, except for one house at the end, pays for one fence - that is fair.

True, but that depends upon everyone adopting that convention and recording it. People come and go and ownership of fences becomes ambiguous because I doubt anyone keeps a record of who paid for each fence at the time. Add to that the customary confusion between responsibility for maintaining a boundary and ownership of a fence, and it's inevitable that disputes occur.

I paid for a new fence to be erected along the back of my garden. It is my responsibility to maintain the boundary. I have no idea who paid for the original fence (it was there before my neighbour or I moved in) but it was the conifers in my garden that ruined the fence to the point where it fell apart so I took the view that I'd pay for the fence myself and maintain a good relationship with my neighbour. If he and I eventually move away, I'm unlikely to leave a record of the fact that I paid for the fence, so our successors will start the whole negotiation again.

Mojisola

EssexExile wrote: »

Life's not fair, that's just the way it is.

The current arrangement is fair - everyone pays for one fence.