Landlord refusing to pay for a new fence

Dunk91

Hi am looking for advice in the next steps we should take. We currently privately rent a house, the fence in our garden is damaged beyond repair, we have spoken to our landlord on many occasions and they have said it's not their fence, it's belongs to the house next door. So I've been in touch with the Mormon church as the house is used for missionaries, they have been in touch with landlord of the house and they said it's not theirs either. We have pretty much gone round in circles, we have a two year old, so it does need to be sorted. We can't afford to pay for a new fence ourselves, neither landlord will pay for a new one as they both believe it doesn't belong to them. The only way to get one of them to pay for it, is to find out who's it belongs to, any advice would be appreciated..

diggingdude

is it dangerous for child? If so could you report it to the council?

csgohan4

the land registry will indicate who's responsible for it as well, although will involve spending £3

glasgowdan

The land registry tells you who paid for and put the fence up??? Interesting.

Dunk91

Thank you for the replies, will be getting on them right away. I have a feeling though by how they managed this issue and I have proof that it belongs to either one of them. They will still refuse to replace it, as am privately renting, what would be my options then.

Pixie5740

You would be surprised at how few repairing obligations landlords in England have.

See G_M's Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015)

McKneff

I wouldnt have thought they are responsible for putting a fence up.
If its for the safety of your child then its up to you to pay for it.

GrumpyDil

The land registry will not tell you who owns the fence, as it will belong to whoever put it up, which could be a either property. Also there is no obligation to even have a fence. I suspect your only chance will be if you can show the fence is dangerous, although the solution then could be just to remove the fence.

You may struggle here I'm afraid.

robber2

If your childs safety is at stake I wouldn't be waiting for someone to finally accept responsibility over the boundary fence.

I suggest you buy some reclaimed or scrap planks and posts, a saw, hammer and nails (freecycle, ebay etc?) and knock up something child proof. You never know if it looks a bit rough your landlord may be embarrassed into action but even if he isn't at least you can relax knowing your child is secure.

Rob

Dunk91

The fence is pretty much f*****, it wasn't even done properly, posts weren't drugged/cemented in place. Was a half a***d job. If it turns out to be the other landlords fence, seems unfair that we would have to cough up the money.

The only real option is to save up and get it done ourselves,

robber2

PS, don't waste your time reporting the issue to the council, its really not their problem.

Rob