Boundary dispute with neighbour

robinspaul

Hi,

I have a semi detached property. I don't live in the property.

I have tenants living in the property. So, I DO NOT visit the property often.

This issue is regarding the Garden Fence between my garden and the garden of the property which is attached to my semi.

Both my property and the other semi-detached property had garden sheds close to the party wall.

Recently, the neighbour who shares the other part of my semi detached property replaced the Garden Fence.

I noticed the first post of the new garden fence is starting from the edge of my garden shed which is close to the party wall.

My understanding is that the fence should be exactly in the middle of both of the gardens. 

If they move the post 3 inches more to their side, then it will end up in the middle of both of us.

I told them you should have started the fence in the middle not my side alone.

What they told me is that 

- the old fence was starting exactly the same position (my side of the party wall/shed), so we replaced the old fence exactly where it was before.

I don't know whether the old fence was exactly in the same place where they have the new fence.

This happened a few months ago. Tenants don't know about the boundaries.

When I was discussing this with my friends, someone mentioned to me about Party Wall Act 1996.

According to this law, the neighbour should have given me a notice before doing the work and as they did not done so, I have the right to take them to court.

I don't think it is easy. I is going to be expensive and if I win the dispute I may get back a few inches of land.

I am happy to forget whatever happened if this is not going to create any future problems for me.

When I say future problems, if the post or panel is damaged, in the future, will it become my responsibility to  fix it becuase the first post is not starting from the middle of the party wall, it is moved more to my side of the wall?

I don't think anything will happen in the next 5 to 10 years time as it is a new fence.

They are vey tall concrete posts and wooden panels. The height of the fence is more than a normal person. 

Will it be my responsibility to keep the fence safe and secure and maintain it in the future?

Thanks for reading this.

Slithery

@robinspaul

Please start your own thread instead of tagging onto the end of a 2 year old one.

Mickey666

The party wall act applies to walls that are shared by neighbouring houses.  I’m pretty sure it doesn’t apply to garden fences.

There seem to be two issues here: the fence ownership and the property boundary.  I’d say the fence ownership is straightforward - the neighbour erected the fence therefore it is their property.  So, their property means their responsibility to maintain.  Except that ‘responsibility’ is different to ‘obligation’.  There is rarely any obligation on property owners to install or maintain a fence at all.  Most people WANT fences on their boundaries of course but it’s rarely a legal obligation.  If, in the future, your neighbour decides not to maintain the fence and it falls into disrepair and becomes insecure then there is little you can do about it.  What you can do is then to erect your own fence, on your own property, to provide the security you may want.  Such a fence would then belong to you and you would be responsible for maintenance.

Whether they have erected this new fence ONLY on their own property might be more difficult to determine, but as you don’t seem too concerned about where it is then perhaps it might be best to just accept it where it is.  You’re right that a dispute will likely be expensive, not to mention upsetting and time-consuming, and for very little gain.

This sort of thing crops up all the time on the gardenlaw forum, which has sections dedicated to fence and boundary issues.  Some of the discussions are hair-raising examples of outrageous neighbours and the trouble that a couple of inches can cause when it comes to a boundary dispute!  https://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php

princeofpounds

Holy Zombie Thread Batman!

Let's wait until this new OP's question is transferred into a new thread before commenting. Otherwise it will get too confusing very quickly.

Mickey666

Ah, I see your point!
Thing is, I just click on ‘new posts’ and scan for interesting-looking topics.  I saw this one and the post I replied to was the only one on the page and it was dated today.  No one is going to read through past pages of a long thread are they?

[Deleted User]

Oops!
I thought it was quite interesting and was hoping for an end to the tale (I start at the beginning and don't read the end before I reach it lol).

robatwork

deannatrois said:

Oops!
I thought it was quite interesting and was hoping for an end to the tale (I start at the beginning and don't read the end before I reach it lol).

So frustrating isn't it? And this particular corner of MSE seems to be the world's worst forum on the entire internet for intense OP posting then radio silence. If I had a pound for every time a thread is started but never updated I'd probably have bought MSE myself.

[Deleted User]

Its nice if the OP takes the time to update.., but human nature being what it is things that seem very intense in the beginning can see much tamer by the end.  Or can be embarrassing.  Its nice when you know the end of the tale, but and end can't be expected.  Sometimes threads allow someone to learn, sometimes just to surmise.  No contracts signed in blood at the moment of creating a thread etc!

NameUnavailable

This is why I hate when you ask a question on a forum and some bright spark usually pipes up that you should search for previous threads on the same subject. You end up reading pages of stuff only to find there's no conclusion!!

Please, if you're going to start a thread like this one, have the courtesy to update with the outcome.

Davesnave

Best way to deal with serial non-updaters and first post removers is to stick them on ignore. You'll never see them again.