Money Moral Dilemma: Should we contribute to our neighbour's fence?

Mojisola

penedawn wrote: »

If it is there fence and you can find that out on your deeds it is best not to as it can cause a problem if you or they sell the property on. Simple things are made complicated by the solicitors.

If it is their they must also put the nice side of the fence on your side or again it presents a problem legally as the rough side should be on the owners side and that is usually how one knows which side is yours.

What law says this?

shaun_from_Africa

penedawn wrote: »

We live more closely to our neighbours than our best friends often and fences are just a legal boundary for identifying it. Stick with the rules - we are a community not an 'I want what I want and blow the rest of you' that attitude is causing huge problems in all areas. We are not children, we sign the paperwork so read it and stick with the rules and show some respect for neighbours and the law.

But in the post I replied to earlier, the fence wouldn't be marking the legal boundary as ollybass stated that the fence posts would be totally on the land owned by one householder and not running along the boundary line so that fence belongs to, and it the responsibility of whoever erected and paid for it and I don't see anything wrong with them wanting to view the good side (if there is a good and bad side) of it.

It's not a case of "sticking with the rules" or "the law" as there are no rules nor any law that covers this.

Seakay

They should have mentioned it when they asked if you minded if they replaced the fence. You might have given a different answer if they'd said "we don't like the wire fence, we've chosen a replacement that we like without consulting you, will you give us £100 towards it?" Your deeds will specify who has responsibility for the boundary (in case that makes a difference to you). Deeds are also a good place to check if there are height restrictions in place for boundary fencing and also if there are any requirements for materials used. (Looking at what is 'the norm' in your area won't tell you this, most people do what they want and hope that no one will bother to a)check and b) report them)

Davesnave

Seakay wrote: »

Deeds are also a good place to check if there are height restrictions in place for boundary fencing and also if there are any requirements for materials used.

Your particular title documentation might be restrictive in that manner, but as has been pointed out already, many are not, nor will there necessarily be any mention of boundaries or responsibility for them.

We don't want people visiting this thread to think they have sub-standard or peculiar documents, simply because they're silent on these matters. Mine don't mention boundaries, despite there being over 1/2 km of them and 8 neighbouring properties.

There's a nationally (England & Wales) defined maximum height for fencing between neighbours, assuming it's put up without planning permission.



Like most things to do with building, people can read all about this on the Planning Portal:
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/20/fences_gates_and_garden_walls

TheCyclingProgrammer

penedawn wrote: »

If it is there fence and you can find that out on your deeds it is best not to as it can cause a problem if you or they sell the property on. Simple things are made complicated by the solicitors. If it is their they must also put the nice side of the fence on your side or again it presents a problem legally as the rough side should be on the owners side and that is usually how one knows which side is yours. You are responsible for the opposite side, unless your deeds say otherwise. Often the fence at the end is split between the property behind you and there may be 3 houses involved if they are offset. It is best to be very clear who own what and what they are going to do as in some areas fences can only be 3' high other 6'. You don't have to spend a bean on their fence even if you were responsible for it. It can fall down and you can ignore it if you choose. If you share it you have to agree about what size, shape, wood and split the cost exactly. Legally they have to inform/ask you if they can put the fence up they can't ask for any money. It is more about community and making the best decisions as often now people seem to want something really fancy that they adore and you hate looking at. It used not to be like that. We used to have one size fence, simple, all the same, same height. Less arguments. Check your paperwork.

Pretty much everything in this post is utter nonsense and is best ignored.