Help: Have Neighbours Illegally Installed a Fence at Our House?

Adamc

Slinky wrote: »

Have you downloaded their title documents from land registry. I see from the 'key' to yours that the yellow area is marked as shared pathway but sits outside your red plot boundary. It would be interesting to see where their red lines are. If they don't include the yellow area within their plot, they are land grabbing. If they don't own that land, who does, the developer?

We asked about this but were advised by the solicitor that this would only outline rough physical boundaries (which may not be 100% accurate) and may not take account of legal/ownership/or shared boundaries.

Adamc

Sea_Shell wrote: »

My worry would be an escalation of hostilities by the neighbours, if you "go legal". They may come up with inventive and extremely hard to prove ways of making your life hell.

Do you have CCTV covering your car/driveway?

Unfortunately no CCT at present.

Smodlet

davidmcn wrote: »

Not if there's no criminal intent it isn't. Even if it were, I doubt inviting the cops round is really going to help.

Then it damned well should be.

Slinky

Adamc wrote: »

We asked about this but were advised by the solicitor that this would only outline rough physical boundaries (which may not be 100% accurate) and may not take account of legal/ownership/or shared boundaries.

For the £3 or £6 you'd need to pay, it's surely worth a look? You can do this yourself online without involving the solicitor.

sammyjammy

Slinky wrote: »

For the £3 or £6 you'd need to pay, it's surely worth a look? You can do this yourself online without involving the solicitor.

Agree, it might not be completely accurate but will defo show a gap in where your land and their land ends if there is one.

Mojisola

Adamc wrote: »

We asked about this but were advised by the solicitor that this would only outline rough physical boundaries (which may not be 100% accurate) and may not take account of legal/ownership/or shared boundaries.

The deeds should show any rights of way or access which is what you need.

diggingdude

More importantly, has that fence come down yet?

pinkteapot

diggingdude wrote: »

More importantly, has that fence come down yet?

Nasty winds in some parts of the country recently... Be a shame if it had blown over.

diggingdude

Blown over and marked with footprints

Titus_Wadd

Covenants might be the answer; many estates have covenants regarding keeping the front gardens "open-plan" or at least prescribe the size and shape of new boundary walls or fences (other than the original ones built be the developer). Hell! We have to ask permission to plant shrubs in our front garden, so maybe there's something along these lines. If the management company who maintain the common areas are easy to contact (local rather than some faceless bill-sending company) they may be a useful resource. If the neighbours have breached any covenants and they, like you, are freeholders (fleeceholders) there are remedies available to the body who imposed the covenants if the breach is brought to their attention. Sorry to type in riddles but I don't want to speculate on scenarios that might not apply in your case. Definitely download or order their deeds from the Land Reg; I rang the office and was pointed in the right direction of the documents I needed which saved me from ordering duplicates of papers we already had copies of.

I'd NOT engage in conversations with the neighbours; definitely NOT accept any half-@rsed remedies like one lifted panel or a gate. I wouldn't remove anything myself, or pay for any work and try to maintain the moral high-ground of unruffled no-knee-jerk reaction until all your legal info is in front of you; take it to a solicitor and ask them to write one letter if they agree with your findings. Don't tell the neighbours you want to sell soon.

I sincerely hope it gets resolved OP and you can honestly tell your future buyers that there was a misunderstanding with the neightbours because they didn't understand their covenants but it's all now resolved. Please let us know if you make any progress; I have trouble of my own brewing (not quite the same scenario). Come on here to vent if you get the urge to take a sledge-hammer to the anything!