Fence problems

nurbz

Hello all,

This is not strictly speaking a money problem, but as I do not know where to ask, I am trying my luck here. Basically, the fence between my property and my neightbourgh's fell over in my garden after a very windy day. It is very inconvenient as the fence is tall and heavy, so this needs to be fixed. However, I do not know whose fence it is. When I bought the house, the contract mentioned the boundaries between the two properties,but nothing about the fence itself. So does someone know how can I find out whose fence it is, hence who should take the responsibility to fix it?

Also, I do know know what company should I call to fix such a thing? WHat individuals/companies install and maintain fences?? Any idea?

Any advice/comments/suggestions more than welcome. Thanks in advance for any help.

Alex

inmypocketnottheirs

Yellow Pages under 'Fences' or 'Fencing Supplies'. Or look through local paper, usually inundated with fencing ads.

cats!

As a rule, when you stand outside your home facing it the boundary on the left is normally your responsibility. The right hand side is normally the neighbour next door (obvious exceptions apply!).

Across the back can be up for grabs!

You should be able to check in the deeds or with the Land Registry. One plus point - if you replace the fence you get to choose the replacement type! Make sure you stick to the original boundary line though.

vivatifosi

Look on the deeds to the house, there should be little T symbols along the fence line which show which fences you need to maintain. In my house and that of most people I know, this is the fence on the left hand side of the property as you look at the garden from the back of the house, though there can be exceptions.

Richard_Webster

Look on the deeds to the house, there should be little T symbols along the fence line which show which fences you need to maintain.

This is true in many cases, but there are thousands of cases where there is no information at all about who owns the fence.

Most older property was built to be tenanted and builders would put up long terraces or long sets of semis and they would own the lot. Who owned the fences between each garden was pretty irrelevant as they all belonged to the builder.

When the houses were sold off singly perhaps in the 1950s-60s the builder probably didn't know who had been looking after individual fences on an informal basis so his solicitors deliberately didn't put anything in the conveyances about it.

In the days before fence panels, the supporting posts would be on one side only rather than in the middle and it was assumed (unless there was evidence to the contrary) that the owner of the land where the posts were owned the fence because he wouldn't put posts up on other people's land.

Also, please understand that ownership doesn't necessarily carry with it any obligation to maintain the fence in question. All it may mean is that if the neighbour originally put up the fence you can't remove it and use the wood for a bonfire...

cattie

cats! wrote: »

As a rule, when you stand outside your home facing it the boundary on the left is normally your responsibility. The right hand side is normally the neighbour next door (obvious exceptions apply!).

This is a common misconception I'm afraid.

If the land registry documents don't show who the boundary fence belongs to & your neighbour has no idea either, then you will probably need to assume that it is a shared responsibility.

If it is shared responsibility, then there is no legal requirement for the neighbour to actually contribute towards the cost of repair or maintenance if they choose not to do so. In such a case you would then need to fund the cost yourself if you want the fence repaired.

PasturesNew

In my last house, 130 years old, boundaries on both sides were "joint responsibility"

daveyjp

If all paperwork is silent you have to sort it between you and your neighbour. Anything about good side/bad side of fence, fence on right, fence on left etc has no standing in law.

Our fence blew down so I went to see the neighbour, we agreed a style and split the cost. We both benefit from it so it seemed a sensible approach.