18mo after moving into new build, told our garden fence temporary, will now lose 31.5msq

mrschaucer

fewcloudy said:

Could newcomers please read the thread before commenting🤷🏼‍♂️🙄

Um, was that aimed at me?  And if so why?

moneymattersnatter

ian1246 said:

I'd also ensure the fence along the boundary is yours. If its not, put your own internal fence up & keep a record if it going up & invoices for cost etc.... If they then one day rock up & take the fence down, whilst they could take their fence down (if its their fence along the boundary) they ll be Committing Criminal Damage if they do it to yours, especially if you make it clear in writing that you do not consent.

That will then leave then with the only option of going via the Courts - a far better option than them just doing what they want & leaving you out to dry/having to implement legal action of your own.

I'm pretty certain it's ours - it's the 'ugly' side of the fence that you own, right?  (My husband is a police officer, he's not here for me to double check with but I know he's said it will be criminal damage if they do touch it?!)

allypally26

He’s not correct. It’s only criminal damage if they damage it. So if they dismantle it carefully and put it in your garden undamaged then it won’t be criminal damage. 

Oxid8uk

moneymattersnatter said:

I'm pretty certain it's ours - it's the 'ugly' side of the fence that you own, right?  

Not always. I'm in a new build. My deeds clearly state that I own the fence and posts between myself and the neighbours but they have the ugly side. I am assuming it is because it's a featherboard fence so if any of the featherboards need replacing it can be done so from my side.

Lespaul1960

moneymattersnatter said:

ian1246 said:

I'd also ensure the fence along the boundary is yours. If its not, put your own internal fence up & keep a record if it going up & invoices for cost etc.... If they then one day rock up & take the fence down, whilst they could take their fence down (if its their fence along the boundary) they ll be Committing Criminal Damage if they do it to yours, especially if you make it clear in writing that you do not consent.

That will then leave then with the only option of going via the Courts - a far better option than them just doing what they want & leaving you out to dry/having to implement legal action of your own.

I'm pretty certain it's ours - it's the 'ugly' side of the fence that you own, right?  (My husband is a police officer, he's not here for me to double check with but I know he's said it will be criminal damage if they do touch it?!)

I have the ugly side of the fence, and I definitely Do Not own it. Next door paid for it and put it up.

GaleSF63

it's the 'ugly' side of the fence that you own, right? 

Not necessarily. I grew up on the "ugly" side of a large fence which belonged to next door - in this case it had been put up before our house existed.  

People will do what they can get away with.  Or what has been agreed between neighbours. 

homersimpson246

There is no requirement for either side of the fence to face either way (unless something were specifically written into the deeds), other than that its a case of whoever puts it up gets to choose what they want.

Regarding one of the previous comments about the developer retaining the right to move the boundary, I think they simply mean that nothing they are saying or doing is removing any rights they may have or think they have rather than there is something in the deeds which gives them the right to move things around to suit themselves.

I think legally the issue will be proving that the boundary is where it is meant to be, the red line boundary plans aren't that accurate and therefore its whether an independent assessor would side with you or them based on the evidence.

My view as I mentioned before is that they will simply shunt the other houses up slightly to get the ground back rather than delay building which will cost them money, however, it depends on how hard you are prepared to push.  Personally I would sit tight, and leave it up to them to make the next move as you are the person with something they want and not the other way around which puts you in a position of strength and they can't just ignore you.

I also think the poster above who said they can carefully dismantle the fence and put it back on your land without causing criminal damage is incorrect unless they could reassemble it and thats not going to happen with the work you have done to landscape the garden.  If I took your car to bits an carefully laid the parts out on your drive would it not be considered to be criminal damage?  While the parts might not be broken they would need to be reassembed at a cost to you.

Just my 2p.

ian1246

allypally26 said:

He’s not correct. It’s only criminal damage if they damage it. So if they dismantle it carefully and put it in your garden undamaged then it won’t be criminal damage. 

Thats blatantly false. Criminal damage can extend to "damage" in the form of "labour to rectify the damage" even if the actual items aren't physically damaged. There is case law for individuals who have used washable paints on the pavement/graffiti, as well as case law for flooding a custody cell - you don't have to cause long term damage, its damage if you cause short term inconvenience. 

Dismantling a fence is blatantly going to cause more than slight inconvenience. Plus I'd bet good money taking a fence down *would* result in physical damage to it - even if only slightly.

davidmcn

ian1246 said:

allypally26 said:

He’s not correct. It’s only criminal damage if they damage it. So if they dismantle it carefully and put it in your garden undamaged then it won’t be criminal damage. 

Thats blatantly false. Criminal damage can extend to "damage" in the form of "labour to rectify the damage" even if the actual items aren't physically damaged. There is case law for individuals who have used washable paints on the pavement/graffiti, as well as case law for flooding a custody cell - you don't have to cause long term damage, its damage if you cause short term inconvenience. 

Dismantling a fence is blatantly going to cause more than slight inconvenience. Plus I'd bet good money taking a fence down *would* result in physical damage to it - even if only slightly.

You still need criminal intent though - merely causing damage doesn't cut it. 

edgex

ian1246 said:

I'd also ensure the fence along the boundary is yours. If its not, put your own internal fence up & keep a record if it going up & invoices for cost etc.... If they then one day rock up & take the fence down, whilst they could take their fence down (if its their fence along the boundary) they ll be Committing Criminal Damage if they do it to yours, especially if you make it clear in writing that you do not consent.

That will then leave then with the only option of going via the Courts - a far better option than them just doing what they want & leaving you out to dry/having to implement legal action of your own.

You should check whether you do own the fence or not. If you do, then that's another indication that that fence isn't temporary.

Did you have either of the side gates changed? Noticed that they're different construction. Are they the same size?

moneymattersnatter said:

AdrianC said:

Are A3 and A9's garden boundaries marked out yet, to refer to?

How does the relative width of the walkway on the R121 side of R122 compare?

Sorry, I missed the element about comparing to the R121. Here are the measurements.  For each side. Roughly 40cm difference... coincidence? 

   For the next door house that's not built yet, have they already done the dropped kerb & pavement in front of the plot?

Does your boundary line on the plans match up with anything across the road?