Boundary fence issue with council

chris878

We brought a house last year, the house next to us is a council property and the council installed 1.8m fence and posts prior to us taking ownership of the property. The land registry information show the fence belongs to next door (the council property.) The council have also installed a 900mm chain link fence behind the wooden fence all the way around next doors garden. The garden backs on to a street so they have no privacy from the street. During strong winds the wooden fence has blown over between us and the next door and the council are refusing to repair the fence leaving my garden open to the street backing onto my garden and next door so I have no privacy in the garden, it’s viewable from next door, and the street at the bottom of our garden. At the end of my garden I have installed a 6ft high fence along my boundary between my garden and the street behind. It’s also not secure as the chain link fence can be climbed over from the street. The council have said they will come and remove the fence at their expense but they won’t repair it. They say it’s on my land. Is anyone able to give me any advice? 

littleboo

The usual situation is if you want a fence, you pay for it, or agree to share the cost with the neighbor. 

chris878

The house next door is a council property so the tenant isn’t willing to pay or to half the cost of a fence when they don’t own the property. I won’t be paying for a fence that doesn’t belong to me. The council installed it and their housing maintenance handbook states that they will repair or replace 1.8m fence with concrete posts. I’ve just paid to have all my fence renewed I’m not paying for someone else’s. It’s not that I don’t have the money it’s the principle. 

theoretica

If you want a fence, put one up just your side of the boundary and it will belong to you.

littleboo

So as above, put your own fence in, then you have privacy back and are not at the mercy of the council in future

Mojisola

chris878 said:

The house next door is a council property so the tenant isn’t willing to pay or to half the cost of a fence when they don’t own the property. I won’t be paying for a fence that doesn’t belong to me. The council installed it and their housing maintenance handbook states that they will repair or replace 1.8m fence with concrete posts. I’ve just paid to have all my fence renewed I’m not paying for someone else’s. It’s not that I don’t have the money it’s the principle. 

In that case, be prepared to live without any privacy for quite some time.  Councils are so cash-strapped at the moment that spending out on a new fence for you will be way down their priority list.

TELLIT01

You have no right to a 6 foot fence between you and your neighbour.  The council has installed a chain link fence to mark the boundary and that is as much as they need to do.  In fact they could probably have got away with just putting the straining wires in.

If you want a high fence you will have to pay for it yourself.

victor2

When we bought our house in the 1980's, the border that was our responsibility consisted of a small line of diseased apple trees. We were planning to put a new fence in anyway, but the neighbour immediately said she was going to her solicitor to enforce us to build a new fence. Our solicitor advised that legally all we had to do was no more than mark the border with a piece of string and a few posts.

We never heard from her solicitor, maybe he told her the same. Anyway, we put a nice new panel fence with concrete posts in. Shortly after that their house was broken in to from the back. We were in at the time and might have seen something were it not for the fence! Karma?

Norman_Castle

chris878 said:

 The council have said they will come and remove the fence at their expense but they won’t repair it. They say it’s on my land.

Why is their fence on your land? If its on your land and they will only remove it can you take ownership of it. Clearly you will have to repair the damaged part but you will have got the fence for free.