New fencing - what if we can't agree with neighbour?

warby68

If you're willing to pay 100% to have your style could they then put their 50% towards changing their other side?
Or would 50% of the whole job including their other side work out better?
Assuming of course they don't hit the same issue with their neighbour on the other side.

TELLIT01

Until this topic opened it had never even occurred to me that we have 3 different fence types.  On the left it's vertical boarded, on the right it's the back of waney horizontal lap and the bottom is chain link with a decorative block wall behind that.

tired_dad

No expert but based on long standing comments on this forum my understanding is the boundary and fence are different issues. He who pays for the fence owns it so existing fence is yours.

best not to fall out with a neighbour.

Would be nice to have different panels on each side sharing the same posts. Suspect wooden posts would allow that. Get options from installer 

SheenaG4

TELLIT01 said:

Until this topic opened it had never even occurred to me that we have 3 different fence types.  On the left it's vertical boarded, on the right it's the back of waney horizontal lap and the bottom is chain link with a decorative block wall behind that.

Yes, it's waney lap and vertical panel on opposite sides that we're trying to avoid.
It may be that we don't notice the difference after a while, but if we do, it's a long time to live with the mismatch.

SheenaG4

tired_dad said:

No expert but based on long standing comments on this forum my understanding is the boundary and fence are different issues. He who pays for the fence owns it so existing fence is yours.
best not to fall out with a neighbour.

Would be nice to have different panels on each side sharing the same posts. Suspect wooden posts would allow that. Get options from installer 

Yes. We had read that somewhere else but weren't sure whether this was true in legal terms (not that we're looking to go down that route). 
Totally agree about not falling out.
Unfortunately, we've got concrete posts on all 3 sides, so we're not sure, both from a financial and aesthetic view, whether replacing one side with wooden posts is something we'd want to look into, though we totally understand your point. 
Thanks

Jeepers_Creepers

tired_dad said:

He who pays for the fence owns it so existing fence is yours.

If that fence was on the neighbour's side of the boundary, it would belong to the neighbour - regardless of whether Sheena or Santa Claus herself paid for it.

The only reason this fence is an issue, is because it seemingly sits exactly on the boundary line, coupled with the deeds not indicating ownership.

If Sheena and her neighb could work who was actually 'responsible' for it, then that person would have the right to fit whatever they wanted - or even nothing.

Hey! I have the ultimate solution! Make each alternate panel a different style...

Mickey666

SheenaG4 said:

YellowCarBlueCar said:

Do you know who the land on which the fence sits, belongs to (i.e. your side of the boundary of theirs).  

From the deeds, no, and visually the fence runs right along what we would consider to be the dividing line between the 2 properties. 

The deeds are not usually deemed to be accurate enough to define the EXACT position of the boundary.  Thus, even if the fence HAD been erected, say, 6 inches on one side of the original boundary or the other, if ever there was a boundary dispute the deeds would likely be of no help in defining the error and if the matter went to adjudication by a boundary surveyor (yes, it's a definite thing!) the likely outcome would be that the CURRENT position of the fence would be determined to be the legal boundary.  (check out www.gardenlaw.co.uk for more info on boundary law and disputes).

Note that a 'boundary' is just an imaginary line dividing two properties and as such cannot be 'owned' by anyone.  However, a 'boundary marker' is a physical thing (fence, posts, wire, length of string etc) and CAN be owned by someone.

Fortunately, there seems to be no boundary dispute here so it's just the fence style.  It's worth checking both property deeds to see if ownership of the fence is stated (usually marked with a 'T' symbol) - if not then the OP could certainly claim ownership of the fence by virtue of having paid for it when erected!

williamgriffin

Jeepers_Creepers said:

tired_dad said:

He who pays for the fence owns it so existing fence is yours.

If that fence was on the neighbour's side of the boundary, it would belong to the neighbour - regardless of whether Sheena or Santa Claus herself paid for it.

The only reason this fence is an issue, is because it seemingly sits exactly on the boundary line, coupled with the deeds not indicating ownership.

If Sheena and her neighb could work who was actually 'responsible' for it, then that person would have the right to fit whatever they wanted - or even nothing.

Hey! I have the ultimate solution! Make each alternate panel a different style...

The fence belongs to whoever bought it. Someone could quite easily own a fence that for whatever reason has been put on another's land. 

Jeepers_Creepers

williamgriffin said:

Jeepers_Creepers said:

tired_dad said:

He who pays for the fence owns it so existing fence is yours.

If that fence was on the neighbour's side of the boundary, it would belong to the neighbour - regardless of whether Sheena or Santa Claus herself paid for it.

The only reason this fence is an issue, is because it seemingly sits exactly on the boundary line, coupled with the deeds not indicating ownership.

If Sheena and her neighb could work who was actually 'responsible' for it, then that person would have the right to fit whatever they wanted - or even nothing.

Hey! I have the ultimate solution! Make each alternate panel a different style...

The fence belongs to whoever bought it. Someone could quite easily own a fence that for whatever reason has been put on another's land. 

But if it's not on their land, they wouldn't have the right to change it. You could ask for it back, I guess...

Jeepers_Creepers

Mickey666 said:

The deeds are not usually deemed to be accurate enough to define the EXACT position of the boundary.  Thus, even if the fence HAD been erected, say, 6 inches on one side of the original boundary or the other, if ever there was a boundary dispute the deeds would likely be of no help in defining the error and if the matter went to adjudication by a boundary surveyor (yes, it's a definite thing!) the likely outcome would be that the CURRENT position of the fence would be determined to be the legal boundary.  (check out www.gardenlaw.co.uk for more info on boundary law and disputes).

Note that a 'boundary' is just an imaginary line dividing two properties and as such cannot be 'owned' by anyone.  However, a 'boundary marker' is a physical thing (fence, posts, wire, length of string etc) and CAN be owned by someone.

Fortunately, there seems to be no boundary dispute here so it's just the fence style.  It's worth checking both property deeds to see if ownership of the fence is stated (usually marked with a 'T' symbol) - if not then the OP could certainly claim ownership of the fence by virtue of having paid for it when erected!

That would be nice, but I understand from the OP that this boundary fence departs exactly from where their two semis join. Ie, right ON the boundary line.