Neighbour's fence encroaching by a foot on my side of the garden

TheJP

user1168934 said:

TheJP said:

You'll probably need to get a boundary surveyor in to check that the fence has encroached on the boundary before you raise it with the owners. They may contest it which then would mean civil action.  

It that the same as the property survey I had done when I was buying the property? Is it something different?

No they are different, they will specifically review titles etc and then correctly determine where the boundary is. Once the correct boundary is identified then share with the neighbour and see what they say. You'll need to ascertain which fence line is your responsibility as well before you pulled any down. 

Mojisola

user1168934 said:

I bought a house recently and have been living in it for the last few months. It is  a mid-terraced property with neighbours on both side.

I have realised that on the right side, fence is encroaching by a foot on my side of the garden.

Why do you think this? 

Jenni_D

Mojisola said:

user1168934 said:

I bought a house recently and have been living in it for the last few months. It is  a mid-terraced property with neighbours on both side.

I have realised that on the right side, fence is encroaching by a foot on my side of the garden.

Why do you think this? 

Indeed. A picture paints a thousand words.  

ProDave

Mojisola said:

user1168934 said:

I bought a house recently and have been living in it for the last few months. It is  a mid-terraced property with neighbours on both side.

I have realised that on the right side, fence is encroaching by a foot on my side of the garden.

Why do you think this? 

If the OP did the measuring I described a few posts back it would be easy to determine the position of the party wall and how that relates to the current fence position.  Then a bit of rope or string stretched down the garden in a straight line to a far fence post would show where it should be.  Only then can you decide if and by how much it encroaches on your garden and take action.

If the house is empty and you have tried and failed to contact the owner I would just do it or pay someone to do it.  If your measurements are accurate there is nothing that anyone can dispute, and if the owner turns up, invite him to get a surveyor and present a report on just how you are encroaching on his land.

HampshireH

user1168934 said:

ProDave said:

To locate where the fence should be, measure from a feature such as a window or door opening to the inside face of the party wall inside the house.  Then measure that same distance from the same feature outside to the fence.  That will show you were the fence should be.  Technically the centre of the fence should probably be about 100mm further so it aligns with the centre of the party wall. but to be safe keep slightly inside that.

Then project a straight line from that point to the furthest existing fence post at the end of the garden.

Replace the fence to that line and anybody would have a hard time disputing it was not correct.

If the house is for sale I very much doubt the owner is going to dispute it and will just be happy to have a new fence.  you want this done ASAP so the new owner does not dispute it if he sees the fence move.

Do I need existing owner's permission before replacing the whole fence? or shall I just hire someone and replace it?

Note that some of the fence posts in the middle will be moving - do I need to clearly tell them this?

I would suggest you have a conversation yes. And you tell them your thoughts and plans.

You could end in a dispute if you just try and claim part of their current garden 

Mojisola

ProDave said:

If the OP did the measuring I described a few posts back it would be easy to determine the position of the party wall and how that relates to the current fence position.  Then a bit of rope or string stretched down the garden in a straight line to a far fence post would show where it should be.  Only then can you decide if and by how much it encroaches on your garden and take action.

If the house is empty and you have tried and failed to contact the owner I would just do it or pay someone to do it.  If your measurements are accurate there is nothing that anyone can dispute, and if the owner turns up, invite him to get a surveyor and present a report on just how you are encroaching on his land.

It's good advice.  

The only caveat would be to look over the fence and make sure that there isn't any hard landscaping that would make moving the fence difficult (and obvious that it had been moved).

Most new buyers would prefer to have a new fence in place but may not take kindly to what they could see as a land grab while the house was empty.

Norman_Castle

user1168934 said:

ProDave said:

To locate where the fence should be, measure from a feature such as a window or door opening to the inside face of the party wall inside the house.  Then measure that same distance from the same feature outside to the fence.  That will show you were the fence should be.  Technically the centre of the fence should probably be about 100mm further so it aligns with the centre of the party wall. but to be safe keep slightly inside that.

Then project a straight line from that point to the furthest existing fence post at the end of the garden.

Replace the fence to that line and anybody would have a hard time disputing it was not correct.

If the house is for sale I very much doubt the owner is going to dispute it and will just be happy to have a new fence.  you want this done ASAP so the new owner does not dispute it if he sees the fence move.

Do I need existing owner's permission before replacing the whole fence? or shall I just hire someone and replace it?

Note that some of the fence posts in the middle will be moving - do I need to clearly tell them this?

I'd contact them via the agent explaining you believe the boundary fence is in the wrong place. If you're willing to replace it they're unlikely to argue over it moving a small distance especially at an ex rental property they're hoping to sell. If you do decide to remove the current fence you should return it to them although re using the new panels would be wise.

Slinky

I'm sure a bit of fence changing is quite common in these circumstances.

We looked at a bungalow that was a probate sale where the neighbour had obviously decided to replace the fence whilst there was no-one in the property. It put us off buying as the new fence was 5ft whereas the old one in the property photos was 6ft.  The neighbour's garden was very short and was obviously benefitting from more light into it. They could look across the not very deep patio into the kitchen windows of the bungalow. No thanks to that.

Grumpy_chap

user1168934 said:

I have realised that on the right side, fence is encroaching by a foot on my side of the garden. 

Why do you believe the fence is in the incorrect location by 12"?

user1168934 said:

I have just bought the property so I have no idea who replaced and installed which fence.

Has the fence moved since you viewed the property to completion?

A_Lert

Step one is find out who owns the fence. Deeds are not reliable in this respect. Ask your seller and your neighbour and hope you get the same answer.

If it's yours, you can do as you please on your land. But you should verify the correct boundary position and let your neighbour know if the fence is being moved to correct the previous mistake. They might need or want to move slabs, plants, etc.

If it's theirs, you need to again verify the correct boundary position, then ask them to remove their fence that's on your land. Similar if it's jointly owned but you'll be making agreements and splitting demolition costs.

The ownership of the new fence doesn't have to be the same as the old.