Housing association refuse to repair neighbour fence

jooble182

Hi,

In the last few months the fence between my neighbour and I has either fallen down or some panels are heavily broken and hanging so the whole side will need replacing. The responsibility of the fence is with the housing association we have already done the other side which is our responsibility. My neighbour has tried to get them to fix it with no luck so today I phoned up. They flat told me they are not repairing fences, that's it.... couldn't believe it so blunt i cant do anything. So is my only option to just erect a fence of my own on my property line at my cost? or is there a way to get them to do it? Looking into it it seems crazy there is no law regarding fencing. I imagine I am not the only one who has faced this sort of problem.

Thanks for any advice

jooble182

just need to edit this as i think i might have got it wrong and i cant seem to edit the post. Its a issue with a company called Housing Solutions not housing association.

user1977

jooble182 said:

The responsibility of the fence is with the housing association ...

Do you mean they are legally obliged to repair the fence (i.e. there's a covenant or similar in the title deeds saying so), or just that it's their fence? If the latter, it's up to them what to do with it. And you can put up your own if you want.

molerat

Unless there is a covenant stating that they must provide a certain level of fencing and kept in good order then they don't have to do anything unless the damage poses a health and safety risk.

summer_daze009

Is this the company that is based in Maidenhead, Berkshire? If so then it clearly states that on their website they are are responsible for repairs to fences. Has your neighbour reported it through their online portal? You may wish to email or call their home ownership manager (email address and mobile number available on their website) 

I believe they are also members of the Housing Ombudsman scheme so as a last resort you may wish to complain to them

jooble182

Thanks for the advice user1977 said:

jooble182 said:

The responsibility of the fence is with the housing association ...

Do you mean they are legally obliged to repair the fence (i.e. there's a covenant or similar in the title deeds saying so), or just that it's their fence? If the latter, it's up to them what to do with it. And you can put up your own if you want.

Im pretty sure its just their fence they are responsible for I don't think there is anything specific saying they are legally obliged to repair it. Ill need to make sure of that however. Sort of annoying it should just be by default a legal obligation to maintain fences in my opinion. Not thrilled at the idea of having to put up a fence on my property line because housing solutions don't want to pay for it.

summer_daze009 said:

Is this the company that is based in Maidenhead, Berkshire? If so then it clearly states that on their website they are are responsible for repairs to fences. Has your neighbour reported it through their online portal? You may wish to email or call their home ownership manager (email address and mobile number available on their website) 

I believe they are also members of the Housing Ombudsman scheme so as a last resort you may wish to complain to them

Yea that's the one and i also saw that on their website so when they just told me on the phone they dont repair fences at the moment I was quite surprised. I assume for the reasons above they can get away with not doing it with no consequences. But i will look into what you have said as see if i can get anything done about it.

user1977

jooble182 said:

it should just be by default a legal obligation to maintain fences in my opinion.

Why? Lots of boundaries don't have any fence. Would that mean the owners would to put one up, even if nobody wanted it?

jooble182

user1977 said:

jooble182 said:

it should just be by default a legal obligation to maintain fences in my opinion.

Why? Lots of boundaries don't have any fence. Would that mean the owners would to put one up, even if nobody wanted it?

Sure fair enough if there isn't one there, it was personal opinion but if there is a fence there it would be good to keep it maintained. I'm not looking to write the details of how to get this into law just a gripe about how it works. 

born_again

TBH.
Not really consumer rights issue. Butter in housing section.

TELLIT01

Even if they do have a responsibility to maintain the fence, it doesn't mean they would have to replace the existing one 'like for like'.  They could simply put in metal posts with a straining wire run along the top.

outtatune

jooble182 said:

user1977 said:

jooble182 said:

it should just be by default a legal obligation to maintain fences in my opinion.

Why? Lots of boundaries don't have any fence. Would that mean the owners would to put one up, even if nobody wanted it?

Sure fair enough if there isn't one there, it was personal opinion but if there is a fence there it would be good to keep it maintained. I'm not looking to write the details of how to get this into law just a gripe about how it works. 

Again, what's your gripe? If you're the one who wants there to be a fence, and the neighbour isn't that bothered, why should it be neighbour who pays?