Boundary Fence

ShiShi79

We bought our property 2020. Since then our semi was empty between June 2021 until late 2022. The boundary fence between us and our semi, was put up by our previous owner in 2 different levels ( patio area right next to the house 6 foot fence then next 15 meters or so 3 foot fence, however last 12-15m there was no fence. So when our semi went vacant ( as it was easier to access and work)  we continue the fence same line and it was done our side the line where there was no fence ( believe in our garden) and also made all 3 foot to 6 foot feather edge boards. So we wanted it all 6 foot fence all along. This side of the fence we know is not our responsibilities to maintain, however as we have small kids we decided will put the money and work ourselves and will make it more private. I believe the owner before that probably wanted similar thing for himself and maybe that's why he did the fence there.  Since the new owners moved in 2022 in the semi-detached- next door, they seems to put lots of heavy object laying against the fence. One of the post went a bit wobbly and I did ask them nicely to go in and dig around and put some more concrete to stabilize it. Then I was silently not granted access but instead they went and put almost 6-7 or more concrete kind of slabs against that wobbled post. Then I also asked them kindly to remove all those concrete slabs away as they damaging the fence and it make us upset, the response was rather sarcastic like ( '' oo don't be upset they not going to leave there forever'' ) , and they did remove most of them but one but then put it against the next post. This morning when we start fixing the post from our side of the garden, the neighbours appeared and claim that is our fence but posts are in their property ( apparently we are 2 inch in her garden) and they can do whatever they want with the fence. They asked us to put the featheredge boards back up for their privacy and our cats not to go in their garden. Seems like all along they trying to damage it intentionally and when we refused she went really unpleasant and nasty with her partner claiming we are on her property with our fence. Once walked away from us sending different treads they even put a camera to record us while we were trying to remove the featheredge boards and fix the wobbly post. 

Then we decided to stop fixing anything and make a survey, to proof if w are right or wrong. It appears to us that they seems to not like the bit of the fence which we did ( me and my husband where where there was no fence originally ) but also want the privacy and want to do with the fence whatever they want. Any advice please  is upsetting as we put the fence to have a proper privacy around for our family and we believed would be good for them too, but seems that they claim is theirs and can do whatever they want with it. I agree one of the posts was in need of a bit more concrete, but  the rest of the fence there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. We were willing by all means to repair it, but unfortunately at that point we really need to clarify things even for ourselves, before we continue any further.

GDB2222

What are the posts made of?

What do the house deeds say about boundary fences? 

ShiShi79

The posts are normal wooden fence posts 10/10cm. The maintenance of the boundary is their responsibilities, but we just continue a line from the already existing fence to the end of the garden. The end of the garden there is a concrete post ( I believe the original one ) and our fence is towards our side of this concrete post. But as we follow the line of the existing fence that's why I said if anything post might be on the boundary line, but definitely not in her garden as such. 

GDB2222

Wooden posts do rot, near the base usually, so the post may need replacing, rather than just adding concrete. To avoid encroaching on the neighbour in any way, you can add a spur on your side and bolt it to the existing post.

If the deeds are silent about the height of the fence, you can go up to 6 feet or so, and you have done nothing wrong by adding some fence if there was nothing there before.

I would suggest doing whatever is necessary to avoid legal action. It seems daft to me to have a survey done. For what purpose? Just so you can tell your neighbour you are right? 

Just try to calm things down. 

Some neighbours do pile things against the fence, which seems daft to me, but just accept it in good grace. 

ShiShi79

the posts which needed more concrete is one of the new ones. Seems like we did not put enough concrete and when they pile thing that area and then move / dispose some of them this is when post tilt a bit. I did ask her in a conversation maybe a month ago can we go to fix it  and she didnt say no but didn say yes either. 
Doing the survey is absolutely not to go and say we are right, but entirely for our own piece of mind as I want ideally to add the concrete to that same post and put feather edge boards back for our kids sake. they obviously threaten with legal actions and shooting our pet as they passing into their garden. 

I am personally shocked. The purchased of their property took a long time and they were coming and chatting to us, saw us putting the fence and really could put it in their purchase survey ( check exact boundary line etc). But they never object until Sunday when we went to fix that post and of course it was from our end. All they were saying is mine and put the featheredge boards back up.

I can not believe someone is waiting other parties to invest the money time and effort to create their comfort and claim things are theirs for no obvious reason. 

My husband very calm and tried to explain that we only lined up with the old fence and tidy things to be as much our end as possible but she would not even have it and openly said didnt want to pay for survey and that will sue but we will pay. What can you do with this kind of people ? 

GDB2222

Mostly, people who say they will sue don't actually do so, and it's not obvious what they can sue over. Obviously, you need to keep your dog under control and stop it entering their garden. 

But, are they really threatening to shoot it? What with? Maybe, water pistols would be a fairly reasonable way to deter it entering. But really you need to put the fencing back up ASAP. If there's really a dispute about the fence, you may need to put some netting up, or even a new fence inside your garden. 

You can repair the fence post from your side by using one of these:

https://countrysupplies.uk.com/concrete-repair-spur-p-7379

ThisIsWeird

Hi ShiShi.
Have you actually had that survey carried out? If so, what did it report?
But, since your houses are 'semi', it should be easy to determine where the exact boundary line does lie - it's in the middle of your house's party wall. So, can you determine this? It should be straight forward when the houses are symmetrical.
Ok, now you have that invisible line worked out, the facts are - everything on your side of that line is yours, and ditto for them. That applies to fences too, provided they are fully on one side or the other; the backs of the posts can touch the invisible line, but the post itself must be fully on one side.
The person with the fence fully on their side owns that fence in its entirety, and no-one else should touch it without permission.
Of course, it's impossible to determine this line with total accuracy, but in a semi should be doable to within an inch or so.
That leaves fences that straddle the line - these are 'party', a shared responsibility, and agreement should be sought.

ShiShi79

Hi ThisIsWeird, 

No we haven't done it I am searching right now someone to do it. And exactly you would think is no brainer to established the boundaries. Garden is bigger than average for our end of UK and is long for more than 30 meters so really even a post might be slightly in or out of our garden, but our aim of finishing the garden fence definitely was not we to '' grab'' more for ourselves and we we very careful to be on the correct side of the dividing old concrete post. 

And when I say our pets - we don't have dog is cats. So really with them not looking after their garden , overgrown etc ( I am not bothered about this at all) but is heaven for cats as they go and hunt things from there all the time. And they jump over 6 foot fence anyway. So that's why don't understand how my cats effect their garden , as there are plenty more cats around. 

And I can confidently say star and finish are in our garden and as it such a long fence might of been shift a bit towards the end but if we are in her garden as she stated we would not of have a pretty strait line as we have now.
Here are some pictures showing when we got the place, start of the fence and the end of the fence. 
 

ThisIsWeird

That top pic shows that you have sliding patio doors close to the fence. What does your neighbour have on there side? I can't see anything in the pic - is that because of the angle, or because they have a narrower door there?
Step 1 is that you need to determine - as near exact as possible - where the centre of your internal party wall is, 'cos that's your boundary.
So, if your neighbour has a matching-size door on their side, that should be a good indicator - you put a small mark at the mid point between the two. 
Or/and you measure from the door edge to the inside face of the party wall, but then you'd need an accurate idea of the physical thickness of that wall. You might be able to get this if you have a couple of other neighbours who'd do this for you on their houses - each measuring from their matching doors or windows to their respective inside walls, and that would provide a good idea of the thickness of that wall. They could then confirm how well that matches with their known boundary on the outside.
Another way could be by measuring the number of hanging tiles between your two upper windows, again provided the two windows match - do they? (Can't do that on my phone, but will try later).
Once you can determine with near-certainty where the true boundary line is, then everything else should follow from this. As I said, everything on your side is blahblahblah...
So, step one first.
Then some of the stuff in your first post will need clarifying 'cos some detail currently ain't clear.
Oh, do you have Legal Protection included in your house insurance policy? Please check now.

ThisIsWeird

Ok, this is in no way conclusive, but I think it suggests - possibly quite strongly - that this physical fence, at the house end at least, is on your side of the boundary line. If so, that fence is yours. If your neighbour knowingly does anything to cause damage to that fence, then they are responsible for its repair. You can sue them if necessary.

What would really help is a photo taken literally along the top edge of the fence, aiming straight along the top towards the house, catching the neighbour's matching patio door on their side. Are your neighbs out at any point - can you do this?!

(If you - quite understandably - don't wish to post this on the forum, you may be able to PM it to me?)

If you can do this, then crop the pic to remove everything below the top rail of the fence, so all you can see are where the fence rail meets the wall, the top foot or so of your respective doors, the hanging tiles, and the bottom corners of your respective windows. Also crop or blur any private possessions of theirs that may be in the garden, or anything that can be seen through the glass. 

I reckon, with this, you should be able to determine, pretty much without question, where the true mid-point of your two houses lies; ergo the boundary line. And also where the fence sits in relation to this.

Also confirm - do you have LegProt in your house insurance?

(Need to decipher this lot later :-) "The boundary fence between us and our semi, was put up by our previous owner in 2 different levels ( patio area right next to the house 6 foot fence then next 15 meters or so 3 foot fence, however last 12-15m there was no fence. So when our semi went vacant ( as it was easier to access and work)  we continue the fence same line and it was done our side the line where there was no fence ( believe in our garden) and also made all 3 foot to 6 foot feather edge boards. So we wanted it all 6 foot fence all along. This side of the fence we know is not our responsibilities to maintain, however as we have small kids we decided will put the money and work ourselves and will make it more private. I believe the owner before that probably wanted similar thing for himself and maybe that's why he did the fence there".)

ShiShi79

ThisIsWeird, 

They didnt have patio door until end of 2022 when they bought the place but see the 2 vents- they are original and should be on exact same distance from the joint wall inside. What I really need to know is even if part of the post is on the border line, is that means it is on her land? I

I read many things since Sunday and many people say that no one owns the boundary even if it is their responsibility to maintain, if we put a fence up is ours fence and if they damaging it is criminal offence. Is that true. 

I need to check if our house insurance have Legal Protection. Its just unbelievable how much grieve some people carry inside of them for absolutely no reason.  

Here is a closer look to what and where exactly fence start. On the previous comment you have end of the fence too