FENCE ERECTED IN OPEN SPACE AREA

geek84

Hi Folks

My neighbour has erected a fence at the front between our properties.

My property deeds clearly state:

Not substantially to alter the landscaping of the property hereby conveyed in front of the building line nor to erect any buildings, fences, hedges or posts.

Surprisingly, someone from the local council has come to check the fence, and said it was ok.


Do you think that is the end of the matter or can / should I take it further according to what has been quoted in the property deeds?

Thanks for your responses.

gwynlas

If it is a covenant attached to the building it is up to the original developer to impose or the freeholder if you are on a leasehold estate.

Section62

geek84 said:

Hi Folks

My neighbour has erected a fence at the front between our properties.

My property deeds clearly state:

Not substantially to alter the landscaping of the property hereby conveyed in front of the building line nor to erect any buildings, fences, hedges or posts.

Surprisingly, someone from the local council has come to check the fence, and said it was ok.


Do you think that is the end of the matter or can / should I take it further according to what has been quoted in the property deeds?

Thanks for your responses.

Two different things 1) Planning consent 2) Restrictive covenants.

If the fence is 1m or less, and there is no Article 4 direction and/or planning condition, then the neighbour doesn't need planning consent. They'd have that already through 'permitted development' rights.

They would still need to follow the requirements of any restrictive covenants, but the enforcement of those depends on what the deeds say - for example it may only be the developer who can enforce those, and they may have no interest in doing so now.  Occasionally there is a managment company, or other residents, who (also) have the benefit of the covenant and could (in theory) enforce the covenant, but you'll need to read the entirety of your deeds to work that one out.

elsien

What  is your objection to the fence other than that you feel it’s not complying with lease? 

What sort of terms are you on with your neighbour, and do you know why they have done it?

ic

If its a new estate, the developer may have set the covenants to maintain the look they wanted whilst they sold all the houses.  If they're done, and all the houses have been long sold off they probably won't be interested in pursuing the covenants as there's nothing in it for them.

Albermarle

If I had a shared front garden, I would prefer some kind of fence to demarcate the boundary, especially if there any flower beds/plants etc . In fact that is more normal than not having one.
Even better if the neighbour paid for it !

WalshSall

Section62 said:

geek84 said:

Hi Folks

My neighbour has erected a fence at the front between our properties.

My property deeds clearly state:

Not substantially to alter the landscaping of the property hereby conveyed in front of the building line nor to erect any buildings, fences, hedges or posts.

Surprisingly, someone from the local council has come to check the fence, and said it was ok.


Do you think that is the end of the matter or can / should I take it further according to what has been quoted in the property deeds?

Thanks for your responses.

Two different things 1) Planning consent 2) Restrictive covenants.

If the fence is 1m or less, and there is no Article 4 direction and/or planning condition, then the neighbour doesn't need planning consent. They'd have that already through 'permitted development' rights.

They would still need to follow the requirements of any restrictive covenants, but the enforcement of those depends on what the deeds say - for example it may only be the developer who can enforce those, and they may have no interest in doing so now.  Occasionally there is a managment company, or other residents, who (also) have the benefit of the covenant and could (in theory) enforce the covenant, but you'll need to read the entirety of your deeds to work that one out.

As above, again it is unlikely a management company or freeholder enforces a covenant if the estate is new, you could contact the developer.

If you absolutely hate it, you could mention it to your neighbour but this will start a war and there is nothing worse than not getting on with a neighbour.  If you do mention it, you could speak to a solicitor about it and potentially go down the route of legal action to remove it but again, do you really want to go to war with your neighbour?

It is unlikely to impact you but when they are selling, a solicitor will check for breaches of the covenants and this could put buyers off. 

jj_home_80

If your deeds explicitly prohibit fences in front of the building line, you might have grounds to challenge it. Council approval doesn’t override private covenants, but enforcing it would usually be a civil matter. You may need legal advice or check if there's a management company enforcing the covenants. Might be worth a polite chat with your neighbour first.