Real life MMD: Should we pay for the fence?

marich · 15 May 2011 at 12:26AM

If it is a mutually owned fence then it takes a mutual decision to do anything about it . Otherwise it may not be changed .

The stories on this thread are indicators as to why it pays to talk to your neighbours . If they are on the shady side of the fence then there is little drawback to yourselves , if you will suffer then make them aware of this .

1) Point out that there is an advantage to having a fence that lets wind (even a bit of light) through rather than a solid panel-type . (One contributor has already pointed out that higher fences are more susceptible to wind damage) . Trellis is groovy .
2) Come to an agreement as to the type of fence , its height and whether you will use a contractor or d.i.y. ; this will determine the cost of the final replacement .
3) Then ask yourselves if there is an agreeable adaptation to the current fence that will serve your neighbour's purpose until
a) it becomes unserviceable and
b) you have had ample time to save for its replacement (maybe set a life of two more years on it , it'll only be a couple of quid a week if you share the cost).

If no agreement then no change to the old fence - because somebody can chuck money at it that does not give them the right to do what they want with what they share with you !

Good luck . The trouble is that it doesn't take much to fall out - and usually you only do it once...

harryferguson · 15 May 2011 at 9:00AM

No. If they want to buy a higher fence when there's nothing wrong with the existing, that's their choice...... and as both parties are responsible for maintaining the boundary they'll be giving you half of the maintenance costs of the replacement, so it can be argued that they are increasing your liability for said maintenance; i.e they're actually doing you a disservice as you'll incur higher costs in maintenance of a higher fence with additional liability to wind damage, additional preservative requirement, etc.

Ebenezer_Screwj · 23 May 2011 at 5:27PM

If you don't want a higher fence and don't want to contribute towards their wishes then tell them so.

nafanya · 16 June 2011 at 11:48AM

Usually you are responsible for the fence from one side of your garden - right one (see you property documents).
If it is neighbors responsibility side - they should put a fence, another thing they will go for the cheaper option - so you need to pay the difference for the fence you want.
My neighbors has a low net instead of fence - it only shows the border - it has been moved a bit towards my side - looking at the posts - neighbors lived here much longer. they don't want fence - because their garden will be in shadow... so it is a tricky one to make them put one.
They, on the other hand have a huge cypress pine - branches of it hang over my garden - causing shadow and dry needles. I don't want this tree - but can I force them to cut /trim it? It is expensive...
???????

ariesangel · 27 June 2011 at 4:25AM

My partner and I live in a mid terrace house, with private owner to our right and council tenant to our left. Our property is council, and when fencing blew down both sides, we asked the council if they replaced them, they don't, only if its onto a public highway. Our neighbours to our right mentioned several times over several months about getting the fencing replaced and sharing the cost, my partner asked the left side neighbour, who also said he would contribute. As both familes have children (6 in the house on the left and three on the right) they started using our garden as a short cut to each others houses to play. We replaced both sides, in the belief that we were responsible for our left side and the right side would at least contribute. We did the work ourselves as we could not afford to pay someone to do it. All we wanted was to have our privacy back, to enjoy our garden that we are slowly working on, planting lots of new plants etc, and not have to look at the concrete/mess from the other two back gardens, and not to have kids jumping in and out of our garden whenever they felt like it. The parents don't care about the bad language, distruction and mess they make in their own gardens, but we like to create a relaxing and pleasing area to sit out in, and not be shouted/stared at when we had visitors. We are now at least £100 out of pocket, and we feel very disgruntled :mad: to say the least. If they had no intention of contributing, they should have been straight from the beginning. Its better to be honest from the start.

Going back to the original thread, (sorry its taken a long time to get to the point, I just needed to get that off my chest I think!:)). If there is nothing wrong with the fence, its in good repair, your neighbours just want it higher, then that is their choice, and do not see why you should have to contribute to something that you are quite satisfied with currently.

We however, wish we could have had at least a 10ft fence!

scarlet55 · 19 July 2011 at 3:57PM

iff its they who want the fence then let them pay 4 it...i would just offer to paint my side...lol

Real life MMD: Should we pay for the fence?

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