Boundary Fence issues can you help

[proview]

when we bought our property, the boundary between had no fence there, we decided it would be better to have a new fence the full length of the boundary so we spoke with the people next door about it, they said yes it was ok to put the new fence in place 1.8 high.

we never asked them to pay towards the fence and they never offered, i have since, now the fence is in place for the last 5 yrs i have since looked at our land lease, it states all boundary are party shared and should be maintained at joint cost,

some of the fence has since been damaged etc and i have asked next door to share the cost, his reply to me was no its not his fence, so even though i fully paid for the fence 5 yrs ago should he not contribute towards maintenance. He said he should not have to pay a penny as it was my idea to put the fence up in the first place, even though he has got lots of plants growing up it on his side???

 

[alwest197]

I suppose the short answer is yes he ought to pay towards the upkeep. However as there was no boundary in place when you moved in and, presumably your neighbour was happy to be without one then the question becomes a little more tricky. You could I suppose just remove the fence and take it back to the status quo but this is a little like cutting off your nose to spite your face. I think in most cases like this it pays to read your legal documents upfront and then you could have asked that your neighbour pay half the cost and half the upkeep costs, or just half the upkeep costs and possibly have gotten this in writing (unlikely). Hindsight is a wonderful thing though, so I think you just need to look at where you are now...Option 1 is to ask again and try to come to an agreement, this depends I suppose on your relationship with them; Option 2 (You could get the law involved but his defence is likely to be 'never needed a fence, never asked for a fence, nothing to do with me' you need to ask yourself if its really worth the bother!(citizens advice may be able to help or even arbitrate). Option 3. Fix the fence and put it down to experience. Option 4. Leave the fence to rot..this will eventually put you back to the status quo when you first moved in. A reasonable person would chip in! however his financial circumstances may prohibit this.

 

[taycast]

Sorry to say I think you don't have a leg to stand on. You built it and paid for it. Its your fence. All he said he when you asked him was that he didn't have any objections to you building it. He never said he was going to pay for any maintenance costs. You could ask him again, but as has been pointed out, he maybe hasn't a budget for fence maintenance. If I were you I would just fix it yourself and put it down to experience.

 

[Thermo]

more chance of hell freezing over

 

[Richard C]

If there is a covenant for joint responsibility of boundaries (common on ex-council properties), it is enforceable, it’s just a case of weather or not you have the stamina for enforcing it.

If he won’t help out at all, put up a new/repaired fence & paint his side the most outrageous colour you can imaging. He can’t touch it, it’s your fence & it would amount to criminal damage (I’ve been there but not with colours thing) The trade off for allowing him to paint his side a more reasonable colour is that he contributes to the cost of the boundary upkeep; or he erects his own fence

 

[Thermo]

as i said more chance of hell freezing over

 

[proview]

how this came about is, he keeps on asking me to repair it my self as the damage is visible both sides, he said he don't like looking at the damage

he also has lots of growth growing up on his side and i have never said a word, however it has crossed my mind what would happen if i needed to remove a panel for any reason

both property are owned, but the ground they are built on is lease hold and it states on the lease all boundary fence are joint for maintenance, i should have asked him for half when the fence first went up but with me being new to the property i did not want to get involved

 

[Richard C]

how this came about is, he keeps on asking me to repair it my self as the damage is visible both sides, he said he don't like looking at the damage

he also has lots of growth growing up on his side and i have never said a word, however id has crossed my mind what would happen if i needed to remove a panel for any reason

It's your fence give him a couple of days notice of what you intend to do so he can detach his plants from it; if he doesn’t, it won't matter it's not your problem as they aren’t supposed to be attached to your fence without your permission anyway; technically, he’s committed criminal damage. Remove, repair & replace each fence panel in your most favourite colour on his side & wait for the response & then discuss the way forward over a few beers in the afternoon sun, which is really how problems like this should be sorted anyway.
Or you could always approach the Freeholder of the land for arbitration.

 

[proview]

so with the fence being damaged and the neighbour does not want to contribute towards cost of repair, he is telling me now that he wants it to be repaired by the end of June to avoid any further unpleasantness.

Can he take legal action against me??

 

[alwest197]

Sounds like he is being very unreasonable..with an attitude like that I would be inclined to take the whole fence down.. and no he can't take legal action against you..except if the fence is dangerous and likely to cause injury..fixed by taking the fence down.

Another issue you may want to consider is that he may pay someone to fix it and send you the bill..which of course you don't have to pay..but again more unpleasantness.

I would talk to Citizens advice to make sure you or us who have given opinions are not missing something.

 

[Richard C]

so with the fence being damaged and the neighbour does not want to contribute towards cost of repair, he is telling me now that he wants it to be repaired by the end of June to avoid any further unpleasantness.

Tell him that unless he starts behaving in a civilised manner, he can take a hike. There is no legal requirement to maintain a boundary fence or even have a boundary marker; although it’s obviously in everyone’s interest to have something. There is also no obligation to maintain your boundary fence; the only obligation on you is to ensure it does not pose a danger or could injure your neighbour, his family or his animals. He cannot touch your fence or repair it without your permission unless it's dangerious, if he does, it amounts to criminal damage & if the fence is your property, you can actually remove it completely if you so wish.

Can he take legal action against me??

From what you have said, it would seem that the terms of your lease includes a covenant by the freeholder which places an equal responsibility on both of you to maintain the fence. If this is the case & he won’t accept any responsibility, I don’t see how he can take civil (not legal) action against you, if anything it should be the other way around. Don’t be bullied, it’s all bluster; civil actions over boundaries can be notoriously lengthy & expensive & he’s unlikely to launch into one when he doesn’t seem to have a leg (or fence post) to stand on. Do a little more research, contact the freeholder & establish the exact terms & conditions of your lease & then hit your arse hole of a neighbour with the facts & not just what he thinks they are; in fact I’d be inclined to put procedures in motion to force him to accept his joint responsibility & stop intimidating you. I do understand your anxiety as I have also suffered a boundary dispute & it can be surprising to learn what the law actually is as opposed to what some think it is; our dispute was resolved sort of amicably but he’s not on my Christmas card list, we don’t speak & he's subsequently put up a 2m fence between us.

This Forum was particularly useful when I had my problem just after we moved here in 2004;
http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php
May be worth a post there.