Clarification of fence ownership required please

[londonpuma]

i allways thought that as u stand looking out of the back of ur house u are responsible for the left hand side,the fence on the right hand side of my house was in a terrible state when I moved in,as I was having all my fencing done I had to write to the owner of the house asking for permission to rip it down and replace it with no cost to her,she agreed as she was renting out her house.
also my neighbour to the left had built a wall along the length of the garden,looking at it it looks like its more on his side than down the middle,as it was only 4ft high I erected a 6ft fence on my side to match the rear fence

 

[kbdiy]

i allways thought that as u stand looking out of the back of ur house u are responsible for the left hand side,

Not so I'm afraid. In fact it was more often the right-hand side but neither can be taken for granted. As discussed already here, the deeds are likely to show responsibility but even that can be sketchy at times. Some deeds, mine included, will specifically define responsibility to maintain a fence, but many will not.

 

[mattylad]

And even when those deeds to mention the fences, there is no one available to enforce such requirements so it is now " you want a fence, you pay for a fence, you erect a fence on your land, its your fence, not your neighbors, its not shared, its not a party fence - its yours".

 

[trent78]

I think the issue isn't as much about whether the neighbor will pay for repairs, but whether he or she will sue you for any alteration you make. In these instances, always best to work it out privately -- a fight can last forever and be very costly. An agreement can be arrived at in ten minutes and cost nothing. Do the maths.

 

[phatboy]

whether he or she will sue you

We don't sue each other over here for such trivial matters, thats a US thing.....