Fence Advice

[HenryGregory]

Hi guys, I am desperate for some advice on this.
I recently bought my property. It seems the neighbour next door is housing association or council and isn't taking great care of their property at all compared to me.

They are leaving their dog in the garden for most of the day and it is digging all under my fence. I have already called out their landlord and builder once who filled cement in under the areas in question, but I have come home on the last two nights to find yet more holes in new places. It is getting beyond a joke and is often right next to the main fence posts which is going to weaken the entire fence. I am legally responsible for this fence, but I have caused none of the damage.

Can anyone advise me on what can be done to stop this so I can pass it on to the tenant's landlord. It is really stressing me out. I really think the builders should have used cement kick-boards and buried them lower down. But as far as they are concerned, what they put in was all good when they signed it over, which it was.
I have soil with some shingle on top. The neighbour just has soil their side.

 

[sodthisforfun]

I'm more concerned that the dog is probably getting in your garden!
I think they've a responsibility to keep their dog in their own garden, however, if the fence is your responsibility then so are the concrete boards. You could get back in touch with the landlord and tell them you need them to fill concrete or paving slabs all along the fence (should be done on landlords side, not yours) but it may be one of those things where you've just got to bite the bullet and sort out the problem yourself if you want the concrete boards.

 

[HenryGregory]

I'm more concerned that the dog is probably getting in your garden!
I think they've a responsibility to keep their dog in their own garden, however, if the fence is your responsibility then so are the concrete boards. You could get back in touch with the landlord and tell them you need them to fill concrete or paving slabs all along the fence (should be done on landlords side, not yours) but it may be one of those things where you've just got to bite the bullet and sort out the problem yourself if you want the concrete boards.

Morning,
Thank you for your post. I am glad you are agreeing on concrete boards/paving slabs.
My frustration is that I have no issues from any other neighbours, to back or other side of me. So why should I have to pay for this because their tenant is not bothering to look after their animals. I am going to approach the landlord (which happens to be a housing association rather than an individual person) and suggest that concrete needs to be put down and at this point in time, and considering I have not lived in the house for much longer than half a year, I am not taking responsibility.
Shame I can't legally get the responsibility of the fence line changed. It is literally doing my head in.

 

[sodthisforfun]

You could try what I did - I have council either side of me and one side all of the fences were broken, and they have a dog. I kept mending it, but it was only a patch up job. The side in question was the councils side and despite me asking for a couple of years, they just never replaced it, I got fobbed off. When it blew over and disintegrated in high winds, I wrote an email to the council and threatened them. I said if we got burgled because of less security (they had no fence/gate at the bottom of the garden either) or if their dog hurt us, our cat or caused any damage, I would sue the council because they'd been aware of the problem for a couple of years. It was fixed in a week. You could threaten them with the dog angle.

However, IMO, paving on their side would sort the problem out much more securely than concrete boards, no way can a dog get under those! I do understand you not wanting to pay to sort out a problem that's not of your making, but if you want the boards, concrete kick boards are not expensive to do yourself and if it's winding you up so much then as I said, sometimes it's just better to sort it yourself. Life really is too short when dealing with the council at times! It would pay in the long run as they're better anyway for the longevity of your fence - and at the end of the day, it's your fence.

The people who have the dog do have a responsibility to keep it in their own garden and the landlord & tenants have a responsibility to ensure no damage is done in your property. You've just got to keep pointing it out to them. I'd put it in writing though..