Garden Fence - Mounting Issues

[Holly64]

Hi

My next door neighbours are replacing the garden fence. It only needed a repair but they insist on replacing it. In fairness, it is their fence as per the deeds. However, the current fence posts, which secure the panels are mounted on my side of the boundary and my view, is the rear of the fence. My neighbours currently have the good-side on their side of the boundary.

When the company came out to quote, I asked if the fence posts could be mounted on the neighbours side and he said yes. Its a 66 fence and he is charging £2600 which I feel is very expensive but neighbours refused to let me get my own quotes (I fully intended to pay half the costs). The quote states fence to be removed and new fence will be mounted on posts 1.8m apart.

The company has come today, entirely unannounced causing mayhem with my dogs.
I planned to have them stay at a friends house whilst the work was being done.

I enquired about the mounting of the posts and was told that the fence posts will be on my side and that they are leaving the concrete in the ground and just staggering new concrete either side. The new panels are to be mounted on gravel board.

Have I any rights to insist the concrete is removed. I live in the countryside and the hedgehogs are dying because they can't move about whilst looking for food. I am happy to arrange and cover the costs of the labour to remove the concrete.

Can I insist the post are mounted on the neighbours side of the boundary (as they tell me, this is their fence?) and that I view the good side of the fence? If any repairs are needed later down the line, as it is next doors fence, the repair work would then be done from their side.

I wasn't given any notice of today's works and all my plants are being damaged without me given the chance to carefully move them.

I can't seem to find any definite info online but this all seems so unprofessional and damaging for the hedgehogs.

 

[motorbiking]

Boundary disputes are very expensive and will go nowhere for a few inches of land. You are within your rights to notify your neighbour that you will remove anything that trespasses your land and seek damages for making good any damage to your property. You could tell the contractor that the work isn't authorised and that now you have notified him its criminal damage if he continues.

extreme caution needed. You also shouldn't pay anything towards work that you haven't authorised.

 

[Stivino]

I agree with motorbiking.

 

[DIYspanner]

If the concrete is on your land and will be redundant if the contractor is siting the new posts in new positions, if you want the concrete removed, can you ask the contractor to remove it?

When I replaced 15 posts last year, I put the new posts in the existing concrete but I doubt a contractor would do that because of the hassle of getting the old posts out.

 

[Halitosis]

Perhaps not the response you desire but in my view staggering the posts with new holes should lead to a stronger fence. I empathise on the removal of the old concrete, but imagine such will soon become overgrown and forgotten. Is your neighbour aware of your intention to pay 50% of the cost, as their behaviour appears to suggest they aren't?

 

[DIYspanner]

How far down, from soil/lawn level, is the top of the concrete?

 

[conny]

If the neighbour is paying the full cost of the fence then you have no right to ask that the 'good side' be facing your garden, as it will be his fence not yours or a shared one.
If you have agreed to pay half the cost then you should have a written agreement to clarify this to prevent future disputes with either of you or with any future owners of either property and decide who gets what side. This should have been done before a quote was accepted and work started.
As an example, in my old house a number of years ago, I spoke to the neighbours on all 3 sides and told them I proposed to replace the fences and would they be willing to pay for half of the cost on their boundary. I was prepared to pay the full cost on the understanding that I then 'owned' the fence from the date of installation. None of them wanted to share the cost so I drew up a document stating this which they all signed and it was then stamped in the Post Office and placed with my house deeds to prevent any future problems. When I sold the house this piece of paper went in my favour because I was able to prove ownership.

 

[motorbiking]

I don’t know how long ago the above was, but it doesn’t matter who pays for a fence, you can’t fence off a part of someone’s land.

It’s that, which determines the facing side.
Now if you get permission as above then obviously that is fine.

 

[mattylad]

Whoever puts up and pays for a fence gets to choose who has the good side facing them.

Hollies, if they put the fence on their property, or more likely the exact same line as the original one AND give you the post side then that is just tough really.
There is nothing you can do about it, also where they put the posts and concrete has nothing to do with hedgehogs, it will not prevent them getting into your garden if they can dig.

 

[Holly64]

New fence is up. Concrete left in the ground. Neighbours view the better-side (not a prob, they paid). I was more than happy to pay half, initially this is what was expected. But when neighbours presented me with the quote (£2600 for a 66 ft fence) and refused to let me get another quote, I opted out. The new fence has been erected using a lower grade wood - absolutely full of knots. I find it incredible that people can get one quote and then proceed with the work without batting an eyelid. For the price paid, cheap materials were used. Easy money for the fencer.