Why boundary disputes happen
Disagreements over fences, walls and boundary lines are common between neighbours. They tend to surface when one person wants to build something, extend their garden or make changes near the edge of their property. The other neighbour objects, believing the work crosses onto their land.
Repair bills cause friction too. When a fence blows down or a wall crumbles, the question of who pays can turn a minor annoyance into a drawn out row.
Most of these disputes come down to two questions: where exactly is the boundary, and who owns it?
What the Land Registry actually shows
The Land Registry holds an official copy of the register and a title plan for each registered property. You can download both for a small fee from the Land Registry website. These are the documents that matter for boundary questions, rather than the bundle of old paperwork sometimes called title deeds.
The title plan shows your property's boundaries with a red line. This line is only a general indication. Land Registry plans are based on Ordnance Survey maps and are not drawn to a scale that settles disputes down to the last centimetre. A boundary shown as a single line might sit on either side of an actual fence, or it might run through the middle of it. The plan alone will not tell you which.
Some registers contain written descriptions or references to earlier conveyances that give more detail. These can help, but the wording may be decades old and hard to match to what exists on the ground today.
There is another complication. Previous owners may have agreed between themselves to move a fence or alter the boundary line without updating the Land Registry. The official record and the physical reality can be two different things.

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If the Land Registry records do not settle the matter, you may need to look at other evidence:
- Historical photographs or maps showing where a fence or hedge stood in the past
- Statutory declarations or written agreements made by previous owners
- The physical features themselves, such as which way fence posts face, though this is not a reliable rule
- Evidence of who has maintained or repaired the boundary over the years
None of these methods is definitive on its own. Statutory declarations and written agreements carry weight but do not legally prove where a boundary sits. Courts consider all available evidence when boundary disputes reach them.
You may have heard that the fence posts always face the owner's side or that the left hand boundary viewed from the road belongs to you. These are popular beliefs but not legal rules. They might reflect local custom in some areas, but they carry no weight in law.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Resolving a dispute without court
Going to court over a boundary is expensive and often leaves both sides worse off. Legal fees can easily exceed the value of the strip of land in question. Before taking that path, consider alternatives.
Start with a direct conversation. Many disputes begin with assumptions or misunderstandings. Your neighbour may not realise the position is unclear either. A calm discussion can sometimes clear things up without any need for formal steps.
If talking does not work, mediation is worth considering. A trained mediator helps both parties reach an agreement without the formality and cost of court. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors runs a neighbour dispute service, and local mediation services operate in most parts of the country.
You can also instruct a surveyor to prepare a boundary report. A surveyor will examine the Land Registry documents, inspect the site and give an independent opinion on where the legal boundary is likely to sit. This can provide common ground for negotiation or at least clarify what a court would probably decide. Bear in mind that a surveyor's report offers professional analysis, not a legal determination.
If you reach an agreement with your neighbour, put it in writing and keep a copy. For a permanent fix, you can apply to the Land Registry for a determined boundary. This process involves surveyor input and fees, but it establishes the exact line on the official record and removes ambiguity for the future. A determined boundary is the only way to legally fix the position once and for all.
When you might need legal advice
If informal efforts fail and the dispute involves a significant area of land, or if your neighbour is actively building on what you believe is your property, legal advice may be necessary. A solicitor with experience in property disputes can assess the strength of your case and advise whether court action is proportionate.
Keep records of everything: correspondence, photographs with dates, receipts for maintenance work. This material could be needed if the matter escalates.
For general guidance on boundaries, the Land Registry publishes free information on the GOV.UK website. Our Neighbour Rights Checker can also help you understand your position before you take further steps.
H
The only reason I did this was because there are gaps in the fence and I'm fed up with her looking through there when she thinks I am not looking. I would like some privacy. She has complained by letter as I didnt realise I had to ask her permission. She is one of those neighbours that loves to complain about anything. Can she take legal action against me?
Many thanks.
Dawn.
to the right of my front door is his responsibility?
We have checked the Title Deeds and although the fence is on the left of my fathers property it is not marked with the T on the title deeds.
The fence has been down for at least a month and my poor father has had to sit in the living room with the curtains drawn for privacy.
Is there a time limit to get the fence re-instated?
Thanks
On consulting my original Conveyance I see that I only have the right to empty my septic tank and no official right otherwise. However, I believe that I have established the right to do this by Law as I have been carrying out painting/repairs unhindered for 35 years.
I contacted the person who sold me my house originally who is a well respected farmer and he advised that as I had lived in my house for over 12 years I had now a legal right to enter. I also contacted another well respected farming neighbour who agreed that I now had a right of entry. I then contacted another person to get their take on the situation he said he would come over to see me and I told him my story. He said he would help me as a friend because this did not come under Council business - he is a Regional Councillor and former Mayor. He left with a copy of my original letter to my neighbour and said he would look in
Also , can he claim back what he says is 8”of his garden, by removing old boundary fence concrete posts and chain, link.
Also land been in our possession for over 7 years, but has been in the family for many years, so beyond 12 years?
Can he remove concrete fence posts and chain Link? And also claim the extra inches between, that and a fence a previous owner had put up , leaving the gap between their fence and the chain link.
The gap being in our side of garden, for over 12 years between us and our family ?
s have been their for 32 years, been no problems with the boundary in that period.
In May 2020 the neighbours decided to erect a fence at the front of the house on the West boundary which belongs to us, our house was on the market at the time, we had to take it off the market,
They erected it without permission in our front Hedge, I explained to them that the boundary belongs to us and it is in the wrong position as per the title deeds, also that there is a protocol to follow via the HMLR, I offered to show them the documentation they declined to see it, also i wrote to them via registered mail detailing the correct way to go about it in accordance with the Law, to erect the fence without a survey and us agreeing was illegal,
We had a survey carried out showing dimensions of the boundary in our favour it and then started the legal process,
9 months later the neighbours had a survey carried out? after erecting the fence?
We have now been drawn into along protracted costly legal process, through the neighbours actions?
It makes our property worthless also the neighbours,
Is there any easy way to resolve this issue, the neighbours are stubborn and resorted to lies now,
It seems unbelievable to be put in this situation by no faults of your own,
Is there a simple way to sort this out, the options I have read don't seem practical,
If the solicitor sends a letter I feel it will go on a long time at great cost,
Or do i nothing and let it pan out in time?
Appreciate any advise,
We bought 2 plant pots to block the space up as we have two young girls who feel uncomfortable seeing a man (who has never been nice to them) walking around outside their playroom window, plus myself as a woman alone on the house, equally, I really don’t like it. However they keep moving our pots to open the access back up.
The deeds from the land registry don’t show this as their path, it’s also in line with our property, so I can’t see why they think this is ok?
Does anyone know of any old reason why a semi detached would have a shared access path of very clearly not in the middle, and on one side?
Thanks in advance.
The front panels according to them were damaged by my daughter placing rubbish sack on them which was not true but to keep the peace I paid them£120.00
1- have they got the right to force me to share the cost as they claim it is party wall?
2- What if I do not want a fence at all ,can they legally force me to participate in its replacement cost?
Thank you.
Vicki
Facing the property, the fence in the front garden has two angles on the left hand side. The adjoining property has three angels.
My Deeds do not have an inward facing T on any of the angles in the front garden.
The adjoining property has an inward facing T on one angle of the fence which is on the left hand side of their property.
Does ownership run along the whole length of fencing?
...she didn't get up the duff...but still wanted me to give her baby money...
...should I stick up a fence and tell her to do one?
It seems to me that it's only use is to let off a little steam has anyone ever got an answer?
When I bought my property, fences existed on 3 sides of my rear garden, which were all different shapes and sizes and didn't offer me any privacy - I see these as the original boundary of my property and I own the land up to the existing fence(s) at that time.
I decided to erect a 6ft wooden around all sides of my rear garden - approximately 6 inches onto my own land (within this boundary) and checked with all the neighbours they were ok with this. And they were.
6 years later, one of the properties was sold on. The new owners have since removed their rear fence, decided to paint the back of my 6ft wooden fence and remove the cat spikes attached to the top of the fence.
I spoke with them nicely (while they were busy painting my fence) and explained this was my fence and they were not allowed to paint it or alter it without my permission. To confirm: I spoke kindly with them. After being called an abusive name, they said if I was to re-attach the fence spike they would remove them - they have 4 cats and I was not allowed to attach these to a boundary fence - it's against the law - they said!! Cats seem to use my raised flower / veg patches as a toilet and that is the reason I attached the spike (years before the new neighbours moved in).
Any advice would be appreciated.
what rights do i have if any to not allow them to paint
San
The fence was put by the neighbour in 1995 [25 years ago] and now she is claiming the land on my side. In Nov. we replaced the fence I paid for it . Suddenly she is bare sake, removed the fence put on my side replaced the fence but taking 2 ft of my land. Police soy it is civil matter. Council does not want to know and it is nightmare. I am 75 live on my own with heart attack and sleepless. Land registry plans show she has no right on my side of the land. [she had also extended her garden at the back nearly 20 ft in woodlands and was accusing me gaining the land- which is not true. Stole my plants and stuff from garden when I was working. End of tether Now I had to get my solicitor involved. worried about the expenses. Two letters from the solicitor- but doe not give fig.
any advice. I don't like altercation
I would like to put up a 6ft fence on my side but my neighbours garden drops by 3ft on the other side.
Am i allowed to do this or does it have to be 6ft to them?
Our new neighbour who moved in not long ago, removed his boundry fence facing the back alley which runs along 3 terraced houses. They all have a fence and gate towards the alleyway. So our neighbour, to make his garden bigger, removed his fence and put a bolted gate into the alleyway as his new protection gate. As we the end terraced, we have a right of way but the alleyway belongs to the other 3 houses. Since the built of these houses, all houses have a fence and gate, keeping the alleyway private. Now by removing their fence, we have to cross over their garden which is uncomfortable as they are very nosy and very rude people. Are they allowed to take it down even if in the deeds it states they have to maintain it?
My brother is concerned about his next door neighbour who is going to extend his decking right up to my brothers boundary fence and has already had a load of decking delivered and plenty of cement and at present their decking is quite large and my neighbour and his neighbour attached to the same house is a bouncer and they are conspiring together and talking about extending their decking right up to my brothers boundary fence and they are already looking over at him from where the decking is now and when they are looking over now you can see the top half of them and to their waists when they are peering over the fence looking at his garden and him to, so is there a law against neighbours like this, the neighbours garden is on a higher level than my brothers aswell so can someone advise me on this matter please.
l am looking for some advise for my Friend, their neighbour purchased their house about 1-2 year ago and the back garden fence posts and fencing is in his garden and he has tried speaking to the neighbour about moving the fence but the neighbour has said that they are no moving it and basically the fence will be staying where it is, how can my friend resolve this or can he remove the fence as this is in his garden and on his boundary
Because we are now on the market to sell, the neighbour gleefully told me that they have put in a dispute to prevent me selling and also claim that they want the hedge to grow nice and high, despite flaying the hedge far too far back only 4/5 months ago. The hedge that they claim is now only self seeded Ash trees that aren’t part of the hedge. Can anyone provide any advice please?
I asked if I could cut the hedge at the front she said fine -even recommended someone.
Then in the recent storm all her fence panels blew down. I went to tell her and ask if the guy who was going to ment MY fence panels on my side, could give her a quote.
She insisted it wasn't her fence and that the previous owner had put up both the fence (with the posts on her side) and also had planted the hedge (whose roots are in her garden, bordering my tar mac drive)
I have now cut 8 feet off the hedge and paid £250, repaired my fence -for £120, but am I also now responsible for removing her broken fence and building another one?
I did get my solicitor to send me a copy of my lease, with my boundary, west and south, outlined in red and gave it to her -but only now does she tell me the previous owner built and planted all her fencing. Where do I stand?
Am I correct in thinking that the face of the concrete posts represents the boundary and that anything attached is on my property.
The fence was in place when I purchased my house some 30 years ago and I know that my neighbour did not erect the fence as he moved in not long after me, so does the 12 year rule come into play when I could not see the posts because they are completely covered and I would have had to lean over the fence which is approximately 6ft. 6inches high?
My new neighbour would like to replace the fence between our two properties which I am responsible for.
He has dogs and would like to make his garden dog proof by replacing the all wooden fence with concrete posts and concrete gravel boards then aris rails and feather edge boards he has agreed to pay the cost of the fence and I am more than happy for him to do so( obviously)
However the existing fence is hampered by trees that have grown over the years and also the concrete in the ground which hold the existing posts.
We have agreed that the sensible thing to do is to move the fence a few feet onto my property.
This is were the problems begin, he wants to get solicitors involved and I’m quite happy just to move the fence and have done with it provided we both sign an agreement saying so.
How complicated and costly will it be and because I have a mortgage do they need to be advised.
I do hope you can help pointing me in the right direction
Many thanks.
Are they within the law to cut our hedge without our permission to access the hydrant for insurance purposes. Please help.
We were told when we moved in by someone who did a 20 minute site inspection that although there was a pathway between our garage and the next doors house they owned more of the pathway and we owned about the width of our gutters. We had a path the other side so we weren’t bothered.
Given ours gutters they deviated a bit over 30ft no exact measurement was added to his report. The report must have been very informal as we weren’t shown it for 6 years and the author didn’t sign it. No exact measurements were stated only a range or about x inches . It was very vague but his line drawing was more helpful. We were eventually asked if we agreed with this report when the house next door was being sold. We wrote a memo describing the line drawing was satisfactory.
Our new neighbour has always been very difficult and after many years has threatened us with court as he is insisting the approx measurement of our gutters stated in the report are exact and the 3 inch land under our gutters is no longer ours . This means our 3 inch drive edging which starts under our gutters running 27ft to the front is n’t ours either.
He insists the drive edging that was originally built 65 years which was 25 years before his house was built ; rebuilt by us when the roots of his tree destroyed it is now his.
He demands the trellis we have erected on this drive edging is removed as we didn’t ask permission. We think his claim is totally without foundation and no court is going to award the land under our gutters and the drive edging we rebuilt 15 years ago is his.
But our worry is he has a solicitor that is writing the threatening letters to us so surely must be.ieve he has a chance.
They had Cottage Thatched but despite wall thatch needing replacing they didn’t do it, they assume it’s a party wall but it’s not attached at all to our property.
However, it does need attention as crumbling in places and thatch too low overhang on our side and causes problems to us as painful if head gets scrapped by thatch wire, the thatch is deteriorating and going thin and green and an eyesore to our patio near it.
TVBC think it’s definitely their wall as it’s probably listed along with their cottage.
We are Thatched but not listed .
Govt Property Register have no record of boundary , very old properties, only the usual red lines which neighbours assume means we both maintain it as shared wall.
As it’s not in any way attached to our property we don’t agree .
They don’t appear to know much at all about Listed Building law etc so it looks like we may have to engage a RICS Surveyor to determine the ownership and responsibilities to maintain it .
We have tried to explain this but they don’t seem to grasp the implications, should they or ourselves wish to sell in the near future .
Where do we go from here ?
Several years ago I explained to my neighbour that his hedge and roots were damaging the fence, for which I am responsible, and asked him to clear the hedge from the fence. His response was "I am not moving a hedge for four inches". I am now having to brace my fence with three substantial timbers as the hedge continues to grow and damage the fence. I have again asked the neighbour to remedy the problem and his illogical response is that I can take down the fence and reinstate it on the actual boundary. This would be impossible without taking out his hedge.
Does anyone have any suggestions or know the law on this matter.
we purchased and erected wooden fence panels and concrete posts. These were erected between our house and our neighbours house for securing our garden,so that our dogs could not get out. I must point out that the fence is on our garden running parallel to the boundary line but not on the boundary line. When we moved into the property there was no fence between the properties at all,but there was (and still are) two of the original boundary fence posts,one being at the very front of the property and the other at the very rear. Originally there were small concrete posts with a wire fence between the properties which over the years had been removed prior to our tenancy. When installing my fence and posts I used the original posts as markers as to where i needed to put my posts while all the time making sure that they were on my own garden and not on the boundary. Now after having problems with my neighbours they have been in contact with my landlords (local council). The council have now contacted me and told me that i am no longer able to maintain or repair the fence as it does not belong to me,which is quite obviously not the case as I purchased it and still have the receipt stating that. Now my neighbours have attached lights to the fence without my permission. The local council have told me that they do not want to get involved with it. I am at a loss as to what I should do next. I feel that it is wrong and illegal for the council to give my property to my neighbours which to me seems like theft.
In the recent years we (all of the cottage owners) have painted the wall and now have plants in pots along the twitten in front of our cottages and also along the base of the wall. We also have some hanging baskets which are nailed to our facing side of the wall. The owner of the wall does not come to the property anymore due to ill health but he liked what we had done with the plants the last time we saw him. He has a man who does odd jobs in his house and who has threatened us with "I am going to rip off your flowers etc. and that we have no right to put anything on or against his side of the wall." It has become rather nasty and threatening due to our removing ivy that came from the garden and grew up a telephone pole in the twitten and BT told us that the ivy had to be removed - which we did but since then we have had so many nasty confrontations etc. Can you please advise us as we are pensioners and feel a bit anxious over his behaviour including shouting etc.
I have an house which is joined by neighbour however my neighbour says I cannot leave my car on my drive as he has the right to use my drive to take out his bins we have the drive which is just on our side he says this is on his deeds we have looked into this however this is not on the land registry is this legal
Thanks
Can I paint both sides of the fence blue , I have asked do they want me to paint their plank fence that ajoins my gate , set back at the side of our two houses , they said because they have another gate at the other side of their house, it's ok just leave that because it matches the gate at the other side of their house. They know I am painting the fence blue . They didn't say they didn't want their side blue, and I know they want to keep their fence just stained.
Can I legally because I own the fence paint both side blue . Very dark blue to match the doors .
It wouldn't look right different one side because of the knobs on the post couldn't be half and half. They are not living there. We spoke very amicably regarding everything , see them most days , just want know my rights .
He took down the boundary fence so the wall will be the boudry. I was against it but i decided Let it go, it has now been 3 months and no wall built.
It's beginning to feel my garden is part of a building site, no idea when the wall will be built. Do I have a legal right to urge him to either build the wall now or a fence has to go up?
How long before I can challenge him.
Regards
Huda
We have both used the existing drive, for over 21 years and he actually tarmac the drive to the current width - there are no measurements for the original drive on any deeds but it measures approx 12'
He will need to have new deeds drawn up so we have asked if we could compromise in order that we are both happy with the access.
As yet he has not replied
Any advice would be appreciated
Chris
Thank Steve
My house is a semidetached.
Recently, my next door neighbour put a new fences in the back garden from the end of their kitchen extension to the end of their garden.
I believe the built has encroached upon my land as the fences are standing 15 inches inside my back garden.
15 inches is the width of the gap from the end of our party wall to the new fences.
To make matter worse, the builder who erected those fences damage the guttering on my conservatory.
I have spoken in person to the neighbour about the fence and they are adamant they are in the right and will not do anything about the fences.
Unfortunately there is no way too resolve this with the neighbours, our question is, the boundary line in the title plans show the dotted line leading to the footpath, can we erect a fence to separate the two drives?
What are my rights to use the wall on my side, is there anything I can do.
I hope this makes sense??
Any advice please
As neither of us is separately responsible can I just go ahead and replace or do I need his permission.
My elderly neighbours (89 and 93 yrs) own, as shown on the deeds, the garden wall between their new neighbours. It’s a terraced property. The new owners want to pull the garden wall down and put in new footings so they can extend their property. It will be rebuilt.
They are inclined to object to this as they do not wish the upheaval and the loss of several established plants that are growing up their wall. However, they are also worried as the wall on the new neighbours side is in bad repair and they fear being given a large bill for repointing the whole wall (it’s very long). The pointing on their side is perfect. Can they legally object to the wall being demolished (and rebuilt) and not have to pay for the repairs to it on the new neighbours side? They cannot afford to pay for it to be repointed. Thank you.
They are inclined to object to this as they do not wish the upheaval and the loss of several established plants that are growing up their wall. However, they are also worried as the wall on the new neighbours side is in bad repair and they fear being given a large bill for reprinting the whole wall. The pointing on their side is perfect. An they legally object to the wall being demolished (and rebuilt) and not have to pay for the repairs to it in the new neighbours side? They cannot afford any expense. Thank you.
Thanks
Andrew Thompson
I'd like to take possession of the boundary back and build my own fence. Can I ask them to remove their fence? Both properties are privately owned and not rented.
Thanks
Thanks in advance
on our side we have a fence with the posts on our side. There is then a void which is full of brambles,the other side of this is my neighbours fens but still the posts facing us.
so it looks, like fence,void,fence. The other company decided to put up their own fence when they built their house the same time ours was being built.
My neighbour has just removed his fence (with a small digger/jcb. pulled all the nettles out (with digger) and has now claimed the void as his own.
This has been done in the last few months with it being completed yesterday.
He did not even ask/tell us what he was about to do.
He is the 4th owner of the house and we have never had a problem.
I called the council and they came out to his house and said there was not a problem, they did not even call to see me.
Can he do this.
I am also concerned if he may have compromised the footings of our posts.
There is also a few small trees in the void which I am concerned that he may remove once the land he has claimed after a few months.
Sorry this has been so long.
Who is responsible for this wall as it's leaning and they assume I'm going to rebuild it for them even though last week they ripped the fence panels out last week and drove a big digger over the top of it.
Any advice?
My next door neighbour has erected a new fence between our back gardens where the old one was. Unfortunately they have erected a completely different type of fence panels, the previous fencing was squared off but their new fencing is curved at the top of each panel making my garden fencing look very odd with one ‘curved’ fence on the left and two straight fences at the bottom and right hand side of my garden.
My neighbours mentioned that they were putting up a new fence and we had no objections. However, we didn’t think to enquire what style of fence they were using so were surprised when they had erected the new fence on their other neighbour’s fence as well as one on our joint neighbour’s at the bottom of the gardens. Is there anything we can do about this ‘odd fence’ situation?
The house of next door changed 4 different occupants since then.
Recently my new neighbour
Who lived there for 4 yrs. claims that the mini brick wall was built on his land.
which is also a boundary between our lands. I asked him to prove this with a supplementary evidence supporting his alleged accusation.
He is building an extension therefore wants to claim the 10-12 cm back by knocking down the wall.
As I read I can claim adverse ownership to that wall, but how do I go about it so that he doesn’t
take down the wall and build his new wall closer?
Can you help please? Many thanks in advance.
Thanks
Are responisble for Mai training this. The hedge on one side is dead in places and a growing pain. It exposes the gardens to the property next door who have tenants living it. We have 2 young girls. We want to rip down the hedge and plant a fence along on the hedge line.
Gaining out privacy back.
Doing as our deeds state.
And therefore being able to enjoy our garden and the kids safely.
We have no idea of the people in the flats next door (a house converted into
2)
We know the house next door has no title deeds or on the land register.
2) we also know the extra measurements of the front back and sides of the property as they are on the deeds and the centre line of the hedge falls within our measured plot. We had this done by a surveyor.
Is there anything we can be sued for by the owners of the rented property as they live to send a solicitors letter and make our life generally hell..!!
I am aware of the financial compensation routes should any damage be caused but at this moment in time I cannot trust him to do anything that he says.
The boundary line goes down the corner of my house, then halfway down, these sewers mainly in the garden next door, there is a strip of garden in front of them. Can anyone tell me who owns this strip of land?
I have been in touch with the water company and they have confirmed that these are on the boundary line.
If anyone has experienced anything concerning above, I would be very grateful for your comments.
On talking to the neighbours I discovered that my next door neighbours wife grew up in my house, when they married they bought the house next door and when his wife’s mother passed away they sold her house but changed it’s boundary lines on sale so only one third of the garden is included in the title deeds. They are occupying the other two thirds of the garden that used to be part of this house in addition to the garage and garden of their own house. So they have a P shaped garden.
I checked their title and they have not registered the garden that used to be part of this property to their property, their boundary in the tile only includes their original garden and garage,
I am now checking the status of the land that appears to be unregistered through land registry services and I am obtaining the previous deeds for the property.
Now I am assuming they will have some rights as they have fenced off the garden and been using it as their own for a number of years, when they sold to the previous owner I assume, some 15 years ago.
As the new owner do I have any claim to this unregistered land?
Thanks
As we see those mature trees as a feature to our garden, attracting wildlife etc we are reluctant to remove them, especially at our own cost. We have cut back all branches which were overhanging his property already and also cut one of trees which we thought needles may fall off to his land the most. He is still not happy with that.
What is our legal position here? Can we be made liable for damages caused by gutters blocked by "our" needles? Thank you.
As nobody is residing in the neighbours property as their are major other building works have been ongoing for over a year; I sent a postal letter some months ago to my neighbour next door; thinking it will be redirected to them. I didn't get a response but some other issues I raised got rectified. Basically drainage guttering a pipes hadn't been put back in weeks.
Should I ask other neighbours along from me which side of the garden fence they are responsible for? Just in case I was given incorrect information when I bought my home.
If the wooden fence is indeed the responsibility of my neighbour, do I have to accept the state it is in?
I live in a terraced house. The neighbour doing the extensions has a semi detached property. They also got builders to build a brick garden wall down the opposite side of their garden and this is against the end walls of the gardens for other properties.
Do I need to seek legal advice about this. I don't want to have lots of hassle and costs but I don't want to have to put up with the messy fence and brick wall. Especially when parts of the wooden fence is leaning and bits are falling into my property.
From memory the boundary documents just show the boundary without marking as to who owns what. The houses were b
The council have now granted planning permission for the land to the local housing association, but they have not contacted us at any stage of the process to discuss what will happen to the boundary. The plans indicate a concrete post/timber fence, which would require the removal of all other existing entities, but we haven't agreed to anything.
Our problem is that the metal paling cost about £2000 to erect a few years ago, the wall makes up one side of our shed, and the hedge has been meticulously manicured for almost 40 years. However, from the new buildings perspective, the paling and the wall would not be the most attractive and if the hedge remained there would be the issue of trimming.
Should we expect some compensation for our losses and the incurred shared maintenance cost (that the hedge doesn't require), and can they just leave the hedge and call it the boundary?
If they do the latter, where would we stand with respect to trimming? I'm certain no one else would do it to my standard and I have no intention of doing anyone else's gardening for them!
The new development will be 'social housing' and, given the locale, I'm not confident of getting the most gentile of new neighbours, to not put to fine a point on it.
At the bottom of our small garden, ran a previously a thick, ageing hawthorn on what was railway owned land. in 2002, previous householders or our neighbours, planted a laylandeii hedge. Their boundary fence is still visible, but the leylandeii was planted in what apparently was agreed with the builders, to be left as a wildlife run on railway land.
This leylandeii is now over 14 feet tall and the neighbour insists it is her hedge and controls the height, She does not want to see the roof of our bungalow, which would only be visible from the upper floor of her 2 storey house. I overheard her talking to a gardener, saying that her boundary was the small fence, so feel she knows the truth of the matter and is trying to intimidate me and my elderly neighbour to allowing her to each year, only trim a small portion of new growth. We have asked politely, but she is not prepared to compromise. Is it correct that we could go to the local council and for a fee - I elieve to be £600 each, to ask for this to be settled as I understood that hedges between properties should be no more than 6 feet anyway.
Have bought my house 20 yearsago and neighbour next door (housing association tenant)has caused many issues over the 20 years, drilling psst 11pm, slamming doors all our of night past midnight, sorting his recycling at midnight, he has even come into our garden and moved our bin and we were away and he scared the person looking after our house.
I could write a book on the issues we have had, the one i am totally baffled with is this :
Housing association installed a picket wooden fence on the shared boundary line, i come home yesterday and my neighbour has attached wire mesh to every panel but not on his side, on mine....please, is it me or am i missing something, surely no one has the right to do this...i am livid but need to know if i can remove this as it is in my garden
Now the gates, being wooden, have rotted away so the owner has removed them completely. Our street is now being used as a shortcut by the whole estate, at all hours. What used to be a peaceful place now has gangs of children using as an escape route after playing "lets throw stones at cars" or try and get a chase off some one as there's now 3 different directions to scatter. Drunks pass by at all times, swearing and shouting and virtually every house on the street have had items stolen by opportunist theives, to the point the owner causing the problem had all his garden furniture taken last week. Don't know if there's any legal obligation on him to replace them and don't feel he's reasonable enough to have a sensible conversation with about the problems, but hoping now he's finally had his property taken he'll do something to fix it
Please help, i look forward to hearing from you on this.
The neighbour is a council tenant and i'm a home owner, the boundary to the rear garden is divided by the old council concrete posts that use to housed the wired fencing back in the day, 2 fences sat either side of the posts and last year mine was damaged by a storm, the fencing was removed, showing the boundary posts and neighbours fence, the council came along and put up some wired fencing where there was a gap, After Doris came, the fence inside their boundary at least 1ft, blown down, and this is the fence im being ask to replace, Am i responsible for a fence 1ft inside their own garden?
The elderly woman who's been living next to them for more than 28 year ago said that the fence was there as a demarcation of boundary. We lived happily with 2 different owners without any disputes. The third owner moved to the property 6 year ago and accepted everything as it is. Again, we lived happily with them as well for the last 6 year but now they are disputing against the
fence and saying that they want to remove it and erect a new fence aligning with our brick wall. This strip of land has been reserved for us as a right of way and this has been clearly mentioned on the deed.
Can they move the fence on our side legally? What are our options to stop them erecting the new fence on our side and can we legally fight for this case?
Many thanks for any advice
Recently they put gates up on their land (probably about a foot back) and a post and a new fence panel. The gatepost and then fence panel starts about a foot within their land and then moves diagonally to meet the boundary fence so the end of the panel has about 2 inches of their land on our side of the new fence. so their is a long thin triangle of their land on our side of the fence about 1 foot diagonal cutting down to 2 inches - so tiny.
We deemed this to be the boundary fence as we cannot put another one up - it would have to go right up against it.
They have planted a small plant on our side of the fence which they cannot see but we can because it is on our side! Also they have been around onto our property and painted our side of that fence panel a colour of their choosing which doesn't match the rest of the fence. We open our back door to view their painted fence. They say they can because it is their fence and their is a tiny bit of land the other side of it belonging to them
Surely someone cannot built a fence slightly, and i mean slightly within their land and then believe they can plant things on our side and have a say on what goes our side. She has also said, she may want to move the fence in the future, those few inches because people are making cars bigger. Am i going mad? why they didn't build the fence in the right place in the first place is beyond me but its done now and we are left with problems moving forward with work and plans for our side of the fence - and privacy of course.
We don't know if the best thing is to build another fence right along the boundary - we have suggested this but she says then she won't be able to paint her fence (on our side)
Are we right to feel she is being unreasonable? Is she behaving legally?
we approached him about replacing it, as he couldn't afford anything towards it, we offered to pay for all the materials and erection, replacing like for like on exactly the same line, since which time we have maintained said fence.
a few years ago he died and new neighbours moved in .
they have since stated they intend to extend the fence, without our permission and use the last fence post we erected to fit the first panel into.
can they do this, or if we don't agree, must they erect their own post on their side of the boundary
The Next door has had a 1.8 m fence up on the far sid of the Leylandi for over 12 years, and we have pretty much had the trees on our side and looked after them since 1980s, are we entitled to "adverse possession" or do we have to put up a fence on our side of the Leyland, or can we just leave the garden as it is?
Ps he is accusing me of criminal damage, because I fixed his fence for him.
Thanks
The new neighbours have bought their house and we rent from housing association.
They have pushed their shed right against my fence that separates our gardens so the roof pitch when raining will run straight into my garden.
My fence was installed my side of the properties original boundary wire fence which the previous owners had removed apart from 3 concrete posts.
Am I right in thinking their shed needs to be at least 1 metre away from boundary because it's made of combustable materials(wood) to comply with fire regulations and run off of rain should not be running off into my garden.
Now the latest owners have put a shed about 1 - 2 feet from the wall which would make it very difficult to put a ladder against the wall to paint.
What can we do?
We get annoyed at our neighbours visiting daughter constantly using our drive to manoeuvre on and off with her vehicle from their non drop kerb drive to enter and exit off ours or the other sides drop kerb. By putting up a small chain link fence this will stop all this issue. Thanks
spike bushes which are unkept these bushes are before his fence, then futher along he has made a newer fence which is before his fence.
I decided I would cut the spikey bushes down as my grandchildren kept getting hurt.
The neighbour was very unhappy and said he and his wife had planted the bushes 7 years ago that it was his land and his wife is upset, I appologised so many times and even explaining about his fence and that it was my side that he had planted them and that the newer fence was not in line with his original fence he said even the wll is half his.
Their was an old lady who used to live here before me she was 93 years old and nearly blind neighbours have to me that the neighbours have taken advantage of her because she was so kind and because of her ailment. please can you advise me
He first did this approx 4 years ago and at the time, I asked him to please inform me if my hedges were touching his garage and I will arrange for them to be cut back. My hedge was at least 2ft away from his garage. He then refused to replace a small part of his fence between his fence post and garage, now my dog can get out onto the main road. I put piece of wood up against the boundary wall to stop my dog getting out. I then got a letter stating if I put anything else on his boundary he would take legal action.
Can you please advise me where do I stand in this matter, thank you
What can we do please?
my daughters bedroom run over the ginnel.
I have a gate on my garden that separates my garden from the ginnel and she never put on on her side.
she now let's her dog Rome up and down the ginnel... Can she do this?
If I go out she tuts if I leave the main gate open. She also put any old fridge under the ginnel until she has to take them to the tip. (If I'm doing any home impromants and can not tip them straight away I put the in my garden as I was always lend to believe the ginnel was a fire exit for both property not to store junk or keep you dog. Please can you advise. As I have try to say I have no problem with them keeping their dog in there front garden if they put a gate on?
I am going to attempt an amicable discussion with my neighbour and explain that I am willing to move the fence myself to the original boundary and it will not cost her a penny.
This is my question... Should she refuse my offer, what would the consequences be if I was to move the fence regardless? I will reiterate that it is a SHARED fence and also, I do not need to access her land under any circumstances in order to move the fence.
Many Thanks.
Help!
Now 3 years on someone who owns 1 space to the rear of us has started hanging a washing line to our fence. There is only 2 parking spaces to our rear, someone else owns that one, but the rest of the fence has no parking spaces behind. The person who's parking space is behind our fence is insisting that he has joint ownership & is entitled to put what he wants on it. He insists that on his deed given to him by the builders it states that any party walls or fences are joint ownership within his area. He has no party wall with our property, and even his parking space does not join our fence. There is a curb stone and a strip of land before our fence.
Our solicitor stated our fence is our responsibility only as it cannot be joint with only a parking space in a car park, he will not listen. The fence is a boundary fence which encloses the estate, how can we stop him hanging things on It?
Please Help!
I moved into a house in October '12. The boundary fence shared with my neighbour needed replaced. He wanted a 4 foot fence and we needed a 6 foot fence due to owning a large dog.
We had the fence erected 4 inches onto our land away from the original boundary fence (before and after pics show this clearly)
For almost 4 years, myself and my daughter have suffered intimidation, threatening behaviour and verbal abuse. So much so that the police have been involved, have been no use whatsoever, therefore a complaint against them has now been submitted.
My question is, if the fence is on my land and had been paid for in full by myself, is this considered my property?
As I say, the police have been dreadful in this situation.
We have a wall in the back yard that separates mine and my neighbours property in an end terrace. Weeds have grown through from their side and damaged the brickwork on mine. I have tried to control it but ultimately failed. The issue i have is that bricks have started to fall off and lean, but this wall is a brick wall that is the rear side of their outdoor shed and outdoor toilet. Whose responsibility is this wall - i cant knock it down and replace it can i because it hosts buildings of his? Am i responsible for costs though?
Secondly, their deeds says they have access to the side of their house, they come onto our land leaving gates open and allowing trades people free roam when my children are playing an the garden, the issue is, they built an extention and a conservatory which restricted access to the side of their house via their own land and now claim under law we must give them unrestricted access via our land.
As the fence has been built in a straight line at a 90 degree angle all along it has been built around 2ft in to our land at widest point. We don't really mind, it looks decent enough, and get on well enough with the neighbours. They also say this is a temporary measure and they are looking to put metal gating in at some point, to which I asked that we agree where it will go prior to works commencing to avoid any issues.
Our concern is that this land may "pass" to the neighbours after a certain period of time? Or we may have an issue if either party decides to sell. We also live on a development that has within the convenant a restriction on alterations, fences, bushes etc at the front of the property being made that affect the look of the site. This could impact us as the fence is partially on our land, if the developers take issue with it. I mentioned this to the neighbours and they don't seem to think the developers will have an issue with it, and other neighbours have made some alterations also.
We want to cover ourselves, whilst letting the fence remain. Would issuing an easement or license in writing and signed by all parties be the best option? Ideally we would just draft this ourselves to avoid legal costs. We would put in a time limit and state that they will be maintaining the fence. Most responses online seem to be for smaller (6" or less) encroaches on land and usually where the owner wants the offending item removed - which is not the case here.
However - reasons unknown - the previous owners of my property erected a concrete post/gravel board/wooden fence panel fence up on the boundary. I understand that effectively I have have "inherited" responsibility for the maintenance of the fence, and have replaced fence panels as required.
Due to the lie of the land, my neighbours land level is higher than mine, and he has effectively been using the fence's posts and gravel boards as a retaining wall for his land and built a decking area up against the fence on this land (which, when in use negates any privacy that we might have had from the fence panels as they can easily be seen over, but that isn't the point). Recently I have noticed that due to the weight of the land behind the "retaining wall", one of the fence posts is now leaning over, and may well soon be forced over completely into the greenhouse on my side of the fence without maintenance.
Since it is his boundary, and his use of his land that is causing the post to be as it is, do I have any grounds to ask him to relieve some of the pressure on the "retaining wall" (which isn't his) and to repair the affected fence post?
Any help please would be greatfully welcome.thankyou.
I want to fence in part of my yard - my deeds show that I own all the land, however it does state the land is a 'common yard'
The LL is saying I cannot fence off part of my own land because he/his tenants have access and hanging rights.
Their access wouldn't be disrupted by me erecting a fence
I have advised they can hang washing over the fence and even in the fenced off bit of yard but he will not accept this
Please can someone help
The new neighbours have since become extremely unfriendly. They have not properly fixed the fence that was damaged in the storm, and we have suddenly found out they have built decking that goes around the end of our brick wall and therefore across the boundary. They have also placed a concrete path right up tp the fence itself. Which makes their works approx 2/3in over the boundary on our side.
When i saw what they had done i was truly shocked and asked them why they had done this after our conversation regarding fence position. They said they would put it right but nothing has been done to date.(2 weeks so far).
What should i do? Should we remove the fence altogether, to expose and reestablish the boundary? The neighbour will not like this but the fence should be theirs and it should be on their boundary not ours?
Where do we stand with future extension on our side...can we join 'her' roofline?
We are buying for cash, but would this problem with our boundary affect a future mortgage?
The owners are more or less washing their hands of this and telling US to get a surveyor. We think they should sort it out.
We need to sort it out as this has been going on for 3 months now. Thankyou, fingers x'd
Advice required, please? I appreciate that my neighbour may in fact be correct, but I don't know. As she never (in all the 7 years that we have been here) maintained her hedgerow by cutting it or keeping it tidy in any way, shape or anything!
If we have to get the fence moved, can I not ask her to help out with the costs, bearing in mind that we have already had it made and erected??
I look forward to your advice / replies....
Also on this fence there is a panel missing which my neighbour uses to get into her own garden via mine as her gate is tied up with string and I'm assuming she can't be bothered to untie, she also has someone dragging a lawnmower through, again via my garden every time she wants her grass cutting. Would I be within my rights to fill it in? Even if it's not my fence? Thanks for your help!
I don't know who 'owns' the hedge as it runs right along the boundary line. 2 weeks ago without any warning or consultation with me and while away on holiday, the owner of the property next door completely cut down and removed the hedge exposing and comprising the security and privacy of my house and back garden as well as the safety of the dog who until this happened has unsupervised access to the back garden. The shop owner says the hedge is his and he can do what he likes with it and when asked, said he intends to replace the hedge with metre high metal poles and three strands of wiring running along the boundary. As this replacement is so much less substantial than the hedge and leaves the side and rear of my property exposed and comprised, is there anything I can do about this situation? I have written to him and made it very clear I am not happy with his actions or his proposed replacement fencing. I also asked him not to do anything further until the situation was resolved - unsurprisingly he hasn't replied.
Do I have any options available to me?
The next time we went outside, half of the border hedge was gone, four trees had been cut down, and the remaining bits of border hedge had been trimmed almost to non-existence. Now, I had been positive that the those trees were, at the very least, common property, though based on the deed, I'm convinced that three of them were actually on our property.
Now they can see into our garden and there is no boundary safe enough to let our kids play out back (he's left all his gardening tools lying around his back garden, and there's a sharp drop on his property, so even if I was ok with my kids trespassing, it's not safe).
Now he's saying he only cut down things on his side of the boundary, but he's willing to "help us pay" for a 6 ft fence. The trees he cut down were several meters tall. And he's shaved back the length of the hedge, so we're talking about 20 meters of fencing. We said he should pay for it, and he said he didn't have the money. (Neither do we).
My in-laws say that if we pursue this, the only winners will be the lawyers. So as we go into out first spring in the new house (which we bought for it's garden) we are left with no privacy, an unsafe garden, and a neighbour who is going to get away with it because we're broke. So now we're the only losers.
They have only wanted this space because they plan to extend to the side of their property. We both have semi detached houses but are not joined to each other. My physical measurement show the wall is inside my boundary. The scaled deeds also compute the size of my plot. Neighbours are now trying to claim its their wall. They plan to flatten it level. I plan to replace it with a taller fence. This has caused a dispute and they are trying to play for time.
The neighbour has been onto my land and placed a wooden prop to hold it up.
I have requested he removes the prop and makes the building safe but I have been totally ignored.
When we looked around the house the first time the fence was big enough for privacy the same the 2nd time and third time we went round
Today we got the keys and I have now noticed the fence between myself and the neighbour is now changed and is below waist height.
Can I put my own fence up on our land and not touching their fence and to the legal height which will give me privacy
Plus we have a dog which would easily jump their fence. Any help would be great thanks
WHAT CAN I DO THE COUNCIL WILL MOVE IT BUT AT COST TO ME
WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS
Our neighbours are now wanting to enforce the legal boundary and move it effectively further towards the right, claiming the land and wall we have been maintaining. Can they do this or have do I have rights under adverse possession as the fence has been recognised as a demarcation between our properties by neighbours, children etc since I moved in.
They are using concrete gravel boards for the fences, they were wooden ones before. Their builder told me he will be sealing the edges of the gravel boards with mortar, effectively blocking the natural flow of water from my side to theirs, causing flood on my patio, potentially damaging my retaining wall.
I have talked to my neighbour, but they just said they just want to be the job done, and to stop water from flowing into their patio.
We have consulted a local surveyor and he confirmed their building this barrier will cause us problems.
I write to enquire if they have a right to do this and to cause flood damages to my property, and what actions, if any, I can take.
I now have a severe damp problem which has been caused by my neighbour removing some of the rendering of the wall exposing the brickwork & also laying decking.
He is not a very pleasant individual & I would like some advice of what to do.
I do not have sufficient funds to rectify this problem myself.
Thank you for your time
I also have an old Jasmine Plant (which is mine) growing up my Trellis & over my garden fence, which I regularly trim & cut back each year - usually in Autumn/Winter.
My Gardener trimmed it (on my side of my garden fence) & cut it back for winter.
& My Mother went round the other side of my garden fence, into a 'communal area' for 5 Houses, in a private Close, to pick up all the debris that had fallen over my garden fence.
She was in the middle of picking up the debris, when 1 Neighbour who lives in the private Close complained & did not want my Jasmine plant cut back.
I do not feel it is up to them to decide whether I leave my Jasmine plant or not.
& We were doing a good thing by picking up all the debris & removing it. (Instead of expecting someone else to do it).
Where do I stand on 'trimming/cutting my own Jasmine plant back' on my side of my own garden fence + also over the other side of my garden fence, in a 'communal area' in a private Close of 5 houses?
Anyway to cut a long story short, i have scaffolding, overhanging my garden and i could not allow my son (who has special needs) into my garden for two days. Now they have built the wall, there is a gap between the new build and my row of fencing. Although they have put a temporary barrier up, my son can lift it and go onto a building site. I have today informed my neighbour that i intend putting up a fence post to allow me to block the gap therefore making it more secure for my son, she said she does not agree.
My question?
The post will be on my property. It will ensure the safety of my son and I have said that they can remove the panel to pebble dash and paint the new wall, but will have to replace the panel every afternoon, can they stop me putting in the new post? She also says that her builder has suggested moving my fence post, which I have said all along that I will not do, what are my rights
I live in a rented semi detached house there is a hedge running down the middle of us. Do you have any idea who maintains it etc? Is it us on the left of the hedge or them on the right?
Thanks x
We bought a property that is now 8 years old 2 years ago. The boundary to our left on the deeds clearly shows it runs parallel with next doors house, however he disputes this and has a completely different take on where he says it is. It has moved since we got here, at first a copy me of trees were ours that were on our side of the boundary (we even paid him to take it down) he now says that was his tree in his side of the boundary. We asked to see his deeds (not registered online) but he has refused. He banged a post in at the bottom of the garden (currently and open area with no fence) where he believes the border is, he's then planted bushes, I believe (if our title plans are correct, and a chartered surveyor agrees they are) that the bushes are on my side. He refuses to move them. Can I take them up? The top half of the properties are deprecated by a hedge (his, he claims) and this is well over our side now. What can I do to resolve this?
thanks
What should I do, I've tried being polite but now I've had enough. I should be able to sit in my garden and enjoy the sunshine but with the noise and stench of dog muck that's impossible. Can I threaten them with trespass if they keep climbing on my fence, should I start a formal complaint with the housing association ?
The fence goes around the garden with one part facing the main compound with a gate for access and the other part just outside our back door.
After moving in we found that the neighbour has claimed the whole garden, putting plants in and other decor and is the only one who has access to the garden as she latches the gate from her side. Moreover the fence which is outside our back door also encloses our bedroom window which means we don't have access to our bedroom window from the outside but the neighbour does. This means that oftentimes she is right outside our bedroom window 'working' in the garden. I find it really creepy - once she even went so far as to wash our bedroom window on the outside! Imagine my shock when I heard loud splashing and then found her outside the window scrubbing the glass!!
Is this legal? I find it invasive - but can it legally be considered invasive? Can the housing agency be asked and would they be required to move the fence so it doesn't include our window?
At this point we're not sure who actually put the fence up - whether it was the agency or the neighbour. What can we do to remedy this situation? Help please.
this land has 2 communal paths withi the 11meters/6meter area.
can i extend boundary fence to boundary stated on title deeds.
i would leave 1 communal path to the back of my boundary when complete
We plan to knock down our garage and pave our parking area instead. I was sure to let our neighbours know but they're not happy. They've said they don't want to see our cars. They have said they'll build a fence where our garage doors currently are, presumably to keep a sense of separation between our parking and their land.
My questions are 1. Can they build this fence? 2. If they can, are there any restrictions or specifications on size of gate or where the gate opens (in to our land or theirs?).
They now want to improve their narrow garden and want to move the hedge boundary back to where the land registry says, which is the start of their kitchen wall adjoining our property. I love my garden and the hedge but want to be be sure that we do have a claim on the land which they are asking for, before we talk further with them. We do not want any dispute with them.
What are my rights ..?
last week he send me a solicitor letter telling me i have to pay to put a whole new fence up(the one he erected 11 yr ago is still there) but because i picked 2 broken posts hes told solicitor it was a full fence ive ripped out - it wasnt and i have photos of the garden from 8 yr ago when the house was up for sale they show the fence he erected 8 yr ago and the 2 broken posts fallen down - what do i do?
It is my concern that this will inevitably kill the tree.
Thank you
23/04/15
Could I re-erect these gates and dig up their drive for the supporting post or what could I legally do to have the fence removed and replaced in the correct place for my gates to go back up? Cannot afford surveyors or solicitors.
Any advice would be really helpful
There is no dispute over the actual boundary, just the ownership.
I am writing back to his solicitor at the moment asking for there to be joint ownership.
The" hedge and ditch" presumption favours me in most cases, but don't want a long and costly court battle.
Was just wondering if joint ownership, i.e., I own my side and he owns the other with an imaginary line running through the middle, is something the court would favour.
Regards
Sid
This fence that we have the problem with is the left hand side. I feel that this neighbour is bulling me and I feel so intimidated as I am sacred to let my dog into the garden without me watching her. I live on my own with my daughter. He keeps complaining to the council for a multiple false reasons. For example I had broken pipe on Saturday and builder working to fix it then I had a guy from council with a letter for noise pollution.
I really need some help and advice how to deal with this. I have called council but they said that this is civil matter and you need to sort out between one and another. Many thanks again
They have now erected a very high fence in the back garden which blocks out our light. We have had workmen backwards and forwards through our garden while they have been erecting this. They never even forewarned us out of courtesy. I thought that they were only allowed access when it was bin day on a Tuesday! Please could you tell me my rights. Last year the husband came in to my garden while I was out and cut a tree down. He said he had checked with the owner as it was blocking their light!. Apart from everything else, I don't think it is fair that they don't keep the letting agency informed. It is rather underneath.
I would appreciate any advise, Thanks
I should mention we are not on good terms with each other re ongoing parking dispute.
He told me I cannot put anything closer than 2ft to his house wall even bins
However he stores his own bin in the place I had put mine on my garden end
The title on his plan and mine both show the garden is mine but I think he is trying to pull it over me. He also says it's because the Victorian terrace wall foundations are under the ground there and therefore he owns the land for 2ft my side
Have you heard of this?
1. Do we have the right to remove those obstacles so that we can put our own fence back to its original position and reclaim our 200 mm?
2. If he goes ahead and erects a fence at the front, do we have the right to remove it to get access to maintain our own?
Kind regards,
Robin
The fence on the right side, going up, is in a poor state of repair. The panels regularly blow out or "flap" in the wind, causing a hazard to pedestrians and cars going to/from the scout hut.
The owner of the hut is quite aggressive, and refuses to address the issue.
What do we do? As an organisation, we have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the children.
Any advice would be most welcome.
I do realise that we need to establish where the legal boundary is between both properties.
Advice appreciated.
Thanks
Can we legally remove this fence ourselves after giving him notice? And can we claim from him for the costs?
Thanks for the initial response.
Consider, on a quick peek that they have caused wall damage by resting logs, building material against it and also moving the top bricks as they became loose. There is no defined ownership of wall on deeds. As they are the only people to have access to the wall for years, and therefore may have caused the damage, are we jointly responsible for repair costs?
Thank you.
Kind regards
Jake
What is my legal rights
Can we get them to take the trellis down? Can we get them to re-build the boundary wall behind our fence? The trellis is our biggest issue: it is ugly! If they refuse to take it down, can we remove it ourselves, even though it is his trellis (it's on our land, possibly attached to our fence)
My mother died shortly afterwards and I inherited the maisonette, which I am currently trying to sell.
The downstairs neighbour is now complaining that the balcony is leaking over the outside edge into her conservatory - and that it is my responsibility to fix it. I have had a builder check it out, and he says it's not my problem - downstairs disagree, and of course are scaring off potential buyers.
Should it be my responbsibility, and what can I do about this?
When the weather changes and it freezes the path will be an ice rink, I want to be able to put a piece of guttering up on it that feeds the water back into her property, can I?
Where we do stand on this? Is it not if they still have access to their property it's fine?
In between they tried to get planning permission 3 times rejected.
House was sold earlier this year and the current owners knocked down the wall and to our horror rebuilt verbatim what had been rejected before only difference they now have two sky lights installed. Checked and they now have permission granted in 2013. We were not consulted, can we dispute this and can the old case be reopened as the wall was never removed and put back to its original state as enforced back in 2008?
many thanks
Land registry searches have revealed my neighbour on the right sides garden all surrounded by red but ours is too ! are we jointly responsible for the red area (on our right )where the neighbour on our rights fence is also shaded red ? I hopev this makes sense !!!
any advice would be really welcome.
thanks
Mike
Can you advise on how best to deal with this issue?
Do I have any rights at all that he is blocking my window and also will not be able to gain access to side of property therefore losing a triangle of land in between. Any help please
Any help would be most helpful thanks
About 2 years ago my neighober erected a fence roughly 200mm from the origanal fence. This left 2 fences, so I took down the origanal fence leaving my neibors fence as the boundary line. Now he is saying that the 200mm of land belongs to him. He does not want to move his fence back 200mm but does not want me to use the land either. Whilst I was out he took out his 2mtr fence panals and erected a 2 ft chicken wire fence on the 200mm line. In other words creating a void. Well you can imagin my anger when returning home. I took down his chicken wire fence and told him to do one. He insists that the land is his but does not want to do any thig there so the reason for the chicken wire fence was only to stop me claiming it. He says if I think the land is mine I must take him to court to claim it. My responce was that if he wamt his land back he must take me to court and not just to re-erect his chicken wire fence but to move his fence in 200mm. He still insist I have to take him to court and he will forcably claim his land back.and re-erect the chicken wire fence and leave his own fence in situ. I would be gratefule for any advice. One other thing he has no acces to this thin strip of land unless he removes his fence panels.
I had mine gravelled with a wood border concreted in to keep the gravel in place. went away on holiday and have come back to find wood border has been moved, laid on top so is now wobbly and they have laid block paving on their side. previous to me laying my gravel neighbour was arguing that he wanted more of the land, I explained that he couldn't as he need to go with the fence line. I would like to know where I stand on this as he has gone over the fence line (not by much) I would also like to know if i need to get council permission to erect a small fence there to stop them walking over my gravel and making a mess.
Advice would be appreciated. many thanks.
Chrissy
We are in the process of buying a property. It has a smaller garden then we would like, but there is a path that runs down the side and behind our garden leading to our neighbours garden, which is overgrwon and they never use. The path is on our deeds. We were wondering if we could move the fence out and back with the permission of our neightbours, but were worried about the right of way rules and wanted to do it fairly and legally, so no future neighbours could move it back to its original state?
i have a copy of my deeds which shows all my boundary , I also have the plans from the neighbouring properties left and right, the left property has a big 20 foot sandstone wall at the top of his garden which is the boundary marker as this wall used to run across the top of all the gardens but has since disappeared from the top of my garden, there is now a steep over grown bank there , at the bottom of this steep bank is a knee high wall build by unknown person, if you draw as a straight line as per the deeds and plans from the corner of my left neighbours wall it follows right across to the right neighbours this is the boundary for all three properties the wall should have been ½ way up my steep bank.
Both my left and right neighbours agreed this is correct and we have a good relationship , however about 5 years ago there was a new property built in the quarry above us all and this neighbour is not so nice , he / she have been on the bank cutting trees down and have even had the gardener stood in my garden cutting the trees from the bank . I have told them that their boundary is only top 1/2 of the bank, they both say we were told it was to the wall and point at the knee high wall at the bottom of the steep bank this wall is stepped in from the old wall about 10 foot , now before the husband move out he told me he had spoken to the person he bought the property off and I was correct about the boundary it was ½ way up the bank.
We have had an altercation with the wife as she has told us that she disagrees and has instructed her gardener to come this weekend and cut all the trees off the whole bank.
What do I do now please help
We have asked the tenant for owner's phone number to speak to him directly and also put two letters through the letterbox. The tenants disappeared over night and we have no-one to contact. Local council has given us no information and citizens advice bureau was the same....the last think I want to do is to go to court with an "unknown" owner of property... what now?
also put a gate on their fence which backs onto the back garden behind us and this lets their neighbour friend also use my path as a right of way too. I paid for the new pathway myself. This next part is my main concern. The neighbour molested his step-daughter from the age of 8. she was never able to go to court so he wasn't convicted but the detective who was in charge of the investigation told her to claim damages and she would give evidence on her behalf saying that they believed her and were not looking for anyone else for the offence. She was awarded damages. He passes when my 5 year old is there ALL the time and I don't want him to be able to do this. His wife condoned what he did so I don't want either of them having access to my family. Is there any way I can do this…
more) different owners. is part of one building, or separates two (or more) buildings, or consists of a "party fence wall". A wall is also a "party wall" if it stands wholly on one owner's land, but is used by two
(or more) owners to separate their buildings. An example would be where one person has built the wall in the first place, and
another has built their building up against it without constructing their own wall. Only the part of the wall that does the separating is "party" - sections on either side or above are not "party".
Check this out before proceeding.
Thanks in advance.
My mother is currently in the process of replacing her rear garden fence, are there any laws in respect on who should get the fair face (feather edge boarding) and who gets the post and horizontal rails (She is paying the full cost of the fence and the deeds state that the fence line is hers
Kind Regards
Thanks
Also instead of replacing the wood panels which were now two feet above the concrete posts they tacked bits of wood along the top which are now warped
Also now the concrete blocks they installed are out of line, causing the wooden panels to 'bend', it would be impossible to replace the wood panels as they no longer fit the spaces between the posts now in situ.
The solution to my problem with fencing would be to have it replaced at the height of where the housing is, I contacted the land registry to find out where my boundary was and if the housing association that now own the land have any responsibility for the fence but they were un-able to advise.
could you help
I have an issue regarding a fence being put up by our estate agents, our next door neighbour who refused to foot the bill in replacing the fence is now complaining that it is too high and he wanted a 5ft not a 6ft which is in place at the moment. He said if it is not removed then he will take it down himself. I want to know does he have grounds to do so?
Kind Regards
Tommy
I paid to have a fence wwith concerete posts put in when we moved which meets the rear fence of which im worried that they will cut gravel board and fence to shorten.
Can they do this or can I refuse?
We purchased our property in 1999. The title deeds clearly states and and the plan shows (the hedge and path) we own both.
Recently, the neighbours daughter and one of the neighbours, have removed 5 sections, thinned and cut our hedge the hedge in half. So, where they have removed it there is nothing there. Due to their actions we can now see what they have done. They have also removed the path and both have planted on it. They have also put roof sheeting as fencing right up against the base.
I did approached both neighbours and surprisingly they were unapproachable. I then visited the housing association and a housing officer visited both myself and the neighbours. After this they sent me a letter which says the neighbours have not done anything wrong.
I recently sort a solicitors help and after they contacted the housing association (as I do not know my neighbours surnames), the solicitors also received a letter which states a number of things but they deny their actions. The solicitors now tell me they cannot help.
I have many photos of the hedge at different stages after they removed/thinned/cut it. I also have video footage of me pleading with the daughter not to cut it until there is some growth and her telling me no. I do have an aerial photo of the property and the shows the hedge as it was in 2007 (very well looked after, shaped and cut).
I have started looking after what growth is left which is mainly on our side. I also am attempting to remove the bindweed/weeds/wild flowers which is suppressing normal growth.
To cut this long story how can I stop my neighbours from cutting the hedge so badly and restore the path. I feel exhausted and do not know what I can do or who can help.
Thank you
I approached the neighbour to discuss replacing it at my expense with a new block wall the same height but he declined and reckons it's ok at his side which it it is clearly not.
He said as you are doing building work and you want it replaced you will have to take it down and put up a wa the same which will cost much more and at my expense! Why should I be the person that foots the bill for his wall restoration!
He is proving to be real awkward and clearly doesn't want to contribute.
There is a dividing garden wall between this property and next door. The wall has been damaged since the neighbour resurfaced his driveway with Tarmac. It's all warped into the direction of the house we want to purchase.
How would I go about finding out who has to fix the wall? Or if we purchase it can we go ahead and fix it ourselves?
Can I have some advice please?
We recently applied to the council for planning to put a 6x6 fence up to our boundary line this will clear the area of all the weeds brambles etc and stop the animals using it as the toilet!!
Permission was refused because it will cause a tunnelling affect and at the moment it has a softening effect to the environment!!!!
It's our land just want to know how we can be refused permission to tidy it up and improve the Area!!!
.
between my neigbours they are refusing to agree to the wall being replaced unless I agree to three of his demands.
is it possible for me to repair my drive without giving them notice.
what happens if the wall falls over?
thank you josie
I now let my house and my tenant asked if they could put a bigger fence up - after checking with the council who agreed that this was fine if it wasn't any higher than 6ft and had public access (which is the same as our neighbour the other side) I've now received a letter from the owner of a house at the end of the shared yard saying that the fence devalues his property and he is going to take me to court. Where do I stand legally? Will I have to take the fence down and revert back to the smaller one? Thanks
UPSET
The fence pannels blow down in the wind. The posts are rotton.
I have purchased the bricks to construct a wall. I have decided to go in keeping with the orignal fence pannels. By constructing a 300mmx 225mm high wall. Then constructing 890mm x 225mm piers. This will limit the amount of new fence pannels required to replace. The 300mm dwaf wall will rase up the pannels to stop them rotting. My neighbour has refused me entry to point up the brickwork. And demanded I "not take down the 6ft fence pannels" that are allready there due to I have a dog. Weard.. I'm thinking.. But I not really bothered about loosing 225mm of driveway or garden land.
Now my neighbour has demanded this. I see no reason not to build it. But my consirns now are. The pointing up. Witch wont be able to be done. And why use bricks against a fence. It would be cheaper to use 440 x100mm block and neatly bond it into the brickwork. So I see the brick and up against the fence is block.Ok so now my garden & drive way complete, all looks good. Now 6 or 12 months down the line. That fence is still in the same bad state before I built the wall. It falls down. My wall is remaining. My neighbour will only see blockwork & fence pannels. And it wont be a neat looking job from there side. Can they make me do anything about it? Can they demand I replace it? Can they demand I re-point Or even change the blockwork into brickwork. I re-erect another fence for them?
I've had the bricks 2 years in my garden. Everytime I go out measuring and start working out figures to gauge the amount of concreate or set out the piers to determin how many fence panels she starts shouting your not taking down that fence. I'm going to do this or that. I just walk back into the house.Dont entertain her. The thing is it could really look good from both sides if she would shut up and keep her nose out. And just let me build it. I dont know if if its change she is worried about. Or just seeking my attenction. I never pass the time of day with them due to them constantly blocking my driveway access. Making me or my wife late for work most days. We have even tryed leaving earler. But she will pull car off her drive. Block our access out. Then go get her 2 children. Put them in the car. Then decide to feed the youngest before she will drive. Smiling at me waiting to get off my driveway to go to work. If you ask her to move she will eaither scream and run in her house. Or hurl abouse at you Or just simpley smile and nodd at you. But do nothing. But she has gotten bord with that lately. Hasnt happended since 1st week of december 2012. I'm wondering whats next. Dare not go out with my tape.Or lay a brick.. Not until I have all the facts straight. I know she is pushing for a reaction. I can't be bothered to react at stupiedity. I just want to build my wall. Improve my home.
Any idears how to proceed with my perposed bu
Other residents who live further away from our properties are opposed to the tree coming down and the council seem to want to hand over the land to a residents management company though we know nothing about this. Do we have any rights? They say their policy is only to remove trees on safety or nuisance grounds but I think this is causing a nuisance and have demonstrated as such. All we asked for was it to be pollarded and monitored as has been done with other nearby trees (though we were told this was o the grounds of safety).
Many thanks
PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!
We have lots of extensions in our road and each one must have a gap between them, that's building regulations - I assume it is your house wall?
Complain to building Control which is a different dept. from Planning
Most people paint only their side of fences
9which my neighbour stacks bricks and rubble on just up to our proprty wall with about a foot to spare.)
Then the is in line with the chain link fence a row of laurel bushes which is our front boundry.The neighbout is over our line in the open ground bit .Can we ask him to move siad bricks and rubble which is over lapping what we think is our boundry line?
Thank you
He got his garden done and has chipped away the securing concrete on his side back to the wire leaving the concrete on my side. It formed a circular piece before he took action.
Is the concrete (which has been there over 20 years) mine and does it define part of the boundary?
This is rather late for you, but a neighbour has no right to drill holes in your property at all, and you could have called the police as is vandalism/criminal damage and is an arrestable offence
2" away is OK so long as it is on their property and not yours
Which side of the fence is your responsibility is usually in your deeds, but as that nice neighbour offered to pay half, I suspect it belonged to her so the other side probably belongs to you
Don't be over generous, people will take advantage of your kindness, find out for sure which side of the fence is your responsibility and be firm
Their is no law to enforce a neighbour to keep their fence in good repair, I'm afraid, but there should be
I was shocked to read your comments as the "access to neighbouring land act "has been blatently flouted. A neighbour must be informed in writing well in advance of the work being started giving details of what is intended to be done, and they cannot do it without your consent or court order if you object
.You have to be compensated for any loss or damage to your property, too
but alas the distress to the robins nest and yourself would not be considered
Even if your neighbour's house is subsiding and in urgent need of repair, surely house insurers are not above the law?/ and can ignore the access to neighbouring land act? Perhaps they are, does anybody know ?
So long as the trellis is on your property and no higher than 2m, you are entitled to do this on grounds of your privacy and they should be pleased for their own too, but a plant that blocks out their light, I.m not sure about
Did you not object to their planning permission?
It is so often the case that good natured people are taken advantage of , which is what your neighbour has done to you
If he asked you before and you said it was OK, then fine, but guess he did not.
You can fix a gate and see what happens, but any happy relationship you may have with him may be ruined
Him having to walk through his house to get from front to back is what the majority have to do, and he caused this himself with his 2 extensions giving him a bigger house than you
Not sure about " right of way" laws though, but read about 12 years in certain cases
You can paint only your side of your fence and your neighbour cannot touch it from their side, which seems ridiculous so would be nice if they allowed you to paint it on their side. But if not there is nothing you can do
My neighbour has no planning permission for the driveway.
Where do I stand with regards to the garden now open to the street where there was a fence and hedge.
The length of the fence removed was approximately 8 metres.
Thank you
My neighbour has asked me to remove a bamboo trellis about 182 in width from my side of the garden fence( which is his) what are my rights with regard to this?
We dont speak much other than a neighbourly nod if we are coming or going at the same time.
When the fence fell down I asked what he would like to do about replacing it, and offered to go halves on the cost of a new fence or if he wanted to build one himself (as he is youngish and quite handy) I would go halves on the materials costs. As it was just before Christmas he said something along the lines of waiting til after Christmas, which I agreed to thinking they may be a bit strapped for cash at that time of year and the weather was appalling too, so it wasnt a good time to fix it anyway. Its now the end of May and nothing further has happened.
I dont know who is responsible for the upkeep of this fence, my driveway gate is attached to a post that was one end of the fence but separate from it so it didn't get blown down with the rest of the fence.
Should I just go ahead and replace the fence myself as they dont seem to be taking any action on it? And will that make me responsible forever more for that fence even if it was originally their responsibility.
When we moved in I replaced the fence on the other side that was falling down and the neighbour on that side offered half the cost which I thought was very nice of her.
Basically we found and knocked out a massive inglenook in our lounge, prior to this no evidence of existing just one small reccess to one side of our lounge. We have been advised we have another in our bedroom, as we have two pots to our sole use chimney. Problem! neighbour had tiled over roof boundary resulting in chimney looking to be theirs, claiming this to be their bounary. But with further investigation we have found the three sides of the chimney to be in our loft, the original old stone wall sits behind this, which runs the whole width thus this wall separating us from next door. We need to piont out that this neighbour rented our cottage from the local authority for about 5 years prior to thier cottage purchase next door. They continued to rent our cottage for a while after thier purchase to do as her words "extensive work". We have now been in our neighbouors property as we have explained we are wanting to buy, but there are a number of issues relating to resposability regarding our chimney and our stack, if we do. In doing so we have now found the following horrors which the council have not been aware of, as well as a number of our concerns and none understanding relating to our safety and the welfare of our cottage explained. They purchased about 30 years ago, and on doing so they knocked down the stone party wall up to the loft, to make themselves a hall way and extra space. We are the only double fronted cottage in our row with a hall way, all the other cottages like next doors have one window with thier front door leading directly into the lounge. Our cottage and next doors have nothing supporting the stone wall left in our lofts, we are suffering with a bowed cracking stone wall the other side of our property, we think this taking the weight. Our wall in our bedroom which joins to next door is crumbling with holes and cracks as well as the wall in our lounge which also joins to next door. Ceilings are bowing and one side of our lounge has a curved studded wall which moves and is comming away which is where our reccess for our massive inglenook should be. The back of our inglenook is in next doors hall way but support either side has been removed as well as the party / retaining wall having been taken out, evidence can be seen clearly. One side moved to give them the reccess the other side completly gone and replaced with a none supporting studded wall. EEEEKKK..... her husband who did this work was not a biulder, and has left us open to fire risk and our cottage at risk our chimney is leaning and the stack in the loft is l
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