Cinnamon Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Hope someone can help I need to find out if a boundary fence between our house & next doors belongs to us or them. Its not mentioned in our deeds at all, & I wondered if there was a rule saying which fence is whos? The fence between our cottages has been in bad repair for about 8 years & we spoke to the chap next door about replacing it many times.He never got round to it & died last year. The house is now owned by his son & rented out to a lady who was going to buy it, although we are not sure if she has or not as yet. Anyhow,we did some major pruning of our border today to find that the previously hidden fence has now all but collapsed into our garden,so it needs replacing pronto. We just need to know who is liable for the costs - us or them??? I seem to recall some sort of law that your fence is the one on the left as you look out the house & down the garden....anyone know if thats the case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I seem to recall some sort of law that your fence is the one on the left as you look out the house & down the garden....anyone know if thats the case? That's how it works around this neck of the woods Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackiepoppies Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Yes, and I think you'll ind that if the fence posts are in your garden then that fence is yours! Hope this helps. Jx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 And here. If you get the plans there should be an inverted T marking your boundary. If you look at the exisiting fence, it is normal practice for the owner to put the good side facing towards the neighbour, so have a look at it and if the fence posts are on your side, it is more likely to be yours and vice versa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Yes the good side faces the neighbour so if its facing you its not yours and if its facing them it is yours but most people share the costs nowadays I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miffy Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Our solicitor was unable to find any reference to who owned what boundaries here, all old cornish walls and hedges, warned us to expect to have to pay for any work ourselves but to speak to other party and hope they will go 50/50. If you dont know who owns that boundary perhaps you could offfer to go 50/50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Hi We moved into an old house a few years ago and some of the boundaries on the land registry are not always that clear especially in older properties. The T inwards does denote that is your boundary but sometimes in older properties the boundaries are shared so splitting the cost may end up happening. We had the same issue on one of our boundaries our solicitor who did the conveyancing advised us(but I remember it still not being set in stone)The fencing panels were not right in our case. Last year our friendly neighbour we just split the costs as we get on with them really well. If you dont have your land registry plans you can go to the offices and buy a print out(its a few pounds...last time I went about 6 years ago it was £7 approx) If you have no joy just ring your solicitor who undertook your conveyancing should be able to advise. They shouldnt charge you as you should have been advised in the first place. Good luck indie ps I think on google earth?? not sure if you can see boundaries?? perhaps I am wrong though?? now off to look?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 It's not a general rule that it's the one on the left, and in fact in my house it's the other way round. First place to look is any old title deeds, Land Registry plans etc - they may be marked with a T, as stated above, or it may say 'the fence on the north-western boundary' or something similar. If there's nothing there, then take a look at the posts, as that may give you some guidance - usually the posts are on your land, again as stated above. I don't know if you're in a row of houses, but does anyone further up have any information, because usually they will follow the same pattern, i.e. all the right-hand fences/all the left-hand fences. Does your neighbour (landlord) have any deeds? Unfortunately it's sometimes the case that it's simpler to go ahead and get the work done yourself rather than wait for someone else to agree to it, and without any evidence as to who owns it, if he simply says 'no' then you're left with an unfenced garden. It's definitely worth approaching him though, firstly to see if he has got copies of any old title deeds and secondly to see if he'll agree a 50:50 deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfrock Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 (edited) It's not a general rule that it's the one on the left, and in fact in my house it's the other way round. I was about to say exactly the same thing Olly! My flat in London was the other was around. As you looked out of the house, my fence was actually the one on the right. Developers bought the house to the right and 'very kindly' decided to replace the fence at their own cost, however they gave me the manky arris rails to look at when they should be have been on their side. Mind you they also failed to serve a notice advising they would be carrying out works to the party wall, and cracked all my plaster to that side and somehow managed to make all sound insulation vanish, and they successfully pebble-dashed my sliding doors and window when redoing their wall . I have to say it was hellish trying to get them to resolve it all - I was living on my own at the time. Anyway, I digress (as usual!). Normally your boundary fence would be the one to the left as you look out of the house, but there are exceptions such as Olly and I! If the deeds don't have the 'T' mark on the plans then it would probably be best as others have said, to approach the owners (both sides) and ask them to check their deeds. If there is nothing on those either then suggest paying half the cost and if they don't want to and you really want the fence, probably swallowing the whole cost would be best. The person I bought this house from re-did all the fencing right the way around the property. My neighbour very kindly told me how he (the neighbour) had a gained over a foot all the way down the length of the garden because his fruit trees had been in blossom at the time and he hadn't wanted them disturbed. The vendor should have declared this on the deeds but needless to say, didn't Edited May 31, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 And here. If you get the plans there should be an inverted T marking your boundary. If you look at the exisiting fence, it is normal practice for the owner to put the good side facing towards the neighbour, so have a look at it and if the fence posts are on your side, it is more likely to be yours and vice versa. Not here it ain't. We have the "back sides" of all the fence panels on all 3 boundaries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickvic Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 My fence is also the one on the right. Which unfortunatly had fallen down and when the neighbours moved in they replaced it Still never asked for half the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Having moved a few times, my fence has always been the one on the left. We've had a permanent wall built where we are currently, but next door had a fence which half of it blew down 2 winters ago. Since then its been a variety of temporary fences (currently bright orange plastic!) This is now the side of the garden where we are having the WIR built, with a permanent wall. Solves the fence problem, and gives us our WIR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badgerbluebadger Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I would say that if the posts are in your garden the its your fence. I live in a flat and have had a few problems with our upstairs. firstly we put a fence thinking they were going to pay half but they didn't and secondly they are now trying to claim an outdoor cupboard after my husband made a homemade door for it. Check all your deeds and be careful - I am now fighting them on the cupbaord as I have checked with land reg and I think its ours! If you are happy to pay the cost and can't bear the sight of it get it fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 That's the thing - its a looooooooong garden,the fence is shot all the way down so we are not happy to pay to fix it really. Especially as our late neighbour was about to do it before he passed on That said,Hubby is a builder & happy to fit it,just not pay the £1000 it will cost for the fence. Our other boundary is a stream,so no such issues there I will look into this further tomorrow, but thanks for your help everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Just trying to think- in our last house the wall needed fixing and as we looked out of our house at the front it was on the right and the neighbour fixed it but it may have been on the deeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperman Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 When I bought our house the solicitor said that as you look at the front of the house you are responsible for the fence to the right front and back. The fence on the left is only 6ft long as most of it is taken up by a shared drive. That bit blew down and nextdoor didn't bother replacing it, so I had to to keep the chooks contained. So we get a raw deal really. Oh well. Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
