Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Which fence is my responsibility -- left or right?
I'm wondering whether anyone can help me out with advice on responsibility for putting up/repairing a fence. I'm no longer sure which side I'm responsible for.
I've heard a whole variety of views:
- it's always the one on the left looking from the front of the house
- it's always the one on the right
- it depends on whose boundary it's on (what if it's in the middle?)
- it depends on who has maintained it in the past.
In short: there doesn't seem to be a generally applicable rule or law.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Tags for Forum Posts: fences, rules about fences
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Peter on
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Many thanks for all the comments and advice so far.
At least I'm reassured in that there doesn't seem to be a hard and fast rule that applies everywhere in the same way.
But please keep your ideas coming in!
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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I heard it's to do with which side of the fence the posts are on - that it 'belongs' to the person with the 'good' side.think it's often down to who you can get to pay for it. The fence between my neighbours and mine fell down a few years ago, but I knew they would not be prepared to spend any money on repairing it, so I rebuilt it myself and reversed the posts so that I got the 'good' side. I guess that might mean I have taken ownership...
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Permalink Reply by KatyT on
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That's another myth 1 ;-) You can have the fence facing anyway you want - as long as it's on your land!
(Although if your fence faces the pavement it has to be facing out with posts in).
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Permalink Reply by Jojo Grech on
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When putting up a fence you should always put the good side of the fence on your neighbours side, usually you are responsible for the fence on the right hand side however the only way to be sure is to look at the lease.
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Permalink Reply by Colinloves on
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Yup.
Fence ownership, is the side where the fence posts are.
Otherwise, you would be trespassing in their garden, if the posts were placed, facing their garden.
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Thanks for all your replies. They've prompted me to check with my bank, the Council and Land Registry.
The upshot is (and -- I should have seen this earlier -- it's all on the land registry website):
Unless the deeds show a "T", it's all down to negotiation with your neighbour. If the top of the "T" is within your boundary, then it's your responsibility, but many deeds don't show anything.
Land Registry told me all that everything else, such as "it's always on the left", it's always on the right", "it's on the side that the fence posts are on", is purely anecdotal and has no basis in law or regulations.
So, unless the deeds have a "T", it's down to negotiation.
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Hi Peter - I should have mentioned - when I was having my 'issue' with my neighbours and the fence - I found this website to be useful: http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/
And also - when you read some of the issues and stories - quite terrifying in how horrible and petty neighbours can be towards each other ;-)
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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As I said earlier, Peter, sometimes the 'T's seem to have faded on plans over time ( too much copying?). It 'a the case on my deeds, but if you look at the British Land Co maps from the time theand was parcelled into plots and sold, the 'T's are quite clear. There must be an old Gardens map somewhere.
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Permalink Reply by Carol Tennant on
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If your fence is made up of panels, the posts are between them and not on anyone's side. What then?
Our lease (we're in St Ann's) says something about fences between the gardens but doesn't specify one side or the other, which I suppose implies joint responsibility. We have a landlord on one side who will only ever spend the minimum on any given repair, and rather poor first time buyers on the other (I don't mean they're poor neighbours - they're really not, just that money is tight), all of which means that we're effectively responsible for all of the fence on the right and half on the left. Sometimes you just have to travel the lane of least resistance...
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From what the kind and patient lady at Land Registry explained to me, joint responsibility appears to be the answer, Carol. And I agree about travelling the lane of least resistance as the best option, if you care about having a fence (which I do).
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