lousy fences......

Feb 09, 2011 32 Replies

council houses aren't exactly renowned for sturdy walls separating back gardens



sure enough, the ranch-style thingy on one side blew down in the recent gale



so, I suppose it's joint responsibility with next door's owner?



the house is rented out



I'm on nodding acquaintance with the tenant but don't know anything about the owner/landlord


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In message , Gill Smith writes

No, it will be either yours or theirs

then I'm wondering it's his

he seems to have put it up

because it seems to match the 'log-cabin' style swing in the garden

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Gill Smith wrote on 09/02/2011 :

Fences are nearly always the property/responsibility of one side or the other.

Depends on the original deeds, or later agreed variations of same.

Ours says it's joint on a notional mid-point of the fence. Our old house, one was ours, the other the next house along.

In message , Skipweasel writes

I thought it depended on which side the posts were. If the post are on your side, it's your fence. Is this not the rule of thumb?

In message , Bill writes

Yes, I remember typing that ages ago

there was an extensive thread a couple of years back

posts are normally on the owners side and the fence is USUALLY, but not always on the LHS looking from the front of the property

I'm sure it can be googlegroup searched

HOWEVER, If I were the OP, I'd (diplomatically) tell the owner that it might be a good idea if he made good HIS fence (as you are about to breed goats in your back garden)

He might just do it (but being a landlord, might not), try it

I also thought it was whoever had the posts. Having said that I moved into a new build (20 years ago) and we split the costs for a dividing 6 ft fence (although I built it) I suppose we both own it as we both paid for it. However its ranch style and the posts are down the middle of boundry line (exactly)

It would probably in other plots need to be accurately measured as to where the boundry lies.

Look at the deeds. Our 12 yo property has all fernces as joint responsibility

Malcolm

Fence posts here were (but not now) on our side, but the deeds are explicit, the fence is a joint effort.

geoff wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@demon.co.uk:

Not necessarily myself and a nieghbour on one side according to both our deeds etc *share* the fence between us. Yes one of us could put up a fence on our side of the boundary and make is sole responsibility however we haven't ... ;-)

Not necessarily. All ours are shared according to the deeds. Whether that means only the original post and rail is another matter.

None of the neighbours seem to have fallen out over fences, although there have been differences over other matters.

It's a rule of thumb only - what the deeds say is the important thing. For example - if the deeds say it's shared, then clearly the posts have to go on one side or the other, and that doesn't override the deeds. Or if an old fence is removed, and somebody replaces it with the posts on the 'other' side, then that doesn't magically transfer responsibility for maintaining the new fence on to the neighbour!

If you look at the plans on the deeds, there's typically (but not always) a tick mark on the side of the boundary who has responsibility for maintaining it.

David

Whilst probably true, I have always shared the cost of repairing/replacing fences with my neighbours in the interest of long term harmony,

Tim

In message , geoff writes

Nice idea but you are responsible for controlling/fencing your own livestock:-)

regards

that you have your contact address on there as gil dot.smith dot etc. You can show the actual address on the web page (i.e. gill.smith@ etc) by "munging" it. This means that the display is the actual address but cannot be read by spambots so is safe. It can be clicked on, or cut and pasted, to send an email but does not physically appear anywhere in the script which is where spambots find it.. Have a look at this site where it is all done for you (and for free):

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I think that the posts thing is just a form of etiquette. If it is your fence the "working" side goes on your side and the decorative side is shown to the world. Ownership is normally (though unfortunately not always) recorded on the deeds, often by small chevrons along the stretch that is yours.

Yes, my plan has 'T's on the owner's side - 3 of the 4 are mine :-(

I happen to know which are mine, as the one that I don't own was replaced when next door was still a council house and the council wouldn't have done that unless it had to!

On Wed, 09 Feb 2011 23:46:10 GMT, Chris Wilson gently dipped his quill in the best Quink that money could buy:

If you put up a fence on your side of the shared boundary fence ... surly you are still going to be still responsible for the shared fence behind yours even thought you cannot see it ?

Mike P the 1st

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