One common issue homeowners face is deciding who takes responsibility for repair fences between neighbours.
Many homeowners are unsure about who need to repair their garden fences – themselves or the neighbour?(Image: Getty Images)
When it comes to buying your own house, many people spend a good amount of time making the space their own and making sure it is presentable for when family and friends visit. With the warm summer months just around the corner, the same can be said for our gardens.
While homeowners can make sure they have comfortable seating and the lawn is freshly cut for a garden party, a common issue seems to occur when it comes to garden fences. Drawing a clear line between your own garden and your neighbours, it can be a struggle to determine which property takes responsibility for the fence.
This is particularly an issue when damage has occurred due to extreme weather or accidental damage from either side. While many people have taken to social media to grumble about neighbourly disputes over outdoor fencing, experts have revealed a simple way to determine which property is responsible for upkeep duty.
Said to establish “with certainty” which neighbour should be taking on the painting, repair and replacing of garden fences, specialists from Jacksons Fencing believe this identifying trait should help ease any bubbling tensions between households.
The responsibility of the fence can be determined on whether you are on the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ side of the fence, reports the Mirror. This is due to it being standard practice for the ‘good’ side of the fence to face outwards onto the neighbour’s property.
Experts from Jacksons Fencing said: “Typically, you can guess who owns a fence by seeing where the rails are, with the fence typically facing away from their property so that their neighbour gets the ‘good’ side of the fence.”
They add: “This is the most secure way of facing fencing so there are no rails for anyone to use to climb into your garden. This is then repeated with the neighbour on the other side to ensure that each home has both a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fence side.”
While this observation could offer a quick assumption on who is responsible for the fencing, experts do warn that this sadly isn’t a foolproof method.
In order to get a conclusive answer of ownership, households will need to check the Title Plan or Land Registry documentation. These documents include different symbols to determine responsibility.
A ‘T’ symbol indicates who the boundary belongs to, which can settle any arguments. However, if the ‘T’ marking is on both sides and forms a ‘H’ shape, this signifies a ‘party wall’ which means both households must work together to maintain the fence.
Unfortunately, if the neighbour owns the fence and has let it deteriorate, this cannot simply be fixed by asking them to upkeep the maintenance.
If homeowners then decide to sell the property, this information may be required to be disclosed in the selling process.
Jacksons Fencing explained: “Frustratingly, there is no way to make your neighbour repair their fence, even if it is rotting and making your garden look unsightly.
“You can look to hire a disputes expert, but this will go down as an official dispute and will have to be declared when selling your house.”
If homeowners have come to the end of their tether with the garden fence, experts suggest: “The only way to get around this would be to install your own fence within your boundary right next to it.”
