FENCES across the country have been toppled by the recent bad weather leaving many homeowners wondering what to do next.
Disputes over fences are far from uncommon in the best of times, but with storm’s Dudley, Eunice, Franklin arriving in quick succession, neighbourly chats could get tense.
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One homeowner has almost the opposite problem though – they can’t get hold of their neighbour at all to sort out a blown over fence.
Posting on Reddit, they explained how like thousands of others, a fence with a neighbour had come down between them because of the high winds.
The efficient neighbour looking to sort out the damage has been unable to get hold of the owner of the house next door.
They said: “The property is owned by a landlord who doesn’t respond to emails/letters.”
Not only is it an inconvenience, it is also causing worry as the tenants living in the property nextdoor have a dog.
The animal now has easy access to both gardens and the poster, who shared the dilemma looking for advice on what to do next, is not happy about that with their young children around.
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“On the neighbours side, their fence has completely fallen down, leaving both gardens open,” they said.
“At the moment the garden is completely unusable.
“The landlord tenants (pleasant but unwilling to do anything from their side) have a (very yappy/jumpy) dog that is now roaming my garden.
“I have two toddlers that want to go out and play in the garden but can’t in the current state.”
Unfortunately the fact that the owner of the house next door doesn’t live there adds an extra layer on to what can already be a thorny issue of who should fix a fence.
A tenant is not responsible for fixing a fence unless they damaged it themselves.
But that doesn’t automatically mean that the landlord and owner of the house has to fix either.
Who’s liable for my fence?
Who is liable for a fence depends on where the boundary is.
The best place to check for guidance will be your property deeds. Or your property information pack rom when you first moved in may say.
If you don’t have the title deeds already, you can purchase these from the Land Registry on the government’s website from £7.
It may be worth buying your neighbour’s deeds too, as they could flag something that isn’t in yours.
Once you have the deeds, you may see a T marked on either side of the fence, which indicates who is liable for the boundary.
Some deeds may say who owns it and even how high they need to be, solicitor Joanne Ellis previously told The Sun.
If you and your neighbour still disagree about either person’s boundary obligations after checking the deeds, it’s still best to try and come to an amicable agreement.
Court is an option but this will cost money and mediation before this stage is the next best step.
To avoid that, you may be able to get the your local council to solve a dispute or use a mediation service.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors offers a Boundary Disputes Mediation Service, which may be worth checking out.
It’s not free but is likely to be far less expensive than legal action.
Of course in the case of this Reddit poster, there’s no communication at all which is proving a challenge.
Another solicitor, Chun Wong, commenting on a similar situation suggested sending a letter explaining the case, and giving them a time period to fix it before making a legal claim.
Even if the landlord responds there’ still no guarantee that the landlord will fix the fence and they are not obliged to either.
Legal action can be stressful as well as costly so for the sake of the use of the garden the homeowner might find it easier to pay themselves.
What about a neighbours nuisance dog?
As for the tenants and their dog, they do need to keep their pet in check.
Lawyer Nick Freeman, known as “Mr Loophole”, explains that under the Dangerous Dogs Act, owners are responsible for keeping their pets under control.
He said: “Dog owners have a legal duty to ensure their pets are kept under control.
“Advise the neighbours in writing that their pet poses a threat or persistent nuisance and, regrettably, if it’s in their garden on one more occasion it’ll be reported to the police.
“They’ll possibly issue a summons and place the dog on the dangerous dogs register.”
But equally the poster might want to think carefully about how that might affect the relationship with their otherwise cordial neighbours in residence.
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