IT’S pretty common for neighbours to end up in a quarrel over boundaries – but what happens when they literally go over the line?
It comes after one homeowner was left frustrated after their neighbour’s fence encroached one metre onto their land.
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Seeking advice for their situation, they wrote to This is Money in the hopes of solving their neighbourly dispute.
The frustrated homeowner starts by describing how the fence has been erected “at least one metre over where the boundary should be”.
They added: “It means our garden is at least one metre narrower than it should be.
“Given that our garden is five metres wide this is a considerable loss of territory.”
To make matters worse, the fence was installed before the owners moved in but they have no idea of an exact timeframe.
In the hopes of solving the issue without a legal battle, the homeowner said they had attempted to discuss the issue to no avail.
They added: “He and his wife say this was how it was when they moved in and they are refusing to move it.”
It left the homeowner and his family wondering about their legal rights in the situation and whether they could move the fence.
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My neighbour’s fence is one metre over the boundary – what are my rights?
Paula Higgins, chief executive of HomeOwners Alliance says: “It is not in your or your neighbours interest to escalate the dispute quickly as going to court can be expensive, time-consuming and stressful.
“It’s best to avoid starting a war with the neighbour. If you are not in agreement as to where the boundary is, or indeed if the fence is on your land, you could consider mediation.
“If the fence is on your land, it’s technically trespass. If you are thinking of removing it you should give your neighbour as much written warning as possible.”
When quizzed on what you should do regarding the boundary being passed by a metre, Paula insisted that a lawyer should be contacted.
And legal firm Brown Turner Ross advise on their website: “Like with most issues surrounding boundary disputes, we recommend that you approach your neighbour first to bring it up with them.
“If your neighbours refuse to repair their fence and it is causing a safety hazard on your property then you can either report it to the council or take legal action.
“If your neighbour does build over what you believe to be your boundary line then you will need to prove that they have crossed it.
“To do this, you can contact a solicitor who can determine where your property boundary is and then you can move forward from there depending on the findings.”
