Erection of Fence between drives

[Holland_D_0611]

I am viewing a property for sale this afternoon which is a detached bungalow. It has its own garage not joined to the property which is set back from the bungalow. There is a gate to the back garden which is attached either side to the bungalow and garage. Immediately next to the garage and drive is another garage and drive belonging to the neighbouring bungalow. Both garages are independant but share the same roof. There is a gutter pipe which is attached to the wall between the two garages leading to the ground. Both drives are pea shingle, concrete, shingle, concrete then shingle, the idea being that the car drives up into the garage on the concrete.

My query is that the neighbouring bungalow has erected a typical garden fence from the front of the bungalow along the dividing shingle area and attached the fence to the left of the guttering coming down between the two garages. This means the fence is not entirely central between the two properties and that the shared guttering is on their side. They have also added a gate across from the fence to their property.

My main concern is that we will not be able to drive our car right up to the garage and be able to get out of the vehicle as access to and from the car is blocked by the fence. The only alternative will be to leave the car further down the drive to unload and then open the garage door to drive straight in.

As our funds are very limited with buying the property I am hoping to find out if this fence is allowed to be erected in this manner without incurring costs through a solicitor as if it is legally allowed we will not pursue this property any further.

This is the first time I have used this service so please accept my apologies if I have completed my request incorrectly. Many thanks

[LoftyLottie]

I am sure one of our legal experts, probably Barmaid will be along to guide you. The problem you have is that you need to know accurately where the boundaries are marked on the land registry (or Deeds if it is old property that may not be registered). For modern properties the land registry is usually very clear, but not so on many not so new properties. You can get a copy of land registry documents, but there is a charge (It used to be about £30.00 a couple of years ago)

Quite honestly, if you are going to consider purchasing this property you will have to use a solicitor and this will then incorporate and proper search should bring up queries on things like you mention. If the fence has been up for many years - I think 10 or over - then unfortunately adverse possession of land might come into play.

However, I am no expert.

[LoftyLottie]

And welcome to the site. We are quite informal. Your question is very clear - no worries.

Good luck.

[bednobs]

hiya, i have a few thoughts.
1) how do you know the neighbours errected the fence? it could have been the people in the house you are interested in
2)how do you know that the downpipe is central anyway?
3)Am i right in thinking that "your" bungalow is to the right of the other one? (as you are looking at them from the street?
4) if so, is it really a problem for the passenger to get out before pulling up to the garage door?
5) If the bungalow meets your requirements in every ther respect, is it really worth getting upset over
6) the neighbours may well be amenable to the fence coming down
7) The people that own the one you are looking at might well have greed to the fence being there
8) would moving the fence to the other side of the pipe really make that much difference to being able to unload th ecar (down pipes arent usually that wide are they?)
9) if you haven't even seen the house yet, you may be worrying unecassarily. It might have mould/dry rot/subsidance and you might not want it anyway!

[R1Geezer]

even if it's not legal, these sorts of things end up creating a hole world of pain. Imagine you move in and say "your fence is illegal and should be moved", straight away you've alienated the neighbour and started an expensive fight. if you are concerned about this situation then buy somewhere else, this can only end badly.

[R1Geezer]

if the fence in on the left of the down pipe the narrower side, ie the bungalow in question would be on the left bednobs looking from the street.

[R1Geezer]

sorry just thought about it, if the down pipe is central then assuming it's a standard 4 inch pipe we are talking about 2 inches here, I can't see that's going to matter much. Can you claify if these assumptions are correct, thanks.

[bednobs]

true. In which case, if the person reverses into the garage, there wont be a problem with getting out

[Jonathan-Joe]

Check the property title deeds. The drive may be owned jointly by the two properties, or at least each has a right to drive over the other's half.