ChatterBank0 min ago
Neighbours messy garden
11 Answers
Our next door neighbour, who own their house, do not take any interest in the garden or front of their house. It is in an awful state, overgrown, shed falling down, brambles covering it, except for a small area which they recently hacked at half-heartedly ,whch is what we now see from our kitchen window. One bare patch was recently covered in dogs mess, until they spotted us taking photos ( to send to environmental health, which we have done before, and which resulted in them having to clean it up) as we could not only see it but smell it as well. it was almost better when the brambles were so high that we could not see so much. Another problem is the fence which they should be keeping repaired. They make no effort to do this and we know that it will not happen. I have had some quotes to replace it but as the garden is more than 100 ft long it is very expensive. If we replace the fence does that mean that we have taken over the responsibilty for it? i take care to keep my own fence (to the right) in good repair . I don't know what my rights are with regard to neighbours gardens. Can anyone advise?
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sorry but they have no responsibility to have a fence at all....If the house is a council house then the council might have rules for the tenants, also some weeds are notifiable and pressure can be brought to bear to clear them. Your best bet IMO is to ask your local council about local by laws and enforcement.
it depends if all this is a cosmetic issue... ie - you just dont like the look of it, rather than safety etc
if so then its up to them how nice they keep thier property and none of your business
just because something looks untidy does not mean its falling down or dangerous
i woudl just erect your own fence - higher than theirs and simply obscure the garden from your view
if so then its up to them how nice they keep thier property and none of your business
just because something looks untidy does not mean its falling down or dangerous
i woudl just erect your own fence - higher than theirs and simply obscure the garden from your view
If it is definitely their fence (left or right means nothing in law by the way, you have to check the deeds on this.) then you can erect your own fence to your side of it as long as it is no higher than 6' (as a side fence). If it is a jointly owned boundary fence, which are quite common, then you will have to get your neighbours agreement obviously to replace it and what to replace it with. They don't have to agree by the way!
Woofgang is right, if the houses are council houses then there might be council rules on their upkeep.
This sometimes also applies to private housing if a convenant has ever been set down.
Woofgang is right, if the houses are council houses then there might be council rules on their upkeep.
This sometimes also applies to private housing if a convenant has ever been set down.
Unless there is a covenant in the deeds about keeping the fence in a good state of repair, nobody is ever obliged to maintain a garden fence. If the fence is their property they're free to let it fall down or to simply remove it altogether. You can put up your own fence, either immediately inside the existing one or, with their permission, by replacing your neighbours' fence. It will then be up to you to decide whether to maintain that fence or simply to let it fall down.
The foregoing assumes that you've got the ownership of the fence correctly established anyway. It's a MYTH that you always own the fence which is either on the left or the right as you look out into your garden. It's also a MYTH that the house owners with the fence posts on their side of the fence always own that fence (although it's often a good guideline, since people who erect fences around their gardens usually put the fence posts on the 'inner' side). Check the deeds to see who owns the fence and who (if anyone) is responsible for maintaining it. (It's not always the owner who is responsible for maintenance. There's a covenant in the deeds of my house which states that I'm responsible for mowing the lawn around the corner, even though it's not part of my property).
Perhaps you could ask your neighbours to move next to me? We'd get on well (if we could ever see each other through the undergrowth!) as I've barely touched my garden for the past 20 years. I simply don't see the point.
Chris
The foregoing assumes that you've got the ownership of the fence correctly established anyway. It's a MYTH that you always own the fence which is either on the left or the right as you look out into your garden. It's also a MYTH that the house owners with the fence posts on their side of the fence always own that fence (although it's often a good guideline, since people who erect fences around their gardens usually put the fence posts on the 'inner' side). Check the deeds to see who owns the fence and who (if anyone) is responsible for maintaining it. (It's not always the owner who is responsible for maintenance. There's a covenant in the deeds of my house which states that I'm responsible for mowing the lawn around the corner, even though it's not part of my property).
Perhaps you could ask your neighbours to move next to me? We'd get on well (if we could ever see each other through the undergrowth!) as I've barely touched my garden for the past 20 years. I simply don't see the point.
Chris
I had a similar issue with a neighbour when the 45ft brick wall separating our gardens finally collapsed under heavy snow in 2003. The owner does not live there and I have never been provided with contact details so cannot resolve by negotiation although the tenant is his elderly (& obnoxious at times) father.
We checked the title deeds position at Land Registry - inconclusive (i.e. silent on boundary points either side - our house is middle of 1930s terrace). I do, however, happen to work in a law firm (not as a Solicitor) who specialises in property and litigation arising from. Their view that in the absence of documents to the contrary all boundaries we have are shared responsibility.
Neighbour's father didn't buy that and got a Solicitor to write to us telling us their client had it on good authority from the neighbour on other side of him that problem boundary was our responsibility (apparently that neighbour's custom & practice overrides official documentation! stuff that for a game of soldiers we thought so we left them to clear up the mess and risk the remainder collapsing and now some 8 plus years down the line they are time barred from taking up a negligence claim against us I believe.
The house next door is now sold/under offer and we fear the issue may raise its ugly head with the new owners (who we are prepared to be reasonable with once they actually own the property but not admit any liability for the boundary until they do).
The whole house next door needs work and is unsightly so we're hoping the new owners completed their purchase speedily and do actually make the effort to to tidy up and approach us so that we can finally resolve this issue once and for all thus preserviing the value of our own property at the same time.
The remains of the disputed boundary wall is still standing albeit cracked in several places due to normal wear and tear coupled with several successive s
We checked the title deeds position at Land Registry - inconclusive (i.e. silent on boundary points either side - our house is middle of 1930s terrace). I do, however, happen to work in a law firm (not as a Solicitor) who specialises in property and litigation arising from. Their view that in the absence of documents to the contrary all boundaries we have are shared responsibility.
Neighbour's father didn't buy that and got a Solicitor to write to us telling us their client had it on good authority from the neighbour on other side of him that problem boundary was our responsibility (apparently that neighbour's custom & practice overrides official documentation! stuff that for a game of soldiers we thought so we left them to clear up the mess and risk the remainder collapsing and now some 8 plus years down the line they are time barred from taking up a negligence claim against us I believe.
The house next door is now sold/under offer and we fear the issue may raise its ugly head with the new owners (who we are prepared to be reasonable with once they actually own the property but not admit any liability for the boundary until they do).
The whole house next door needs work and is unsightly so we're hoping the new owners completed their purchase speedily and do actually make the effort to to tidy up and approach us so that we can finally resolve this issue once and for all thus preserviing the value of our own property at the same time.
The remains of the disputed boundary wall is still standing albeit cracked in several places due to normal wear and tear coupled with several successive s
Thanks for all the responses. Some very helpful suggestions and erecting a fence just inside my boundary sounds like a good idea. .The deeds would show no fences as there were none when we moved here many years ago and we have all gradually put up fences. I was advised by my neighbour to the right that the fence to my right was my responsibilty and the one to the left was my other neighbours so I thought that was correct but now realise it is not so clear cut. Chris - you are welcome to my neighbours but I fear that they will never move!
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