A woman has shared her shock after her new neighbours demanded she pay half the cost of a fence that was built before she moved into her new-build home. The neighbour dropped off a bill for half the price of the fence between their properties, with a note that read "you owe me this, the sooner the better, thanks".
Neighbour's demand sparks debate
The woman turned to Reddit to describe the situation, explaining that the fence was constructed around this time last year, before she and her family moved in a few months ago. She said the neighbours are only charging for materials, and that there is a blank space on the bill for the neighbours who will move in behind them, though that plot is still a dirt lot with no purchase of the land yet. The neighbours have made it clear they intend to charge them as well, whenever that house is eventually built.
"We were really hoping for a fresh start and to be friendly with the neighbours, so it makes it hard to say no. At the same time, we find it incredibly cheeky to assume we would pay for something that existed before we moved in," she wrote.
Reddit users react
In the comments, people were left outraged by the "cheeky" neighbours. One fumed: "Tell them to take your half down, you don't want that fence." Another chimed in: "Just tell them no. They installed it before you owned the property; you have no obligation to pay. If they try to sue you for it, any decent lawyer (or judge) would be able to point out that the date of construction precedes your ownership of the property. The fact they're planning to charge the currently non-existent owner of the back property as well is additional proof."
A fellow Redditor wrote: "You had no say in the fence or any input on the materials, the cost and whatnot. They decided without you. I moved into a new build, and we have chatted with the neighbours about putting up a fence together, but if there was no one there and I had a fence installed, I would not have walked over and handed them a bill after the fact. The guy is out of line."
Who owns the right to shared fences?
Experts at Jacksons Fencing say there is only one way to find out once and for all to end the rifts. One of the first things you should look for is whether the 'good' side is visible on your property, because homeowners will often have this side facing outwards.
"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. 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," the experts explained.
Although this is the best way to make an estimated guess as to who owns which fence, the team at Jacksons Fencing said it annoyingly isn't a foolproof method. The only way to know for certain who owns what side is to refer to the Title Plan or Land Registry. In these documents, a 'T' is used to indicate who the boundary belongs to, and therefore will ascertain who is responsible for the upkeep of the fence. If the 'T' mark appears on both sides to form a 'H', the fence is shared and therefore both neighbours should work together to maintain it as it's known as a 'party wall'. If you think the boundary is incorrect, the experts recommend checking the Land Registry to find out who is responsible for the fence - even if the property is rented.
What if your neighbour won't repair the fence?
However, if your neighbour is responsible for the fence, but is letting it get unsightly, sadly, it's not as easy as just asking them to sort it out, and it's something that may have to be declared when you sell your house. Jacksons Fencing said: "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. The only way to get around this would be to install your own fence within your boundary right next to it.
