Sorry for the long windedness of the question...
We have new neighbours,who have just moved in,who seem intent on complaining about everything.We have lived in our property 21 years,when we did there was already a back garden fence in place,between our garden and theirs,all along the length of the garden.But obviously over time we have repaired it various times.It has always only been us who have ever maintained it,treat,paint etc,our old neighbours let us do the same to the side of the fence in their garden. One year when the weather was very bad,very bad winds,the fence was completely blown down.So we built a new fence(ranch style),in exactly the same place as the old fence that was there when we moved in.Now our new neighbours have informed us that we have 2 and a half inches of their garden,runnung the complete length of the garden,about 40-50foot(on our side of the fence)and could we take down the fence.Surely people cannot be so petty,as to quibble about such a small amount of garden.We have not done anything we are not supposed to,the fence as always been were it is,even before we ever moved in.Any commemts or adevice please.
The saga of our fence has just blown up again.All had been quiet till now,but we have decided to move(not because of our neighbours),back to the West Midlands.The house is on the market,and a new home bought already in the Midlands.We are more than likely expected to move out in 6 weeks(with the house still on the market,under the Estate Agents).
Three weeks back my mother and myself re-erected some new panels(ranch style) to the existing fence posts at the bottom of the garden,the old ones looked tatty,in exactly the same place as before,no posts etc were removed,just new panels,fixed to existing posts.
Whilst doing this our neighbour came out and said "oh,you need not bother to do that,because when you leave we will only be taking it down".We said our estate agent had advised us to tidy up the fence panels etc and take photos,which we did.Nothing more was mentioned.
Now,yesterday,the neighbours called me outside and asked if they could take the fence down,then and there,because they did not want to do it when a new owner of the property took over,so as not to cause a dispute with them.
I obviously said no,they came out with their deeds and showed us the plans of the gardens.But i said we had ours and showed them ours,with a letter from our solicitors.This is what the solicitors said ...
Quote:
You will see that the left hand boundry does not run exactlt straight and in fact it kinks out slightly on the left hand side.Your neighbours boundry should be exactly the same and therefore it would appear that your fence is in the correct place
The mother is the homeowner and the nieghbours grandmother is the homeowner there.We have said that both owners should get together to sort the problem out.But so far they have not bought up the subject again.
If we had over a foot of their garden,i can understand,but we are only quabbling over inches,is that that important?
If anything does come of the matter in the next few weeks before we move house,we can claim Prescriptive Rights then,for the fence having been in that location for over 20 years,maybe moving and inch this way or that over the time.
Just for the sake of argument,when we leave,and our house is unattended,well the estate agent and a aunt will have a key to keep a check on the property.What if the neighbours decide to take the fence down when we have gone,before anyone buys the property.Could we have them for anything?
Have booked an appointment at the solicitors for tomorrow,for a free consultation,neighbours still saying we should take down the fence.We have compared old photo's from 21 years ago when we moved in and photo's taken recently of the garden and fence.We cannot see any noticible difference in movement of the fence,as we said,maybe a few inches here or there,but certainly not 1 foot or more.
Our neighbours say their garden width is smaller than what it should be(whatever that may be)16 ft they say.We have just measured ours and it varies from top of the garden to bottom,from 14Ft 6in-15ft 5in(if you want to be particular)like our neighbours.
We could come back and say they have a few inches of ours,to be awkward.We have told our other neighbours,who are all good friends,and they have measured their gardens,obviously they all vary,one 18ft,one 15 ft.But they are certainly not quabbling over their respective sizes.They are nice people.
I have told the mother to refuse to pay for any solicitors.It is the neighbours who want to prove a point not us.If they want solicitors involved they should pay any monies incurred on our part,otherwise no.
We have been and are happy with the way the garden is,and have been for over 20 years,why should we pay to prove we are in the right.
There is an tree just planted ,in the old photos,which over the years has obviously grown.We h
There is an tree just planted ,in the old photos,which over the years has obviously grown.We have compared photos and the position of the fence in relation to the tree trunk,which cannot move.Scaled down in inches on the photo,the space between the 2 is 1in,but in Ft it is just under 3 ft.The tree trunk to the fence on the other side which also has been there since we moved in is 4 inches on the photo,but 12ft in reality.
So in other words the width of the garden now is 15ft give or take an inch.
Converting these sizes,we cannot see any noticable movement in the fence,if anything it seems like it has moved inwards and not outwards.
We just got back from the solicitors,explained everything that was going on etc,showed him old photos and new of fence taken yesterday etc.He seems to think we have nothing to worry about.He said he will write a letter on our behalf,stating that if they want to prove the fact we have a few inches of the garden that is theirs,the onus is on them to pay to g
et it proven,with their solicitors and surveyors etc.He says if they say anything just keep replying something like "you want to know,prove it,you pay for it,we do not have to do anything".
Hopefully this may be the conclusion to the affair,well fingers crossed.
Just waiting for the fallout later,the owner of the home next door is coming round in 1 hour.
Oh,by the way,when the nan(owner)of other property rang last night,we got into a slanging match,did not swear etc,but heated discussion.She said she will get intouch with the council and put in a claim for unregistered land(meaning the few inches our side of the fence),and this will stop us from selling the house.Can she do anything as drastic as this.
We have new neighbours,who have just moved in,who seem intent on complaining about everything.We have lived in our property 21 years,when we did there was already a back garden fence in place,between our garden and theirs,all along the length of the garden.But obviously over time we have repaired it various times.It has always only been us who have ever maintained it,treat,paint etc,our old neighbours let us do the same to the side of the fence in their garden. One year when the weather was very bad,very bad winds,the fence was completely blown down.So we built a new fence(ranch style),in exactly the same place as the old fence that was there when we moved in.Now our new neighbours have informed us that we have 2 and a half inches of their garden,runnung the complete length of the garden,about 40-50foot(on our side of the fence)and could we take down the fence.Surely people cannot be so petty,as to quibble about such a small amount of garden.We have not done anything we are not supposed to,the fence as always been were it is,even before we ever moved in.Any commemts or adevice please.
The saga of our fence has just blown up again.All had been quiet till now,but we have decided to move(not because of our neighbours),back to the West Midlands.The house is on the market,and a new home bought already in the Midlands.We are more than likely expected to move out in 6 weeks(with the house still on the market,under the Estate Agents).
Three weeks back my mother and myself re-erected some new panels(ranch style) to the existing fence posts at the bottom of the garden,the old ones looked tatty,in exactly the same place as before,no posts etc were removed,just new panels,fixed to existing posts.
Whilst doing this our neighbour came out and said "oh,you need not bother to do that,because when you leave we will only be taking it down".We said our estate agent had advised us to tidy up the fence panels etc and take photos,which we did.Nothing more was mentioned.
Now,yesterday,the neighbours called me outside and asked if they could take the fence down,then and there,because they did not want to do it when a new owner of the property took over,so as not to cause a dispute with them.
I obviously said no,they came out with their deeds and showed us the plans of the gardens.But i said we had ours and showed them ours,with a letter from our solicitors.This is what the solicitors said ...
Quote:
You will see that the left hand boundry does not run exactlt straight and in fact it kinks out slightly on the left hand side.Your neighbours boundry should be exactly the same and therefore it would appear that your fence is in the correct place
The mother is the homeowner and the nieghbours grandmother is the homeowner there.We have said that both owners should get together to sort the problem out.But so far they have not bought up the subject again.
If we had over a foot of their garden,i can understand,but we are only quabbling over inches,is that that important?
If anything does come of the matter in the next few weeks before we move house,we can claim Prescriptive Rights then,for the fence having been in that location for over 20 years,maybe moving and inch this way or that over the time.
Just for the sake of argument,when we leave,and our house is unattended,well the estate agent and a aunt will have a key to keep a check on the property.What if the neighbours decide to take the fence down when we have gone,before anyone buys the property.Could we have them for anything?
Have booked an appointment at the solicitors for tomorrow,for a free consultation,neighbours still saying we should take down the fence.We have compared old photo's from 21 years ago when we moved in and photo's taken recently of the garden and fence.We cannot see any noticible difference in movement of the fence,as we said,maybe a few inches here or there,but certainly not 1 foot or more.
Our neighbours say their garden width is smaller than what it should be(whatever that may be)16 ft they say.We have just measured ours and it varies from top of the garden to bottom,from 14Ft 6in-15ft 5in(if you want to be particular)like our neighbours.
We could come back and say they have a few inches of ours,to be awkward.We have told our other neighbours,who are all good friends,and they have measured their gardens,obviously they all vary,one 18ft,one 15 ft.But they are certainly not quabbling over their respective sizes.They are nice people.
I have told the mother to refuse to pay for any solicitors.It is the neighbours who want to prove a point not us.If they want solicitors involved they should pay any monies incurred on our part,otherwise no.
We have been and are happy with the way the garden is,and have been for over 20 years,why should we pay to prove we are in the right.
There is an tree just planted ,in the old photos,which over the years has obviously grown.We h
There is an tree just planted ,in the old photos,which over the years has obviously grown.We have compared photos and the position of the fence in relation to the tree trunk,which cannot move.Scaled down in inches on the photo,the space between the 2 is 1in,but in Ft it is just under 3 ft.The tree trunk to the fence on the other side which also has been there since we moved in is 4 inches on the photo,but 12ft in reality.
So in other words the width of the garden now is 15ft give or take an inch.
Converting these sizes,we cannot see any noticable movement in the fence,if anything it seems like it has moved inwards and not outwards.
We just got back from the solicitors,explained everything that was going on etc,showed him old photos and new of fence taken yesterday etc.He seems to think we have nothing to worry about.He said he will write a letter on our behalf,stating that if they want to prove the fact we have a few inches of the garden that is theirs,the onus is on them to pay to g
et it proven,with their solicitors and surveyors etc.He says if they say anything just keep replying something like "you want to know,prove it,you pay for it,we do not have to do anything".
Hopefully this may be the conclusion to the affair,well fingers crossed.
Just waiting for the fallout later,the owner of the home next door is coming round in 1 hour.
Oh,by the way,when the nan(owner)of other property rang last night,we got into a slanging match,did not swear etc,but heated discussion.She said she will get intouch with the council and put in a claim for unregistered land(meaning the few inches our side of the fence),and this will stop us from selling the house.Can she do anything as drastic as this.