Who owns this fence? (Ed.)

[JohnD]

If you are in England, nobody is obliged by law to build or maintain a garden fence.

The "deeds" might say you are supposed to, but the person who has the right to enforce it is usually the estate developer, who doesn't care and is probably long dead.

 

[Murdochcat]

If you are in England, nobody is obliged by law to build or maintain a garden fence.

The "deeds" might say you are supposed to, but the person who has the right to enforce it is usually the estate developer, who doesn't care and is probably long dead.

You ARE obliged to maintain boundary markings though.

That said I know our responsibility is for the fence on the right (as viewed from the road) and our rear fence.

Too many people just don’t care these days

 

[JohnD]

You ARE obliged to maintain boundary markings though.

Where is that obligation laid down?

Your property boundaries

About your property boundaries, working out your boundary lines, boundaries and neighbour disputes, agreeing who's responsible for walls and fences

www.gov.uk

 

[KentExpert]

The property deeds or drawings should indicate ownership of the fence with a small ‘T’ mark. If you see an ‘H’, this signifies a shared boundary.

As others have mentioned, even if your neighbour owns the boundary, they are not necessarily required to install a proper fence. Additionally, the position of the rails isn’t always a reliable indicator—while traditionally they were placed inside the owner's garden, in the past decade, many homeowners have preferred having the more attractive side of the fence facing their own property, meaning the rails are on the neighbour’s side.

Boundary issues can become complicated, particularly if there have been disputes in the past. For example, if previous neighbours didn’t get along, the owner of the boundary may have refused to install a fence. As a result, the former owners of your property may have erected one on their own land, slightly inside the boundary.

If I were in your position, I would take a friendly approach:

1. Ask your neighbours directly who is responsible for the fence.
2. Check with others on your street to see which fences they own.

With this information, you should have a clearer idea of how to proceed.

Have a read of this page, it covers most of it https://www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk/fencing-advice/who-owns-the-fence

 

[Murdochcat]

Where is that obligation laid down?

Your property boundaries

About your property boundaries, working out your boundary lines, boundaries and neighbour disputes, agreeing who's responsible for walls and fences

www.gov.uk

This advice came from a party wall surveyor

 

[JohnD]

Perhaps his claim was based on something.

 

[scbk]

If you were short on cash, it looks like you might be able to reuse most of the materials from the blown over fence?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

It's no wonder it blew down it was only fixed down with those crappy bolt down post holders.

 

[mattylad]

While you are not required by law to identify your porperty boundaries, it is a good idea to do so as this can prevent a neighbour from stealing your land.

However, actually identifying the exact boundary can sometimes be difficult as it can vary where it is unless you have some defined features to identify it.

As freddy says, looking at the pics you can most likely just replace the post holders and refit the fence into them.
https://www.screwfix.com/c/outdoor-gardening/fence-post-spikes/cat7720005 (also available in most other stores such as B&Q/B&M/The Range/ your local hardware shop).