Storm Darragh blew down my garden fence, but my neighbor refuses to pay his share: what should I do?

I woke up on Sunday morning to find that four fence panels on the left side of my garden had been blown down as a result of Storm Darragh.

I asked my neighbor to split the repair job fifty-fifty, but he flat out refused saying it’s not their responsibility to sort it out or pay for it.

First, he tried to claim that it is my responsibility because it is on the left side of my yard (and on the right side of his).

And then he had the audacity to say it wasn’t his problem because I fixed the fence the last time it blew down several years ago, and therefore the new fence is my fence, not his.

Is it true that if I replaced the fence panels a few years ago when they blew down – because my selfish neighbor at the time also refused to help – I am now legally responsible? If not, is there anything I can do?

Ed Magnus of This is Money answers: You’re probably one of the many who woke up to a collapsed fence thanks to Storm Darragh.

Storm Darragh brought winds of almost 160 km/h in some areas and left a trail of destruction in its wake.

At times like these you would hope for a moral and reasonable neighbor. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like your neighbor has any of these qualities.

Whatever their motive, whether it’s financial or the fact that they simply don’t care about the fence, it may be futile to convince them to cough up their share.

You certainly won’t be the first or last person to argue with your neighbor over a garden fence.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” is all well and good, but as the poet Carl Sandberg once said, don’t tear down the fence.

Over the years we’ve had emails about a neighbor stealing someone’s yard. Another person asked if they could put up a high fence to prevent their neighbors from overlooking them.

And a reader emailed that the neighbor’s dog jumped up the fence so relentlessly that it threatened to topple it over.

For expert advice about your situation, we spoke to two legal experts, Mike Hansom, a property disputes adviser at BLB Solicitors, and Chun Wonga partner at Hodge Jones & Allen.

How can it be determined who is responsible for the fence?

Chun Wong replies: There are no standard assumptions for boundary responsibilities – it is a common misconception that you own and are responsible for the fences on the left.

As a starting point, you can check any copies of title deeds or request an official copy of the title deed and ownership plan from the Land Registry.

The title documents (such as the title plan) may contain covenants that determine who is responsible for maintaining a boundary fence.

If there are T-marks on the boundary line, it can be deduced who is liable for maintenance. If there is a T-mark on both sides of the boundary line, this is a party boundary and maintenance is a joint responsibility.

If there is no indication on the title deeds or title plan as to who is responsible, you should consider whether someone has taken responsibility for maintenance. For example, by paying in advance for the maintenance of the fence.

Mike Hansom adds: In modern housing developments, deeds often confirm responsibility for maintaining a boundary feature, such as a fence with a T symbol pointing toward the responsible person’s yard. Joint responsibility may appear as an H-shape stretching across the boundary line.

However, in English law such positive obligations are often only enforceable between the original parties, i.e. the developer and the first purchaser.

Once sold, the right to enforce compliance is usually lost unless a building plan gives neighbors the right to enforce each other’s covenants or the buyers sign deeds of covenant when there is a transfer of ownership.

If they replaced the fence previously, is it their responsibility now?

Mike Hansom replies: If you replaced the fence last time, it’s your fence, and unfortunately your neighbor may be right that he has no legal obligation to contribute.

Please note that if this differs from what is stated in the deed, you will need to note this on your property information form when you sell.

Chun Wong adds: In the event that you decide to pay for the maintenance of the fence yourself, it can be argued that you have taken responsibility for the maintenance and therefore ownership of the fence.

If you decide to make payments for fence repairs, you must make it clear that this is on an ongoing basis, as to who is actually responsible and that you reserve the right to claim 50 percent of the costs from them.

What if they hadn’t paid for the maintenance sooner?

Chun Wong replies: If no one has taken responsibility, you could say it is a joint responsibility.

If your neighbor is partly responsible for maintaining the fence and fails to do so, you may want to consider filing a claim to recover their share of the costs you incurred for the repairs yourself.

What should they do?

Mike Hansom replies: Living next to an unreasonable neighbor is frustrating, but you need to proceed with caution because even if you are legally in the right, you will need to disclose any neighbor disputes when you sell.

It can help with negotiations if you can indicate a maintenance obligation in the deed.

Even if the deeds are supportive, it is notoriously difficult to force neighbors to take action because legal proceedings typically far exceed the cost of repairs.

As annoying as it is, the most practical alternative is often to replace the panels yourself.