Find out who is responsible for garden fence with definitive method

Struggling to work out who’s responsible for a garden fence requiring repair? Well, you’re certainly not alone, as it’s a frequent problem amongst Brits, with many venting their frustrations on social media.

Fortunately, experts have revealed the one method to discover “with certainty” which neighbour should be painting, fixing, or even replacing the fence between two properties.

Many householders might attempt to shift the responsibility to their neighbours rather than fixing the fence themselves, sparking endless disputes. Some neighbours are even unwilling to split costs equally because they don’t consider it as their issue.

However, it could well be their fence that needs attention, even if they hadn’t realised it. So, what’s the conclusive way to resolve this dilemma?

Jacksons Fencing specialists insist there’s only one foolproof method to settle disagreements and ease the strain with your neighbouring household.

One early clue is to examine whether the ‘good’ side of the fence is facing your property, as it’s standard practice for householders to have the ‘good’ side outward.

The experts at Jacksons Fencing explain: “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.”

They add: “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.”

While this provides a straightforward method for making an informed assumption about fence ownership, the experts acknowledged that it disappointingly isn’t a foolproof strategy.

The only way to conclusively determine ownership is by examining the Title Plan or Land Registry documentation. Within these files, a ‘T’ symbol indicates who the boundary belongs to, which will establish responsibility for fence maintenance.

Should the ‘T’ marking feature on both sides forming an ‘H’ shape, the fence is shared property and both neighbours must work together on its maintenance as it represents a ‘party wall’.

Should you suspect the boundary is incorrect, the specialists recommend checking the Land Registry to identify who holds responsibility for the fence – irrespective of whether the property is rented or owned.

However, if your neighbour owns the fence but permits it to deteriorate into an eyesore, unfortunately it’s not simply a case of asking them to rectify it, and this matter may require disclosure during property sales.

Jacksons Fencing explained: “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.”