Fence who is responsible for repairs

There is a common belief that households are responsible for the fence to the left of their home. Either fence may belong to a property, and the simplest way to ascertain which belongs to a specific property is to check the deeds. Deeds will often indicate which boundary the property owner is responsible for. If an H shaped mark is present — which will run across the boundary line — then both neighbours are equally responsible for the upkeep of the fence.

In addition to the usual property checks, investigating the boundaries before purchasing a property can help avoid problems as time goes on. One way of preventing this is to ask your neighbours to agree to a new boundary agreement, which is a legally binding document. If it proves impossible to come to an agreement over who a fence belongs to, then homeowners can apply to the Land Registration division of the Property Chamber, also known as a First Tier Tribunal for a decision.

Interested parties will need to make a legal case arguing their position, and put it to the tribunal for a judgment to be reached. Generally speaking, when a shared fence is in need of repair, owners on each side of the fence are both responsible, whether the owners are investors or owner-occupiers. What happens? But the Magistrate will first need to be convinced that the need for replacement exists. If a shared fence is suddenly damaged or destroyed by an event, such as a flood, fire, storm or accident, one owner can immediately repair the fence without giving notice to the neighbour.

The owner who repaired the fence can then recover half of the expenses from the other owner, either by mutual agreement or, if necessary, through the Magistrates Court. However, because there is the potential for disagreements, it is always advisable that neighbours speak to one another before performing any repair work. What happens if the fence is damaged due to the fault of your neighbour?

Whose Responsibility Is Fence Repairs? However, there are much trickier situations, such as cases in which a fence separates two properties and the cause of the damage is not that clear — here are some pieces of information that can help you solve these issues: Check the property deeds — most deeds contain information related to the property boundary that the owner is responsible for, so the first thing to do to find out whether you are the property owner who should handle the fence repair is to check the document; Establish who caused the damage — more often than not, clearly identifying the culprit for the fence damage is difficult, but you should try, nevertheless.

If it turns out that it was your neighbor who caused the damage, the repair is clearly their responsibility. Commerce City, Colorado Phone: