Neigbour wants to remove hedge and put up fencing-wants to split cost??

N

NOAH

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I am new to this but currently we are separated from house next by a hedge made up of shrubs, etc. Its adequate but neighbour is getting on and wants to take down the shrubs and replAce with a 6 foot high fencing, border is about 60 foot in length. They have shown me samples of fencing, treated timber hit and miss. I have already planted a hedge on my side and this will eventually cover the fencing ie I wont see it.

As this is a joint boundary am I expected to go halves on the fencing and the construction?

Dont have a lot of money these days.

NOAH
 
If the fencing is of benefit to you, then you should contribute to the cost. You can tell them that you can't afford to do it now, but will do it when the money supply improves.

if you don't want the fencing, then you can probably tell them you don't want it.

If you don't mind whether there is a fence there or not, then you should tell them that you don't want a fence, but you don't mind them building it at their own expense as long as it does not damage your hedges.

Wooden fencing needs maintenance.

I presume that it is in your back garden. If it was your front garden, your neighbour would require planning permission.

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showpost.php?p=866254&postcount=2

Brendan
 
Hi Noah,

Matters related to boundaries and party constructions have been addressed recently in the Land Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 Part 8 Chapter 3 et sequitur.

As you can from the section in the above link and the following sections, the law is a little draconian here.
To me it seems heavily weighted against someone who just wants to maintain the status quo i.e. who is content with his lot.
The law now seems weighted in favour of the person who is unhappy with his lot and wants to carry out the works - with some odd checks and balances.
Whilst your neighbour is obliged to reimburse you for any costs arising, in theory he can also invoice you for any benefit that might accrue to you from the new fence.
Unless there is goodwill and neighbourly relations already between the parties, I foresee that if a dispute were to arise the whole thing could go very pear-shaped, very quickly.

ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.

===================================================================

From:

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2009/en/act/pub/0027/sec0044.html

Rights of building owner.
44.— (1) Subject to subsection (2), a building owner may carry out works to a party structure for the purpose of—
(a) compliance with any statutory provision or any notice or order under such a provision, or

(b) carrying out development which is exempted development or development for which planning permission has been obtained or compliance with any condition attached to such permission, or

(c) preservation of the party structure or of any building or unbuilt-on land of which it forms a part, or

(d) carrying out any other works which—
(i) will not cause substantial damage or inconvenience to the adjoining owner, or

(ii) if they may or will cause such damage or inconvenience, it is nevertheless reasonable to carry them out.
​
(2) Subject to subsection (3), in exercising any right under subsection (1) the building owner shall—
(a) make good all damage caused to the adjoining owner as a consequence of the works, or reimburse the adjoining owner the reasonable costs and expenses of such making good, and

(b) pay to the adjoining owner—
(i) the reasonable costs of obtaining professional advice with regard to the likely consequences of the works, and

(ii) reasonable compensation for any inconvenience caused by the works.
​
(3) The building owner may—
(a) claim from the adjoining owner as a contribution to, or deduct from any reimbursement of, the cost and expenses of making good such damage under subsection (2)(a), or

(b) deduct from compensation under subsection (2)(b)(ii), such sum as will take into account the proportionate use or enjoyment of the party structure which the adjoining owner makes or, it is reasonable to assume, is likely to make.
​
(4) If—
(a) a building owner fails within a reasonable time to—
(i) make good damage under subsection (2)(a), the adjoining owner may apply to the court for an order requiring the damage to be made good and on such application the court may make such order as it thinks fit, or

(ii) reimburse costs and expenses under subsection (2)(a) or to pay reasonable costs or compensation under subsection (2)(b), the adjoining owner may recover such costs, expenses or compensation as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.
​
(b) an adjoining owner fails to meet a claim to a contribution under subsection (3)(a), the building owner may recover such contribution as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.​
 
Just remember you can say no if you want. If you prefer it as it is you are under no obligation to agree.
 
A friend did exactly this and the fence fell down with the first strong wind and although it was put back up, it was never the same and he regretted doing it.
 
Thanks all. Glad I asked. I'll say my bit and take it from there. Was not aware of all the ramifications. The fence is in the front and back garden if you know what I mean. Its 2 bungalows that are a bit back from the road. A long hedge and shrubs are in situ plus some old conifers that have been lopped. So half of fence will be in front garden at side and rest in back at side of house where garage/room is.

I intend to cover fence with hedge and shrubs from my side. Its treated timber lasts 15 years and after that I wont be too worried. They are older than me ans I was thinking if I go halves and they sell/move on next owner may hate fence. We have tentativley spoken of owning 50/50 but on reflection I dont see why I should take on the bother. It will give some security but not much better than hedge at present does. They workmen will have to come on my side to dig holes etc. Its about 3000 euro so I was looking at 1,500 for what??

noah

and now that you mention the wind I am defenitely saying no.
 
You're very welcome, Noah.

Just to add a couple of highlighted items.
As Brendan has already pointed out, a 6 ft fence to the front of the property would normally need permission - the exempted development height is 1.2M.

I was recently asked to advise in a case where even a 1.2M fence required permission.
The primary permission for the estate had been granted specifically for "open" front gardens.
A condition specified that no fencing, walling etc was to be erected without a prior grant of permission.
Such a limiting condition is unusual, but I thought I'd mention it in case there was a relevance for your situation.
You might also research any precedent for fencing in the area to see if problems arose as this might help your position.


ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.
 
If planning permission is a possibility, should they not apply for a 'declaration of exemption' I know I did for an opening to my rear wall (on ONQs advice, thanks BTW)
 
(bows)

Hi DGOBS

Happy to be of some use and yes, they could seek a Section 5 Declaration.

Its still €80 and four weeks, isn't it?

ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.
 
Let them put the fence up on their side of the property. There is no need for workmen to come on to your side at all. They just have to dig a few holes for the stakes and fill them with cement. You will probably have the "ugly" side of the fence on your side. I wonder if you had gone 50/50 would you still have had the ugly side?

Incidentally will the fence be on the south or north facing side of your garden?
 
Consider also the possibility that if your neighbour is cracking on, he's less likely to maintain the hedge in the future meaning an overgrown mess into your garden.

A properly constructed fence, with concrete posts, is fairly resistant to high winds and would be a much neater long-term solution.

You could insist your neighbour cover all the cost but you should also perhaps consider the longer-term benfit to you.
 
Hi there, we had a similar situation. We moved into our house 5 years ago. There was a 4ft hedge separating us and a neighbor. We got two dogs, and as the dogs grew - one of them was able to jump the hedge.

In an effort to be neighborly and because we had some cash at the time - we asked our neighbor if they would be interested in a wall being built, we would have paid for the wall. Our neighbor said "No", to cut a long story short - she is not the most pleasant of neighbors.

A few months ago, she called to the house on a Thursday night, she told me that she was getting a wall built and removing the hedge, this was starting the following Monday. As they had no access to the back from their house she requested that the builders use our garage. We said sure. Despite the fact that with the two dogs we were hugely inconvenienced. May I also say, that she had booked a holiday for herself the week the building was occurring - so she did not have to deal with the stress of it all!

Anyway the big question came about money, and she wondered if we would go half, I said I would give it consideration, and after discussing it with Mr. Bear, and looking for receipts (I was told it was a cash in hand job and that there would be no receipts) I decided no. I was not contributing - I explained that because this initiative had come from them, and because we were not involved in the consultation process this was not our project.

To date our neighbor does not speak to me.. Do I care!!!!
 
foxylady said:
I presume that it is in your back garden. If it was your front garden, your neighbour would require planning permission.

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showpost.php?p=866254&postcount=2

Brendan

Are there any rules regarding hedges in front gardens height wise
Click to expand...

Not as far a I am aware Foxylady.

I have seen them grow to over 1.8M or circa 6 feet.

So long as they are kept trimmed and do not encroach on the path the Council seems powerless to do anything about them.

Just a word of warning - thieves love high hedges that obscure the view from passers-by when they are trying to get in the side window of Semi-D houses.

ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.
 
Just as a matter of interest NOAH - myself and my neighbour replaced our wooden fencing with concrete ones last summer (they just slot into the concrete posts). We split the cost between us and when he had arranged delivery, we put them together ourselves over the course of a couple of evenings.

It has worked out extremely well - there'll be no more replacing 2/3 of them every year at €20-odd each. In fact I asked the neighbour on the other side of me if he wanted to do the same, so we'd have all of our back garden done. While he wasn't interested initially, he's now got his neighbour on the other side of him to agree to do it, so when the weather clears up a bit we'll get that done too!

The concrete version is about double the cost of the wooden sections, but if you factor in the fact that there'll be no more replacements needed every year, then we're well set..!
 
thanks all, a liitle update, the fence has been put on hold for a while. I have agreed to do a bit of hedge cutting for him. The cost for himself would be too much. I explained that we like the current set up and we looked at both sides of hedge.

And I did say if he wanted to do the fence he should go for concrete posts.

Noah
 
Hi, can I ask a related question? What happens when a neighbour wants to remove a boundary hedge in the back garden and replace with wall or fencing and we want to keep the hedge as we prefer the greenery. Can they remove without our consent? Do they have to build the wall on their side of the hedge?
Thanks
 
If you can prove that the hedge has been planted on the actual boundary then you could insist the build fence on their side of it but ...

The best bet is approach them and even off to meet some of the cost if they leave hedge.

Its tricky as I found out.

noah
 
just say no if you do not want it if you do the best thing to do is split 50-50 when the funds are available
 
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