Our neigbours want to put up a fence in the middle of our shared driveway.
We are have a little trouble determining the line.
A couple or years ago, i posted this picture of his dodgy driveway building.
Neighbours complain about this
As you can see, he redid his driveway and took out some of ours.
We cant seem to find a decent picture of the driveway before his workand google maps doesnt go close enough.
Does anyone know where i can get a picture from (locost as possible)?
Land registry will have the drawings on the property boundaries. Not sure what it will cost you though
You might have the land registry stuff when you purchased the house???
I can't imagine why he'd want a fence, what with all your dodgy old Jags on there! lol!
Land Registry document is about £2.
But it's not that detailed I don't think.
Cheers,
James
As previously mentioned, the Land registry will tell you but it won't give specific dimensions i don't think.
You can buy the docs from land registry, costs about 3.50 if i recall, and you just download it.
To be absolutely sure, i would suggest getting a surveyor to come out, and mark it up, and it would be worth it too, as if you come to sell in the
future, you will have the evidence, and no continued dispute either.
Probabaly worth having the discussion with the neighbour and agree to pay for this between you.
What you don't want is for him to have claimed the land, and then use it for 12 years as his, then he can stake claim i believe, all be it a very
small piece of land, but its yours so keep it!!
We got the documents from the land registry site but its not that detailed.
He has agreed to have the fence posts on his side and he will hopefully leave enough room to get the locost out of the garage when its finished.
[Edited on 5-6-09 by speedyxjs]
You can go to the Land Registry Website and for £3 they'll send them to you.
Or, places like Borders etc can print you off accurate OS registry maps of a property. But these aren't as accurate.
Problem with land registry docs (or at least the few ive had) is that they rarely have detailed measurements on them and the thickness of the pencil
line will be the area under contention.
My last house had had a fence between the 2 drives. This was removed at some stage (conveniently you could see where the posts were so the boundary
line was never an issue). I seem to recall there was palanning permision in place to remove the boundary fence and a gateway at the front of my old
property. It might be worth checking if permision is required to install a fence (or similar) between 2 drives. If there is then i guess this is your
chance to stop it happening. If you cant stop it then such planning application would have to detail where the boundary is.
You may well find when the estate was originally built there would be covenants restricting boundary walls and what can be parked on peoples property.
This is why you often dont see boats, caravans, vans etc on new houses. I dont know how long the covenants are enforceable for though, however the
council should have records of the original developers application and permissions to check this out (i know for new developments they are available
for public viewing, all you have to do is ask at reception and they should bring you a copy out that can be viewed in their offices).
Personally i would;
a. not like a fence between the 2 drives as it restricts access to cars and is generally a pain,
b. not like it if i shared a drive and neighbour had a liking to parking old (read off road for substantial periods) cars on there whether being
broken up or otherwise.
Its always best to work things out amicably between the 2 of you if possible, although i guess that would mean not having such jags on view at front
of property.
Id get a 12" petrol grinder, and relay my drive as well. If its on your property, you can do what you like to it i think. ALWAYS check with a
solicitor first though.
I had a similar problem with a neigbour. Our drives were the same as yours, and we got a good solicitor and land registry files. All resolved in the
end.
If he wants to put a fence up, it needs to be completely on his land (unles you agree), which means he will be reducing the width of his driveway by
about 4"?
Might be worth mentioning this.
Also, your property starts in the center of the pier between the two garages. Looks to me like he's encroaching already, so id look into that as
well. He will need to dig up one of the rows of bricks and repair your property, but your solicitor will advise you on this.
[Edited on 5/6/09 by MakeEverything]
quote:
Originally posted by DarrenW
i guess that would mean not having such jags on view at front of property.
Agree to pay half the fence, and you are more likely to get a nice one, not the ugly one he may propose!!
quote:
Originally posted by speedyxjs
Our neigbours want to put up a fence in the middle of our shared driveway.
Neighbours complain about this
As said already, i would assume that the boundary line is exactly halfway between garages and if the other end of drive is clearly defined, half way
between at the front. That would be at least the sensible way to divide it up. Certainly looks like they have encroached on your side a bit but photo
angles can be decieving and not all drives are straight.
The idea of forcing them to ensure the fence is totally on their side is interesting. Convention says that they should put the nice side facing you
too - ie posts on their side in the case of a post and rail timber fence. Original plans may restrict what height any boundary fences are, if allowed
at all without planning permision.
ETA - planning departments are usually very ameniable to advise if an application is required. No harm in you sending them a letter with a brief
sketch and photo as if you were thinking of the fence. That way you will get a reply ref if planning is required and if its worth applying (ie some
applications will just get thrown out and not looked at).
[Edited on 5/6/09 by DarrenW]
quote:
Originally posted by DarrenW
As said already, i would assume that the boundary line is exactly halfway between garages and if the other end of drive is clearly defined, half way between at the front. That would be at least the sensible way to divide it up. Certainly looks like they have encroached on your side a bit but photo angles can be decieving and not all drives are straight.
quote:
Originally posted by speedyxjs
We got the documents from the land registry site but its not that detailed.
He has agreed to have the fence posts on his side and he will hopefully leave enough room to get the locost out of the garage when its finished.
[Edited on 5-6-09 by speedyxjs]
but at that point they could have had their contractor pay for the mistake (assuming
they'd not ordered it done wrong.) Can he actually build a fence?
if the garages went up with the properties then there may be covenance around obstruction as it looks more like a shared access than a driveway in
the picture.
And if not a covenant to support shared access it may be in force to protect the open plan nature of the development. Such a covenant may not be on
the individual property's deeds, hence my comment ref viewing the original developers overall planning permision.
One way to have a basic look at deeds may be to view the online information pack if there is a house for sale close by (that was recently put up for
sale). Ive seen these as an attachment to estate agents details.
Yes ^^^, check the deeds first. Driveways may well be shared/open. If there is supposed to be a fence there then responsibility for the boundary will be in the title deeds somewhere. OS maps are no use as they only show where a boundary is - not if or where it should be. If there has to be a fence - and I only see negatives to there being one - fairest is that the boundary should be from midway between the common front of the properties to midway between the common backs of the properties, then from that point to between the garages - this gives both of you equal space through the squeeze. I suggest you mark this line , put a piece of plywood against it and show your neighbour how inconvenient it will be for him.
quote:
Originally posted by Rek
Can he actually build a fence?
if the garages went up with the properties then there may be covenance around obstruction as it looks more like a shared access than a driveway in the picture.
Check your title deeds you are likely to find a fence or wall dividing the properties at the front is expressly forbidden.
Also planning authorities are not keen on housholders who replace a porus surface driveways with block paving.
[Edited on 5/6/09 by britishtrident]
I have to agree, I beleive that he can't put up a fence.
If it's a shared access. The emphasis on "Shared" I.e. not his not yours.
David
My house is odd in that respect; I have a car parking spot on my neighbours driveway as it was a large house once with parking on only one one
side.
That aside, if he wants a fence it has to be entirely on his property, if it was a wall with guttering then 4" inside the boundary.
I recon you get a piece of string and drape it from the centre line of the garage to the centre line of the drive endings then have a sensible
conversation with him, you will win space and get a noise barrier so nothing to lose as I see it.
He has to provide you with the nice side of the fence, as its your parents house it does get a bit funny but the council will back you up, you are
allowed to build things such as locosts at home as long its not for financial gain or your are not persistently noisy.
Neither apply; you have been making it for years
If he's just worried about your unsightly drive devaluing his property it might be worth pointing out to him that a boundary dispute HAS to be disclosed and can really put people off.
We got a bit of string yesterday and showed him where the line should be (middle of the garages to middle of the bottom of the drive) but he doesnt
think it is right.
They are just awkward b**ggers who think they are miles above everyone else 
It looks like it will seriously obstruct your access. How will you open your car doors to get in and out. If it was me I would tell him no.
I suspect as others have said that there will be a restriction in the deeds preventing erection of a fence at the front of the house. It will be
written into your deeds, so you should check this first.
David
quote:
Originally posted by speedyxjs
We got a bit of string yesterday and showed him where the line should be (middle of the garages to middle of the bottom of the drive) but he doesnt think it is right.
They are just awkward b**ggers who think they are miles above everyone else
Have a look on garden law boundaries forum, they have some good advice on there. Check your
house insurance for cover against legal fees for such occasions as you may be able to claim any costs incurred.
[Edited on 5/6/09 by Peteff]
Ithink all of this advise is excellent for you, whaty i would add is that if he is as awkward as you suggest then be careful as he may just go ahead
one day. If he does, then immediately instruct a solicitor and the local planning department who should halt all work until a resolution is found.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
I hate neighbour disputes, but think i am about to get into one myself, over niose though!!
My mother had to sell a vacant lot to the neighbour after he put half his driveway on our land. This piece of property was not used by us and by the time we discovered the situation five years had passed and he claimed the encrotched portion as his legally. The lot was then too narrow for a building permit.