Adjoining fence rules ....some advice please - sorry its a bit long!

[Now we're 3]

The adjoining fence that runs the lenght of our and our neighbours property needs to be replaced as the posts and the palings are starting to rot. Both properties are battle axe blocks with us both "owning" the driveways so it is a long long fence line. We have spoken to him and have agreed it needs to be done and that we will jointly do the work (he is retired builder and my DH is very "handy"). Got some quotes for material so all good so far.

The land in our property is higher than his (as the road slopes down and he is lower than us). Their drive is approx 300mm lower than ours. Previously the soil on our border was right up against the fence which was causing the wood to rot so we agreed to put in a retaining sleeper wall of 300mm sleeper as a barrier between the soil and the new fence. DH purchased the sleepers (treated pine) dug the trench and put them in. Our cost not his as it is "our" soil that is causing the issue. Again all good so far.

Neighbour took down about half the fence this week - driveway area - as we had agreed we would do in two stages. We have a dog so the house part of the fence line will need to be done over a weekend when both DH and the neighbour are here and I can prevent our dog escaping. (Driveway isn't an issue as we have a gate).

Today the neighbour announces the he is not happy with the fence being up agains this retaining sleeper and he wants them to be 30cms apart. With Water and sewer pipes potentially running the lenght of the property and two water meters on their side of the property (theirs is dual occ block) we can't move the fence posts. So to do what he wants we would have to have a trench on our side of the property between the retaining sleeper and the fence. Again not possible as our water meter would be in the way and we also have a line of trees down our driveway which would all have to be removed as well as all the plants on the border.

Can he insist on the sleeper not being abutted to the fence palings and posts? We are happy to create a gap if that will make him happy but not a 30cm gap. Can he insist on the gap. What we are proposing is 100% better than what was in place prior which he would have agreed to prior when the fence and driveway were put in.

It seems ridiculous what he is requesting but is there any reason that we are not aware of why he would suggest it. He knew we were putting in the retaining sleeper never made any mention of any space between it and the new fence then.

Does anyone know if there are "rules" that govern this sort of thing?

Thanks

[LimeSlice]

AFAIK - your side of the fence, your concern and your job. His side of the fence, his concern. What you both either have or don't have against the fence is not the domain of the other until it crosses the fence line.
So if you have a sleeper/retainer on your side of the fence and it happens to touch the fence and he doesn't like that, well tough. And the same would work in the reverse.

I think you need to sit down with him and get some things down on paper. Get to exactly what his concerns are etc, but at the end of the day, if it isn't practical to move fence posts, gardens, water metres and pipes, then he is just going to have to get over it.

Sounds like a right PITA. I would be very interested with getting something you both agree to in writing and signed so if it does go pear-shaped you have something to fall back on. Good luck! Oh, give CAB a call too, they might be able to help with advice.

[HotI]

What LS said makes sense to me. Maybe check with your local council if there are any local laws that apply.

[Rowellen]

The fence goes on the fenceline. If he wants it moved, he can put it on his side but not on yours if you don't agree. And a retaining wall on the fenceline is actually the downhill side's responsibility. At least in our council area it is as we have had this problem being on the low side and the wall/fence was starting to lean towards our house. We had to fix the retaining wall ourselves but the fence was joint.

[misty]

The fence goes on the fenceline. If he wants it moved, he can put it on his side but not on yours if you don't agree. And a retaining wall on the fenceline is actually the downhill side's responsibility. At least in our council area it is as we have had this problem being on the low side and the wall/fence was starting to lean towards our house. We had to fix the retaining wall ourselves but the fence was joint.

This. He cannt just move the fence. If he has an issue he would have to move the sleepers.

[briggsy's girl]

Yup retaining wall is his responsibility. You've done the right thing by him putting in sleepers in the fence line. You do t have to do even that. He should be doing it in his side.

We are in a rental and quite significantly higher than the next door neighbour (they dug out to put those land on the level, big built up to put ours in) - a retaining wall was never put in in their side and we now have a gap almost big enough for one if the kids to go next door without getting stuck. I pointed it out to the real estate at our inspection recently and she is following up with the owners of the other property as it is not ours (or our landlords) responsibility to fix it. Thankfully the same re manages both properties so at least it will get addressed...

Don't let him bully you into doing anything. Make sure all future agreement is I writing for the sake of both parties. Fencing disputes can cause major issues so cover yourselves with all agreements in writing and signed by both parties!