Neighbour threatening to remove fence if we don’t pay

[Croker]

I agree it is a mess, but not of our doing. First agreement was to go half on it, then he decided that it was in our land so wanted us to pay, which we agreed to to in the end but then he ordered and subsequently cancelled the panel order in the space of 24 hours as he said we never took the paint over to him (even though we tried at least twice) and therefore there were “trust issues”. We then said we’d sort it all and he doesn’t have to get involved at any point, but he insisted on vetting whoever we got to do it. We haven’t spoke to him since and are just going to leave it. The panels are not falling to bits so we will just get it done in our own time

[Croker]

I’ve tried to get the title deeds in order to get a definitive answer to the boundary issue but neither our solicitor or mortgage broker have them so will have to go through the land registry. I’m not convinced that will show us what we need though.

[dslippy]

They are very unlikely to, but knowing that for sure is worth it as a first step.

[Croker]

If he claims adverse possession would that mean that the land that the fence is on technically becomes his, therefore the fence becomes his and therefore his property and responsibility?

But if the fence is already on his land as I believe then surely he cannot claim for something that is already his?

the Sticking point now is that he want to get involved for something he’s not paying any penny for. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to refuse his “vetting” request seeing as we would be footing the whole bill.

[dslippy]

You really do need to be careful. Arguing over a couple of hundred quid out of principle - however it may seem fair or just - risks allowing the dispute to escalate to a point where you a facing bills of tens of thousands of pounds. Win or lose you will have the same neighbour and don't expect to get your costs paid even if you win.

[Croker]

I have no intention of taking it further by going to solicitors/courts etc as I fully understand the cost implications. This is why we agreed to pay for the panels after he made the threat about taking the lot out as we wanted to keep the peace. However he’s made it worse again by abruptly cancelling the order claiming trust issues.

So as it stands the old fence is staying up, and not talk to him about it unless he comes over to discuss it.

[dslippy]

Talk to him about anything and everything else, and keep taliking.

[atticus]

Since the Land Registration Act 2002 adverse possession claims are very difficult in respect of registered land.

[Croker]

So, a few weeks have passed with nothing done on the fence panels. We decided to leave it as the panels themselves were not falling to bits and we really couldn't come to an agreement with our neighbour about how to replace them, even though we said we'd pay for them. Anyway, yesterday evening we came home after a weekend away to find that he had taken all the panels out without notifying us. Is he legally allowed to do this? To reiterate, he says the panels are on our land but that the panels/posts etc belong to him as he installed them.