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Hi,
I'm currently in an informal dispute (no solicitors yet) with my neighbour over a fence and it seems to be escalating and getting worse.
I approached the neighbour in-person to explain my intentions to replace the entire fence at my expense. He did raise some initial concerns over maintaining the height which I said would not be a problem. He also said that it was his boundary but I said I was happy to pay regardless. I checked my Property Information Form which has it down as Shared as such I felt happy to proceed. I have reason to believe this is erroneous.
A week later, the fence was replaced. He has since engaged in a letter writing campaign, hand delivering increasingly hostile and unreasonable letters, basically saying the work I've had done is unacceptable. He only hand delivers these letters when my partner and kids are home which they are finding uncomfortable. His most recent was delivered just as they were heading out to school.
The boundary on the title plan is denoted by inward Ts as his to maintain, but he had failed to do for 30 years, hence me taking it upon myself to offer. He has contested this in writing and claims there was nothing wrong with the timber and posts which were damaged but I've plenty of photos that show the fence looking pretty rough.
His letters are mostly full of fabrications and made up nonsense like that I didn't approach him with my intentions (this was witnessed by several people including the workers) and that the fence was removed before he had any chance to say anything. Again, the fence was removed a full 7 days after. Most of this can be easily disproven.
What he actually wants... is simply the smooth/front side. He wants me to flip the fence panels.
However he's also put in writing that he expects me to maintain the fence going forward in case of storm damage or weather damage. His argument is: I commissioned it, it's my job to maintain it. Maintain it, but also give him the fronts? He'll have me painting his house at this rate...
We've hit an impasse quite frankly. He has offered no contribution financially. I went round and suggested perhaps a small contribution so he could have the fronts but after waiting a few days for me to go back to work, he simply hand delivered another letter rejecting this proposal with increasingly hostile language. He has also put in writing that he has refused to inspect the fence and therefore any issues in the future, he will expect me to sort at my expense as he does not acknowledge that it has been constructed to a very high standard.
I will flip the panels but my concern is that by doing so, I'm implicitly agreeing to the terms he is setting out.
He has repeatedly threatened legal action and keeps making comments like "this will end very badly for you". I've since refrained from further face-to-face conversation. They are not productive.
Please advise. Does he have any legal standing here?
I'm currently in an informal dispute (no solicitors yet) with my neighbour over a fence and it seems to be escalating and getting worse.
I approached the neighbour in-person to explain my intentions to replace the entire fence at my expense. He did raise some initial concerns over maintaining the height which I said would not be a problem. He also said that it was his boundary but I said I was happy to pay regardless. I checked my Property Information Form which has it down as Shared as such I felt happy to proceed. I have reason to believe this is erroneous.
A week later, the fence was replaced. He has since engaged in a letter writing campaign, hand delivering increasingly hostile and unreasonable letters, basically saying the work I've had done is unacceptable. He only hand delivers these letters when my partner and kids are home which they are finding uncomfortable. His most recent was delivered just as they were heading out to school.
The boundary on the title plan is denoted by inward Ts as his to maintain, but he had failed to do for 30 years, hence me taking it upon myself to offer. He has contested this in writing and claims there was nothing wrong with the timber and posts which were damaged but I've plenty of photos that show the fence looking pretty rough.
His letters are mostly full of fabrications and made up nonsense like that I didn't approach him with my intentions (this was witnessed by several people including the workers) and that the fence was removed before he had any chance to say anything. Again, the fence was removed a full 7 days after. Most of this can be easily disproven.
What he actually wants... is simply the smooth/front side. He wants me to flip the fence panels.
However he's also put in writing that he expects me to maintain the fence going forward in case of storm damage or weather damage. His argument is: I commissioned it, it's my job to maintain it. Maintain it, but also give him the fronts? He'll have me painting his house at this rate...
We've hit an impasse quite frankly. He has offered no contribution financially. I went round and suggested perhaps a small contribution so he could have the fronts but after waiting a few days for me to go back to work, he simply hand delivered another letter rejecting this proposal with increasingly hostile language. He has also put in writing that he has refused to inspect the fence and therefore any issues in the future, he will expect me to sort at my expense as he does not acknowledge that it has been constructed to a very high standard.
I will flip the panels but my concern is that by doing so, I'm implicitly agreeing to the terms he is setting out.
He has repeatedly threatened legal action and keeps making comments like "this will end very badly for you". I've since refrained from further face-to-face conversation. They are not productive.
Please advise. Does he have any legal standing here?
