My frail grandad can’t even take his dog for a walk after neighbours built a fence through his garden… they don’t care
A DEVASTATED granddaughter says her grandad can’t take his dog for a walk after his neighbours built a fence that blocks them in their home.
John and Lorraine Smith, 78, from Edinburgh, were left shocked at their neighbour who built a wooden fence through their shared back garden in the middle of the night.
It has reportedly prevented John from going down the shared steps – just to take his pup for a walk.
The elderly couple’s granddaughter, also called Lorraine, said the fence has halved the path up to her grandparents’ garden, giving the family restricted access in and out of the property.
And she says her frail granddad is now allegedly unable to get down the communal steps to take his dog for a walk.
Lorraine claimed her grandparents initially agreed to the fence and even forked up £600 for it – before realising it restricted their access to the garden.
She told Mail Online: “The fence is very obstructive. They have taken advantage of my grandparents and got them to pay £600 when the lease states that my grandparents shouldn’t have had to pay for a fence.
“Cement was put for down the fence posts and they cut down trees of theirs which they dumped in my grandparents’ garden and just left it like that.
“It was erected overnight before I found out that my grandparents had paid £600 to them.”
Lorraine added: “I spoke to the joiner and told him it was not right. I’m not even sure he actually is a joiner. I told him he had blocked off our access and he just said he was doing what he was told.
“The neighbours knew the back area was communal and shouldn’t be blocked but apparently they wanted their privacy.
“I went to their door and asked to speak to them about the fence. The woman said to me, ‘You’ve just come to my door for a f***ing argument.”
Lorraine previously said that her neighbours have lived there for less than a year – but her nana has lived there since she was 15.
Three trees were also cut from the next door neighbours garden before the branches and debris were dumped in a ten foot high pile in the Smith’s back garden.
This is not the first family in dispute over fences.
This dad has blasted his neighbours for putting up a 6ft fence “an arm’s length” from his front door to stop his son playing on land they are fighting over.
Fences are a growing source of disputes between neighbours and it can be particularly tricky if one was built behind your back.
So what are your rights if this happens to you?
Chun Wong, head of the dispute resolution team at Hodge Jones and Allen solicitors, said the homeowner would first need to be clear that the fence has in fact been built on their land.
Check the boundary
Boundary lines vary on a case by case basis – it’s not always true that your boundary is on a particular side of your property.
Chun said finding the boundary of your property should be the first step.
This can be done by checking the deeds to a property.
If you haven’t already got these, you can purchase them from the Land Registry on the government’s website for £3.
This will show the layout and boundaries of the land you own.
Note that you can also purchase a neighbour’s title deeds to see whether any extra property boundaries are outlined in theirs that aren’t in yours.
Sometimes, a T will be marked on a property line to denote responsibility for the boundary.
Try a mediation service
If you are sure that the fence was built on your land after checking the boundary lines, you can speak to your neighbour and ask them to reposition the fence in the correct place.
To avoid future hostile situations with your neighbour, it’s best to keep tensions low by talking things out if possible.
Chun said: “It would be wise to try and resolve this amicably with the neighbour before taking any further action.”
If you really can’t see eye to eye on the matter, mediation services could be a good place to go as they’re cheaper than court costs.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors offers a mediation service, helping neighbours resolve disputes about boundary lines and related issues.
Can I remove the fence?
As any encroachment on land belonging to you can be considered trespassing, your neighbour is likely to be in the wrong here.
“If the fence has definitely been built on your land, then this is a likely to be a trespass,” Chun said.
“You can either ask the neighbour to remove this within a reasonable period of time or warn them that you would take action to remove the fence. “
If your neighbour fails to act, you could take court action against them but that is likely to be costly and stressful.