Could a neighbour object with putting up a fence in the front garden

EchoEmber

So we live in an end of terraced house, it consists of 4 houses. The very first house already has fencing up between house 1 and 2. But there isn't one between our house 4 and 3. There are a line of 5 other terraced houses in our estate and some has fencing between while others don't.

I know the polite thing is to ask the neighbour before putting up fencing, but curious what would happen if the neighbour rejects it ? Could I still put it up, as I will be putting it up on my land ? The neighbours are nice, but since they are in the middle. Their drive way is fairly small, hence all their bins etc inadvertently just comes into our garden. Eventually we will want to redo the front garden, hence want to put up so fencing so we can start growing plants and flowers beside the fence.

Nigzcurran

You don't need permission to put it up but call in and let them know in advance. Less chance of any rows

EchoEmber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121881389#Comment_121881389

Cheers of course we will let them know. But just wanted to know what we could do if they said NO

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121881415#Comment_121881415

It's your property so you can put it up if they say no but it would be best if they agreed to it. They can't stop you doing anything on your property unless you breach any laws.

Ted222

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121881415#Comment_121881415

That implies you’re looking for permission. You don’t need it but it might be diplomatic if you had a reasonable reason at the ready.

SharkMX

Call in to them. Ask them if they will go halve putting up a fence because you want to sort out your garden and make it nice blah blah.. Then they will be delighted to see you putting up one they arent being asked to pay for.

Grumpypants

A lot depends on what you consider a fence. A nice waist high decorative fence will look nice, set the boundary, and let you grow plants.

A 7 foot high solid slab of a yoke that looks awful will completely change the look of he place.

Don't forget if it is wood you will need to keep it maintained on both sides and if you fall out with them they might not let you paint it from their side making it a right pain to paint every year.

If it is tall you will need posts that are concreted into the ground. So you will need to dig big holes for that. If they don't want you digging up their garden then you could end up putting the fence a good 1/2 a foot inside your boundary line and lose some of your land in the process.

So pick something nice, that isn't an eye sore, call in and let them know you want to do it and see what they think, say you will pay for it all. Agree on the boundary.

Peregrinus

You're entitled to fence your land. But:

1. Make sure the fence is of a kind that comes within the exempted development rules (or that you get planning permission for it).
2. It's only polite to discuss it with your neighbours beforehand.
3. Give them the opportunity to make the erection of the fence a joint exercise, so that they share ownership of the fence with you, they share the cost of putting it up, and they get an equal say in relation to design, material, quality, etc. They may not want to do this, but let them decide that for themselves.
4. If it's a shared project, you put up the fence along the boundary line, and it belongs to both of you.
5. If they don't want to go halves, you can go ahead on your own, bearing the entire cost yourself. In this case the fence (and any associated structures) must be wholly on your side of the boundary line and (unless they give permission) you or your contractor have no right to enter their property to work on the erection of the fence, or to disturb their land in any way. Depending on the design of the fence, whether foundations have to be laid, etc, this may require you to put the fence a little way inside the boundary, so you effectively lose the use of a narrow strip of your land. Or, more realistically, your decisions about the kind of fence you will have may be constrained so that it can easily be put up, from your side only, very close to the boundary.

advisemerite

Don't ask. That gives off the impression you can be messed about. Put it up to the legal height allowed which I think is slightly under 6 feet. Maybe even put it a foot lower as a gesture of good will.

Ted222

6 feet in the back garden, 4 feet in the front

Banzai600

guy i used to work with last yr had a lot of hassle with a neighbour. basically the neighbour built the wall between the houses out the front too high, i seen a picture it was ****kin ridiculous. did it while they were on holiday. i didnt see the point. they already had a smaller hip height boundary wall which was fine.

There are rules for wall / hedge height coming from the house toward the and of your garden afaik. so make sure you check it out before you build, otherwise it will be taken down by order of the council, as thats what happened in this case. Guy went to the council and the other guy received and order to tear it down to correct spec and rebuild.

no harm to chat with the neighbour and let them know either imo as already said above.

Tefral

In Ireland, there are building regulations which state the maximum height a wall or fence in your back garden can be without the need for planning permission. This limit is 2m regardless of whether on not the wall is a boundary wall.

There are some exemptions to this, for example, retaining walls can exceed this height.

For the front of a house, the limit is 1.2m

So, OP, if i were you id be knocking on the door telling them you are doing a bit of a garden make over to spruce the place up, tell them as part of this, you will be building a fence 1200mm high. Bring a measuring tape with you to show them what that looks like in real terms. Tell them you will make good any distrubances to their line in the process (if any) and that you were giving them the courtesy of a heads up. Id leave it at that. You are telling them, but keeping them involved...

Marcusm

A fence or wall 7ft high to the front of a property would require planning permission so I suspect the OP is not considering that in the first instance.

EchoEmber

Thanks all for your comments, it really is appreciated.

We won't be going crazy with the size and just keep it to the standard 4 ft picket fence. We definitely will inform the neighbours before we put it up, but honestly don't expect them to cough up the money as their front garden will end up becoming smaller (in their eyes) and it won't be in their interest. I was more curious if they said "No" and what we could do or say next if that was the case. But we know where we stand now, so thanks very much !

SharkMX

We just moved into a house and between the time we went sale agreed and last week when we moved in the neighbor built a 6ft wall between the front gardens and another 6 ft wall between the back gardens. There were bad tenants in the house for years and I guess they werent taking any chances on who moved in next.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121887194#Comment_121887194

Sounds like the wall in the front garden would need planning permission. Did they get it?

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121890885#Comment_121890885

I doubt anyone gets planning permission for building a wall these days.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121891009#Comment_121891009

Until they try and sell the property and it comes up as an issue.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121891009#Comment_121891009

That's mainly because it's easy to design and build a garden wall that comes within the exempted development regulations and so doesn't need planning permission. In this case it sounds as though the wall in the front garden would need planning permission.

sydthebeat

It's also possible there may be a condition of planning removing any ability to construct "exempt development" within the development, especially with open shared frontages.

There OP would need to check the original planning permission for her development

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121891013#Comment_121891013

Ive seen a few friends buy places with higher walls bought and sold over the years. Must ask the them if there were issues. Anyone ive heard of with planning queries seems to always have them resolved without knocking anything down.

We quite like the height of the wall. Its about 2m on both the front and back gardens. We were wondering what kind of fence we were going to put up ourselves, so at least its one expense we wont have. Sun shines on our side of the wall from midday to sunset so its not blocking our light at all.

Now we have an enclosed front and back garden. not having to look at your neighbor or people walking by when you are sitting or washing the car in the front garden is ok with me.

Peregrinus

If you're happy with it the, even if planning permission is lacking, you're not likely to complain, so there's no problem. The local authority generally won't act unless somebody complains.

But, yeah, people have been compelled to lower the height of over-height walls or do other things to make structures compliant.

SteM

OP, just regarding a 'picket fence'. I've seen a few people in our estate put these wooden picket fences up. Then they either put plants up against it or the people in the other garden decide to put plants up against it and it starts to get dirty and rots over time. If you're going to put up a wooden fence just remember that you're going to have to maintain it to keep it looking decent. Wooden fences aren't really suited to Irish weather imho.

EchoEmber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121891207#Comment_121891207

Yeah I understand that, but I think it will be a quick way to get the boundary set.. We are still thinking about the whole thing, and won't be doing anything till late Summer and early autumn anyway.

Bio Mech

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121891057#Comment_121891057

The house that backs onto my own put up a fence over 12 feet high to block the view of our neighbours shed. They did so without planning permission but the council found out (suspect another neighbour the other side of the one with the shed complained) and made them cut it down. I know all the details because the owner came around asking if they could possibly access my back garden to cut down a section of the fence that they couldnt access due to their own shed that had been built after the fence. they didnt need to in the end. The were refused retrospective permission because the fence was considered too high and 2 years after they erected it they had to take it down. So if someone complains it can be an issue.

Claw Hammer

Good fences make good neighbours.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121893537#Comment_121893537

. . . where "good" includes compliance with planning regulations.