Summer is finally here and Brits are once again able to heading out in their gardens and enjoying the warm weather. Many residents will be starting to daydream about how to make their private space as beautiful and welcoming as possible.
For many that will mean weeding, lawn-mowing and getting the garden furniture out, as well as tidying up borders. But one job that can prove controversial is painting the garden fence.
If your neighbour wants to paint the fence – or you want to paint your own side – there are pitfalls that need to be avoided.
You need to establish ownership of the fence
If it’s your fence then your neighbour needs permission to paint
If the fence is joint-owned then all alterations need to be discussed with both parties
Andrew Boast, property expert and CEO of SAM Conveyancing, said: “The issue of whether you can paint your side of a neighbour’s fence largely depends on who owns the fence in the first place, which can be easily determined by checking your title deeds or land registry.
“If you neighbour is the sole owner of the fence then you have no automatic right to paint it, not even on the side that faces your property.
“Legally, the fence is their personal property. Applying paint without consent constitutes a trespass to goods.
“If you paint a neighbour’s fence without permission, use paint that damages the wood, or apply a colour or treatment that affects its structural integrity or appearance, this may constitute criminal damage.”
Meanwhile Simarjot Singh Judge, managing partner at Judge Law, said: “Just because a fence faces your garden, it doesn’t give you any rights over it. In law, the key issue is ownership. If the fence belongs to your neighbour, you cannot paint it without their consent. It’s a widespread myth that each neighbour owns the side of the fence facing them but that’s not how property law works in England and Wales. A boundary feature like a fence is usually owned by one party entirely unless there’s a specific agreement otherwise.”
Anyone who wants to paint their fence or is concerned about their neighbour doing so can look at their title deeds for ‘T marks’, says property market expert Jonathan Rolande.
If the T mark is on your side of the boundary line then you own it, and vice versa.
If there is an H – two T marks joined – then the fence is shared.
Mr Rolande urged caution, adding that fences and boundaries can be a “legal grey area”.