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Fences, hedges, gates and boundaries

Depending on where they are, responsibility for fences, hedges, gates, and other boundaries can fall to us as the landlord or to our tenants.

The simple rule of thumb is:

  • If it divides your home from your neighbour’s, then you are responsible for maintaining it
  • If it divides your home from a public area, then we are responsible for maintaining it

We recommend that you let your neighbours know before you start any work on or near the boundary between your home and theirs.

If you’re not sure where the boundary of your garden is, please contact us.

FAQs

A public area is a road, footpath, park, or other area that is open to members of the public.

If there is no fence in place between your home and your neighbour’s, please let us know and we will install a chain-link fence. If you would prefer a wooden fence, please let us know; we can arrange for a quote for this, but you will need to pay for the difference in cost yourself.

Yes: it’s your responsibility to maintain a safe and secure boundary between your home and any adjoining home. In the event of irreparable damage to a fence it is your responsibility to secure the boundary – this may be done with a simple wire fence.

Before removing, extending, adapting, or modifying fences, gates, or garden walls you must first contact us to obtain written permission.

You may also need to get planning permission from the local authority to erect or add to a fence, wall, or gate; if your home is in a conservation area you may need permission take down a fence, wall, or gate.

Yes: you don’t need to ask us for permission to paint or otherwise decorate your fence, providing the decoration is of a good standard, and your fence is within the boundary of your home.

In the unfortunate event of damage caused by extreme weather to a fence that you are responsible for maintaining, it is still your responsibility to pay for repairs or a replacement.

If your fence needs to be repaired but you choose not to undertake the work yourself, we can do so, but the costs will be recharged to you and must be paid in advance of the work being completed.

If we have to repair a fence because you or others have damaged, neglected, or otherwise mistreated it, we will recharge the costs of doing so in full to you (or to the person at fault).

If you report a damaged fence to us and state that it is a danger we may visit to ‘make safe’ the area.

A 'make safe' is a quick, temporary fix to remove any health and safety concerns and prevent further loss or damage after an event has occurred. This might mean that we remove the damaged fence piece and you may be left with a gap in your fence.

In most cases, the responsibility for replacing the fence between homes would be the tenant's. Further information can be found in your tenancy agreement.

In exceptional circumstances where a tenant is in extreme hardship, we will consider covering the costs of repairs or replacement of fences. We will need evidence of unaffordability, and we would not guarantee a like-for-like replacement.

Leaseholders must have written permission from us before building any fences.

Got another question?

Use this form to ask us anything we haven't covered in these FAQs - we'll get back to you with an answer, and we'll add it to this list if we think other tenants will find it useful as well.

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