Retired couple spend £45k savings in row with late neighbour over fence
A retired couple have spent their life savings in a legal row with their former neighbour over a fence on their shared driveway.
Graham and Katherine Bateson said they have forked out £45,000 on lawyers' fees since their late neighbour put the fence up on the driveway between their homes in 2019.
The couple argued that when they bought their two-bedroomed house in Snettisham, Norfolk, for £29,500 in 1987, they were told it shared a drive with their neighbour. But in 2019 their neighbour obtained legal advice saying she could put the fence up between the properties, prompting them to seek an injunction to have it taken down.
Katherine Bateson, 73, said: "We'd lived here 32 years without any problems with the previous neighbours, they all agreed it was a shared drive. We bought it as a shared drive, that's how it was explained to us and sold to us.
"I don't understand how you can have all the checks done legally and 30 years later it comes back and bites you on the bum."
The legal battle dragged on for three years until November 2021, when a mediation hearing ruled that a new deed should be drawn up showing the boundary between the two properties aligned with the fence, meaning it could stay.
The couple's neighbour did not live to see the outcome, having passed away in May 2021. Her three-bed former home is now on the market for £375,000 with agents Sowerbys – with no mention of the fence or the boundary dispute in sales literature, leaving the Batesons fearing that a new owner could replace it.
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The row has even seen retired window cleaner Graham Bateson, 75, arrested after he took the law into his own hands in September 2022.
He said: "I took the fence down and I got arrested for criminal damage. They had me locked up for 12 hours on a Sunday with no food until midnight."
'It's all gone'
The Crown Prosecution Service later decided it was not in the public interest to proceed in a prosecution, but the Batesons say they've now been left with no savings after spending £45,000 on the row.
Bateson said: "We saved and worked hard. It's all gone now."
His wife added: "To have all your life savings taken away like that, when you knew you were right in the first place."
Both parties paid their own legal costs. The fence has not been rebuilt, and the Land Registry has rejected the revised deed because it was not happy with the way the Batesons' signatures were witnessed.
Sowerbys and the Batesons' late neighbour's family have been contacted for comment.
What is the law on a neighbour's fence in the UK?
According to Citizen's Advice, if you and your neighbour disagree about a wall or fence, there are various things you can do to solve the problem.
It says: "Before you can solve the problem, you need to know where the boundary between your homes is. This will help you to understand whose property the wall or fence is on or whether it’s shared between you."
The best way to do this is to check the legal documents you got when you bought your home, or buy documents from the Land Registry, it says.
If you’re disagreeing with your neighbour about where the boundary is, you can get help from RICS, which works with surveyors who can help with property problems.
If you do know where the boundary is, the best approach is to talk to your neighbour, Citizen's Advice suggests.
"Talk to them face to face if you can," it advises. "Make a note of what you agreed. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to them, write to them or ask someone to contact them for you. Keep copies of any letters or emails you send or receive.
"It’s often best to find a compromise, for example sharing the cost of a new fence panel. It could help you to keep a good relationship and will probably be cheaper than paying a solicitor to resolve the disagreement."
Nobody has to change a fence just because a neighbour asks, Citizen's Advice says, giving an example of someone wanting it made higher for privacy. You also can't make changes to your side of a fence, like painting it, if your neighbour owns it.
Legal documents might say you have to keep a wall or fence between properties in a good state of repair - and you should also make sure it's safe. But if the fence is safe and there’s nothing about repairing it in your legal documents, it’s up to you whether you make changes on the request of your neighbour.
If there is an ongoing dispute, you can get help at your nearest Citizens Advice. You can also seek help from a mediator - which you can find through your local council.
