Hi,

Any advice would be more than welcome!

Is it my responsibility to make a neighbours garden secure against my dogs?

Although, on the face of it, I would say yes, it is my responsibility to ensure my dogs don't stray into my neighbours garden, it is possibly not quite so simple.

In order to make my front garden secure (the back garden already is), I would have to fence approx. 80 metres, and put up a gate across a shared access lane, which I am not allowed to do.

I am unable to erect a fence that would meet up with the neighbours fences because there is a ditch between our properties, and I have been advised by the local authority that it is not permitted to obstruct the ditch.

The only solution seems to be that my neighbour erects a fence on his side of the ditch, that will meet up with the existing boundaries of his property, therefore making his rear garden secure, but he is flatly refusing to do this.....??

Surely, it is not my responsibility to make his rear garden, which adjoins my front garden, secure. Especially when the only practical solution is for him to put up a fence, of no more than about 10 metres, at the rear of his garden?

HELP!! I must also point out that only one dog has ever gone into his garden, on only two occasions, and this happened about 3 years ago.

Thank you, in anticipation.

Indie.

It's not your responsibility to make your neighbour's garden secure but it is your responsibility to stop your dog from getting into your neighbour's garden. So a bit of a Catch 22.

In your situation I'd only allow my dogs into the secure back garden.

> In your situation I'd only allow my dogs into the secure back garden.<

I'm with JG on this !

> I'm with JG on this !

Me too - my front garden isn't secure (neither is the back, but my dogs never cross the boundaries), so the dogs only go out there when supervised - and they have good recall and there is almost zero traffic.

Daisy

It is your responsibility to keep your dogs from going into others gardens, whether they are secure or not..

>Surely, it is not my responsibility to make his rear garden, which adjoins my front garden, secure. Especially when the only practical solution is for him to put up a fence, of no >more than about 10 metres, at the rear of his garden.

If it is the cost that he objects to.. and I can understand that..  would it help if you offer to pay for a fence to be erected on his land. that way you have secured your dogs, and covered all costs.. and he will not be out of pocket

Hi,

I don't think the cost is the issue here, I have already offered to pay, in fact I even bought some suitable fencing. The issue seems to be that he is not prepared to erect a fence at his boundary (although he has no problem erecting a fence on my land!!), which would be the only way to secure his garden (in truth, I think he is being deliberately awkward because he originally claimed ownership of the ditch, and I subsequently proved this not to be the case!).

I don't even think that my dogs are really the issue, not having bothered him for 3 years, and they do spend any unsupervised out time in the rear garden, but they are sometimes out the front with me if I am working there. I think he is just using the possibility of my dogs being able to access his garden as an excuse.

Because of the topography of the ditch, it would be physically impossible for me to erect a fence, on my side of the ditch, that would make his garden secure. My fence simply wouldn't meet up with his side fences, which stop short of the ditch, therefore if the dogs so desired, they could walk around the sides!

Umm.....dilemma!! Catch 22, as previously pointed out!!

Indie.

It sounds as though he is being awkward but you also need to keep your dogs off his land. Why not get some good, strong stakes and some long lines (making sure that no dog could access his garden if at end of line when staked. This way your dogs have some freedom but you know they cannot wander off onto his land.

Could you  not fence off an area near to your house and well away from his boundary for those times that the dogs may be outside without constant supervision? Not sure of the law on this but I can't see that someone can be made to put up a fence to keep out other people's animals - it must be the responsibility of the animal owner to stop their animals straying on someone else's land.

why not just avoid the whole issue by just letting them out in your secured back garden?

Invisible fence?

Why should he have to have a fence installed? It's the owner's responsibility to keep dogs off his land, not his.

If this isn't possible and the lack of security is causing a problem, I'd move house.

On the issue of ditches and responsibilities.  Each property owner has responsibility for their land up to the centre of the ditch. It is called 'riparian laws'. You coud ineffect erect a dividing fence to the centre of the ditch on your side of the land providing you did not restrict/block any water flowing in the ditch.
Do not know if this is of any use but that is how the law stands when  a ditch divides two pieces of land owned by two different people.     

>Each property owner has responsibility for their land up to the centre of the ditch.

Not always; it depeneds if the ditch is a natural watercourse or a man-made drainage ditch. Frequently where there's a hedge-and-hitch (even a garden hedge in a suburban, not rural, setting) the entire ditch belongs to the person whose hedge it is, based on the premise that the ditch was dug immediately to one side of the boundary line, and used the soil to make the hedge bank.

The title deeds should make it clear.

Would not the title deeds show the boundaries and who has responsibility for maintaining the boundaries?  I have a similar problem, we have a rear garden 120ft long which is unfenced, on the deeds it is our neighbours responsibility for the fencing to this side of our garden.  For now we have erected a temporary smaller area for my dogs to play in until we have discussed with our neighbours the best way forward.  As you say, i have the dogs and i think the neighbours are going to be less than happy if i ask them to provide a 60 ft fence (half is already fenced) to the lower end of the garden.  We each have a responsibility for maintaining our boundaries.  I would check the title deeds and then discuss amicabliy for a solution with our neighbour.