A layer has revealed the maximum height your fence is allowed to be. Fences and boundaries are often a cause of conflict between neighbours. They are often what separates gardens from each other and give you and your neighbour the privacy they desire in their outdoor space. They also provide excellent shade, especially on hot summer days when temperatures soar. But there are certain rules that must be followed when you have a fence in your garden.
If your fence exceeds this height, you could be forced to take it down. To avoid legal action and conflict with neighbours, it is important to make sure that you know how high your fence can go and measure it to make sure it is no taller. If your fence is too high, it can cause quite a few problems for a neighbour, including restricted sunlight which could affect the plants they have in their garden.
The maximum height of a back garden fence in the UK, when planning permission has not been given, is two metres, says Partner and Head of Property Litigation at Higgs, Nyree Applegarth.
She explains: “This includes any trellis topping and is measured from the ground to the top of the fence. If you want to install anything higher than that – anything up to 100 metres – you need to first seek consent from the local authority.”
When it comes to a fence in your front garden, the maximum height you can have without planning permission is one metre. “This one metre rule also applies if your fence is adjacent to a highway or footpath,” she says.
The solicitor also explains that if you fail to abide by these rules, it could lead to “retrospective action being taken by the local authority, including the removal of the fence”.
Those who are unsure of the height of their fence should go to their local authority for guidance before they put it up. This way, you know that you have the right to install the fence even if your neighbour is opposed to it.
Meanwhile, you should also determine who the actual owner of the fence is, as this can be a point of contention between neighbours sharing a property boundary. In this case, you should consult your deeds to determine which neighbour the fence actually belongs to.
The owner of the fence will be indicated by T marks on the title plan. If there are two Ts, it means that the fence is under shared ownership by the two neighbours sharing the boundary.
These height rules also apply to garden walls that separate two properties. They can be a maximum of two metres in a back garden and one metre in a front garden.