Which side of the fence is mine? How to check your deeds

The left-hand myth

The belief that you own the fence on your left as you face the road is widespread and has no legal basis. Some developers did allocate boundaries consistently across an estate, often with every house taking the same side, which is probably where the idea comes from, but your boundary is decided by your own deeds, not by a rule of thumb.

The same goes for the belief that whoever has the posts and rails on their side owns the fence. HM Land Registry's own guidance says there is no legal foundation for it. It is a useful hint about who put the fence up, not proof of who owns it.

Where to look

Start with the documents, in this order.

• The title register. Download it from HM Land Registry for £7. Read the property and charges sections for any covenant about fences, for example a duty to erect and maintain a boundary fence.
• The title plan. Also £7. It shows the extent of the land with a red edge, but most title plans show general boundaries only: the line shows roughly where the boundary is, not the precise legal line, and there is no set tolerance.
• The original deeds. The conveyance or transfer that first split the land often has a plan with T marks. If HM Land Registry holds a copy, an official copy costs £11.
• Your purchase pack. The seller's property information form asked who was responsible for each boundary. It shows what they believed, which is evidence but not proof.

HM Land Registry covers England and Wales. In Scotland, the equivalent records are held by Registers of Scotland, and in Northern Ireland by Land and Property Services.

Reading T marks

A T mark is drawn on a deed plan against a boundary, with the stem of the T on the side of the owner who is responsible for it. A T on both sides, which looks like an H, usually means the boundary is shared.

One point matters here. According to HM Land Registry, a T mark that is not referred to in the wording of the deed has no special legal force. Where the deed does refer to it, typically with a covenant to maintain the boundary marked T, it concerns ownership of the boundary structure or the duty to repair it. HM Land Registry will only show T marks on the title plan, or describe them in the register, when the deed expressly mentions them.

Owning a fence and having to fix it

Owning a fence and being obliged to maintain it are separate questions. Unless the deeds contain a covenant, there is generally no obligation to put up a fence at all, or to repair one. What ownership gives you is control: the owner decides when to replace the fence, what kind it is, and what is fixed to it, within planning limits.

That cuts both ways. Your neighbour needs your agreement to screw trellis to your fence, stain your side of it or lean a shed against it, and you need theirs to do the same to their fence. Where a fence is shared, replacement and cost are something to agree together, preferably in writing.

Which way should a fence face?

There is no law that says the good side must face the neighbour. It is a convention and a courtesy: the smooth face goes outward and the posts and rails sit on the owner's side. It also has a practical reason behind it. With the frame on your side, you can reach the posts, rails and fixings from your own garden when they need attention.

If you would rather have the good side facing into your own garden, talk to the neighbour first. Nothing stops you, but a fence with its frame facing next door is one you may need their permission to maintain.

Before you replace a boundary fence

Speak to the neighbour before ordering anything and put what you agree in writing: where the line is, who pays, which way it faces and what happens to the old fence. Put the new fence exactly on the old line. Moving it even a short way, in either direction, is how many boundary disputes start. The same goes for decking or a shed built near the line: keep the structure and its fixings on your own side.

Under permitted development, a fence can be up to 2m high from ground level, or 1m next to a highway used by vehicles or its footpath, without planning permission. Listed buildings, and properties where those rights have been removed by an Article 4 direction or a planning condition, need permission. The Party Wall etc. Act covers masonry garden walls on a boundary, not timber fences.

If the exact line itself is in doubt, HM Land Registry offers two routes: a boundary agreement recorded with your neighbour, or an application for a determined boundary, which fixes the precise line and usually needs a surveyor's plan.

What a new fence costs

Panel fencing usually costs £100 to £200 per panel supplied and fitted, and a 15 metre run with concrete posts typically comes to £900 to £1,800. Most of the difference between quotes is in the posts, so ask what they are and how deep they go.