'My neighbour destroyed our fence by staining it without permission - I'm livid'

06 March 2024 , 15:23

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A woman is livid that her neighbour painted their fence 'without permission' (Image: ElsLouise/Mumsnet)

Having a good relationship with your neighbour is important, so you can discuss things like maintenance of your homes, or to ask them to borrow something you don't have - but not everyone is so lucky.

As springtime approaches, many more people will be focusing on the way their gardens look, and you may want to spruce up your fence before you spend more time outside. So, when one woman's neighbour damaged her property without first consulting her that they were planning on making changes, she was livid.

She said her neighbour had selfishly stained their side of the fence 'without [her] permission', and she said that the fence was now 'ruined' as a result of their action.

The anonymous and livid Mumsnet user said: "My new neighbour has ruined our fence (in our deeds) by staining their side without our permission. They lied and told me it was a treatment - when I asked them when it would dry clear (which they also assured me it would do!)

"As it's a stain, it cannot be jet washed or sanded off. It's affected about 30/40ft of around 120ft of our boundary. We hate the colour so will not be staining ours, plus it would only damage our other fences when it seeps through.

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"I just want to know where I stand. I've reached out, they offered to go halves on the stain (jokers!!... Not happening) in my eyes the only way to rectify this is by replacing the whole thing. I've read that this is criminal damage.

"I've reached out and they were semi-playing ball, then she deleted Facebook so I posted her a note and have not heard back so I will be knocking on her door this week but wanted some further info first. They also have stopped painting the rest of their fences which to me proves guilt!"

Since sharing, the woman's post raked in many comments, with several people torn over the neighbour's decision to stain their fence.

One person wrote: "It's not ruined goodness. Just stain it. Yeah it's annoying but hardly fence-replacing level of situation." A second penned: "It's not 'ruined'. Just a different colour. What a drama..." On the other hand, a different user wrote: "I can understand your upset and frustration. Your neighbour shouldn't have done that without your permission."

Danielle Kate Wroe