The short answer
Usually not. In England and Wales there is no general legal requirement to put up a fence between your garden and your neighbour's. You can leave a boundary open, remove an existing fence you own, or replace it with a hedge or nothing at all. A duty to fence only arises in specific situations: a covenant in your title deeds requiring it, a tenancy or lease term (common for rented and some leasehold homes), a planning condition, or a special obligation such as keeping livestock in or fencing off a railway or highway. Absent one of these, whether to have a fence is a matter of choice and good neighbourliness, not law.
It is natural to assume that every garden must be fenced, but the law is more relaxed than people expect. Whether you need a boundary fence depends entirely on the specific documents and circumstances attached to your property.
Is a fence required at a glance
- General ruleNo legal duty to fence a garden boundary
- Deed covenant to fenceYes — covenant makes it compulsory
- Tenancy / lease termOften yes — check your agreement
- Planning conditionYes, if one was imposed
- Livestock / railway / highwaySpecial fencing duties apply
The general position: no automatic duty
English and Welsh property law does not impose a blanket obligation to fence the boundary between two gardens. If you own your home outright and your deeds are silent, you are generally free to have a fence, a hedge, a wall, or an open boundary as you please. You can also remove a fence that belongs to you, provided doing so does not breach a covenant or create a separate hazard.
This often surprises people, because most gardens are fenced, but that is a matter of custom and privacy rather than legal compulsion. The absence of a fence between two open-plan front gardens, common on many modern estates, is a clear example of lawful unfenced boundaries.
The situations where a fence IS required
A duty to fence only exists where something specific creates it. The main triggers are:
- A covenant in the title deeds. Many conveyances require the owner to erect and maintain a fence of a particular type along a named boundary. This is the most common source of a fencing obligation and is enforceable.
- A tenancy or lease term. Tenancy agreements and some leases require the occupier to keep boundaries fenced. If you rent, check the agreement; the duty may fall on you or on the landlord.
- A planning condition. When permission was granted for the property or a development, a condition may have required boundary treatment (for example a fence or wall of a set height), which then must be provided and kept.
- Statutory and special duties. You must fence to contain livestock under the Animals Act 1971, and there are duties to fence off railways and certain highway boundaries for safety.
If none of these applies, there is no obligation, and the choice is yours.
| Source | Does it require a fence? |
|---|---|
| No covenant, freehold, silent deeds | No |
| Deed covenant to fence | Yes |
| Tenancy / lease term | Often yes — check the wording |
| Planning condition on the property | Yes, if imposed |
| Keeping livestock | Yes — must contain animals |
| Railway or highway boundary | Yes — statutory safety duty |
When a boundary fence is legally required. Source: GOV.UK boundaries guidance; Animals Act 1971.
How to check whether YOU have a duty
To find out if your particular property must be fenced, work through the documents that could create an obligation:
- Read your title register (download from GOV.UK for around GBP 3) for any covenant requiring you to fence or maintain a boundary.
- Check the original conveyance in your deeds bundle, which often contains fuller covenant detail than the modern register.
- Read your tenancy or lease if you rent or hold leasehold, looking for clauses about boundaries and fencing.
- Look up any planning conditions for the property on your local planning authority's online register.
- Consider special circumstances: do you keep animals, or does the garden adjoin a railway or busy road?
If all of these come back negative, you have no legal duty to fence, and any decision is about practicality and neighbour relations rather than compliance.
Even without a duty, think about the practical side
No legal requirement does not mean a fence is a bad idea. Boundaries are often fenced for sensible reasons: privacy, security, keeping children and pets safe, defining the extent of your garden, and reducing the scope for disputes about where the line runs. Removing an existing fence can also unsettle a neighbour who relied on it, so it is courteous to discuss any change first, especially if the structure is shared.
If you do decide to fence, the usual height rules apply: generally up to 2 metres without planning permission, or 1 metre where the boundary is next to a highway used by vehicles. If you decide to leave the boundary open or plant a hedge instead, that is equally lawful where no obligation exists. The key is to base the decision on what your own documents actually say, rather than on the assumption that a fence is always compulsory.
If a fence is required but you do not want one
Where a covenant, lease or condition genuinely requires a fence, you cannot simply ignore it. Breaching a fencing covenant can, in principle, be enforced by whoever has the benefit of it (often a neighbour or the original developer), and breaching a planning condition can lead to enforcement action by the council. If you want to remove or change a required fence, the proper route is to seek a variation: ask the person with the benefit of the covenant to release or modify it, apply to vary a planning condition, or take advice on a covenant that may be obsolete. Acting within the rules avoids the risk of being ordered to reinstate the fence later.
Frequently asked questions
Is it a legal requirement to fence your garden?
No, not as a general rule in England and Wales. You only have to fence a garden boundary if a covenant in your deeds, a tenancy or lease term, a planning condition, or a special duty (such as containing livestock or fencing off a railway or highway) requires it. Otherwise the choice is yours.
Can I remove the fence between my garden and my neighbour's?
If the fence is yours and no covenant, lease term or planning condition requires it, you can remove it. If it is shared or your neighbour's, you cannot remove it without agreement. It is courteous to discuss any change first, and to check your deeds for a fencing obligation before acting.
My neighbour took their fence down — can I make them put it back?
Only if they are under an obligation to fence, such as a covenant, lease term or planning condition that you can enforce. If there is no such duty, they are entitled to remove a fence they own. You can put up your own fence just inside your boundary if you want the boundary marked.
Sources & further reading
- GOV.UK — disagreements about property boundaries
- HM Land Registry — practice guide 40: boundaries and covenants
- Citizens Advice — problems with neighbours
Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific garden. They are guidance, not a quotation.