NOW that the weather is getting sunnier, people are starting to spruce up their gardens for the summer.
One person shared how they had replaced their fence with “lovely new panels”, but it hadn’t gone down well with their neighbours – who ruined the fence in retaliation.
The homeowner took to Reddit to share a photo of their new panels.
They wrote: “Bought and installed some lovely new fence panels… not 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 to the taste of the next-door neighbour though…”
In the snap, it was visible that the neighbour had decided to paint their side of the panels with brown paint.
Although the shade wasn’t bad, what had dismayed the homeowner was the fact the paint had trickled through the slats onto their side.
The end result was some unsightly paint drips on the new panels.
People were shocked at the mishap, and many questioned if it had been an accident.
One wrote: “I mean, they clearly did it on purpose. Said purpose was probably to paint it for their own taste.”
Another person replied: “Time to paint own side hot pink and watch the colours seep over.”
However, one reasoned: “Honestly, my parents had us paint a fence when we were kids.
“This is what the neighbours looked like, we had to paint their side after.
“How were we to know? We were kids.
“Never attribute to malicious intent what can be attributed to lack of knowledge…”
Others were quick to suggest solutions for the issue.
One Reddit user chimed in: “Light power wash will take care of that.”
A second contributed: “Actually spraying a nice paint stripper will have the same effect. PLUS giving a similar negative drip effect on the other side.”
The Top Five Reasons Neighbours Squabble
One study by Compare the Market revealed the top reason British neighbour's argue
- Broken fences – top of the board was broken fences and whose responsibility it was to fix it
- Parking: one of the leading drivers of neighbour disputes, with 54.1 per cent of people having issues with people parking in front of their house, parking bay or driveway
- Trees – complaints about a neighbour’s tree cracking your garden path was also common with nearly half of participants finding it frustrating
- Bin wars – outdoor bin etiquette continues to ignite the most furious debates between neighbours
- Nosy Neighbours – some people have their eyes and ears at the ready to have a peek causing problems for others
A third joked: “Now you can paint your side another colour and it will bleed through to your neighbours.
“Then you can go back and forth painting for eternity.”
Mark Andrew Woodman, Which?’s legal senior legal adviser, previously shared how you can’t always paint “your side” of a fence, if it doesn’t belong to you.
He said: “Your right to do anything to the side of the fence facing into your garden really comes down to solving the problem of ownership.
“If the fence does not belong to you then you should not paint or affix anything to it without the permission of the neighbour, as to do otherwise could actually constitute criminal damage.”