Fencing

Can verbal agreement from previous owner be taken back?

Anonymous user 28/02/2024 - 3.01 PM

We have made an offer on a house and found out that the current owner had a dispute with his neighbour when he returned from holiday, and found they had erected a new garden fence approx two feet within his boundary and butted it up against his rear extension. They did discuss the matter and although the fence was repositioned for most of its length, the owner allowed his neighbour to step the fence, approx one meter from the back of the house, into his garden again and butt it up to his extension. This also meant that two feet of the original rear wall of the house and a meter of the extensions exterior wall is now in the neighbours garden and he has no immediate access for maintenance. We believe the neighbour has built a small storage container in this corner and are worried that it could cause damp issues if too close to the building. There was no formal or informal written confirmation of this agreement. Can he take back his verbal agreement now he is selling his property or can we ask them to reposition the fence onto their own land after we have bought the property?