Maintenance

A fence that is already loose before the wind.

Storm Austen was named on Tuesday. A panel that already leans is a reason to phone a carpenter on a calm hour before Friday. A panel that comes down in the wind is, on most buildings policies, a repair you arrange yourself. While the wind is up, stay inside.

Checked 21 October 2026. Written for homes in England. The yellow warning also covers parts of south Wales, which sets its own planning rules. Scotland and Northern Ireland sit outside this warning. The Malta directory is a separate list.

This note does not inspect the fence, and it does not describe a way to tie one down. You still choose a business and phone it yourself. Local Trades UK does not pass the job on.

What this Friday is

At 10:45 (UTC+1) on Tuesday 20 October 2026, the Met Office named Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season. The same post says an area of low pressure approaches from the southwest late on Thursday, then moves from west to east through Friday, with the winds generally diminishing later in the day. Peak gusts in excess of 70 mph are possible on the most exposed coasts. Gusts of 50–60 mph are likely more widely inside the warning area. Rain of 20–30 mm is a further hazard in many places, with higher totals possible over higher ground in the west and further north.

The accessible warnings page, checked on 21 October, places a yellow wind warning from 00:00 to 12:00 on Friday 23 October (UTC+1). The page says the display may be out of date. The warning was issued at 11:04 (UTC+1) on Monday 19 October. It gives a low likelihood, 10–25%, and classes the impact as significant. It expects the wind to ease late morning into the early afternoon, and it lists a slight chance of damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, and a small chance of injury from flying debris. The hours can move. Open the warning for your own postcode before you treat Friday morning as the whole event.

Among the cities on this site, Bristol is on the area list. London, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds are outside it. A fence that is already leaning is a reason to phone on those streets as well. The warning explains the week. It does not decide which fence is sound.

The warning asks you to check loose items outside the house and to plan how you could secure them. The list is bins, garden furniture, trampolines, tents, sheds and fences. This page stops at that sentence. It does not set out a knot, a peg or a weight. A fence that is already leaning has gone past that list.

While the wind is up, the carpenter waits

The Met Office page on staying safe in a storm says to stay indoors as much as possible, and not to go outside to repair damage while the storm is in progress. Keep away from the sheltered side of boundary walls and fences, because that is the side they fall towards. A post cannot be set in that wind. A call made on Friday morning is a booking for after the wind has eased.

If someone is injured, or a panel is across a road and traffic cannot pass safely, call 999. A cable on the ground, or still hanging, stays where it is. The number for that, in England, Scotland and Wales, is in the lights go out in the wind. A tile, ridge or gutter out of line waits for a tile that looks out of place after the wind. Water pouring from a gutter that is still fixed is water sitting against the house after the rain.

A fence that already leans is a carpenter

Phone a carpenter when any of these are true on a calm hour before the warning, or once Friday’s wind has eased:

  • A panel has left its clips, or a bay is leaning.
  • A post is rotten, cracked, or loose in the ground.
  • A gate drags, or it no longer latches, and that opening is the way out of the garden.
  • A length is already on the ground, and you can see it from a window or the pavement.

Say what you can see: timber panels or concrete posts, how many bays, whether the run meets a pavement, and whether the fence is yours. If it stands on someone else’s land, tell that person. This page does not decide who owns a boundary.

Open the carpentry and joinery list, including Bristol, which is inside the Friday warning area, and London. You phone, email, or use the website on the record. TrustMark on a card is shown only when that record already has it. That line is not a recommendation. A reply is between you and the business.

In England, a gate, fence or wall is Class A of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. For a new fence, the order withholds permission above 1 metre where the fence would stand adjacent to a highway used by vehicular traffic, and above 2 metres anywhere else. For a fence that is maintained, improved or altered, the order withholds permission if the result would be taller than both its former height and that limit. The class also withholds permission for a fence inside the curtilage of a listed building, and for a fence that surrounds one. The local planning authority confirms how this lands on one house. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own rules. This site does not apply for permission.

A fallen panel is usually your repair

The Association of British Insurers says gates and fences are excluded by most standard buildings insurance policies, because wind damages them easily and they are often poorly maintained. The same guidance says storm damage to fences, hedges and gates is generally not covered. Read your own policy. This page cannot say a claim will be paid.

A fence that is already leaning on Wednesday is the maintenance in that guidance. The ABI describes wear and tear as the weakness a storm reveals: insurance is for sudden damage, and a rotten post is the weakness. The carpenter is the person who rebuilds the run. The gust figure an insurer may use, at least 55 mph, or the other tests on that page, is how the weather may be judged. It does not put a fence back into a policy that leaves fences out. The insurer decides, from the policy and from the weather on that street.

Phone the buildings insurer when the fence has struck the house, a window or a neighbour’s property, or when someone holds you responsible for injury or damage. The ABI says buildings policies usually provide legal liability cover for occupiers, and that a homeowner in that position should contact the buildings insurer. Have the policy number. Most insurers have a 24-hour emergency helpline. Photograph what you can see from a safe place. Keep damaged pieces unless they are a danger to health. A temporary cover, only when it is safe, comes after that call if you may claim for the house or the glass. Keep the receipts.

If the glass is already out, use a window that has cracked in the wind, and phone a glazier on the windows and doors list, including Bristol and London. FENSA on a card is shown only when that record already has it. A car the panel has hit is a motor policy. The ABI says comprehensive motor insurance covers storm damage to the vehicle. Third party, fire and theft leaves storm damage out.

Sources

Questions on this fault

The fence is leaning and Storm Austen is due on Friday. Do I phone a carpenter or wait for the insurer?

Phone a carpenter for a calm hour before the wind. The Met Office named Storm Austen at 10:45 (UTC+1) on 20 October 2026. The storm approaches late on Thursday. The accessible warnings page, checked on 21 October, places a yellow wind warning from 00:00 to 12:00 on Friday 23 October (UTC+1), and says that display may be out of date. A panel that already leans, or a post that is rotten, is the reason to phone. The Association of British Insurers says gates and fences are excluded by most standard buildings policies, so a fence that is already failing is maintenance you arrange. If the fence is on someone else's land, tell that person. You phone the business yourself.

The panel came down in the wind. Will buildings insurance pay for the fence?

Most standard buildings policies exclude gates and fences. The Association of British Insurers says they are left out because wind damages them easily and they are often poorly maintained, and that storm damage to fences, hedges and gates is generally not covered. Read the policy. This page cannot say a claim will be paid. Phone the buildings insurer if the fence has hit the house, a window or a neighbour's property, or if someone holds you responsible. A car is a motor policy: the ABI says comprehensive cover includes storm damage to the vehicle.

The wind is still up. Do I go outside and stand the fence back up?

Stay inside. The Met Office says to stay indoors as much as possible during a storm, and not to go outside to repair damage while the storm is in progress. Keep away from the sheltered side of a boundary fence, because that is the side it falls towards. Phone a carpenter for a time after the wind has eased. If someone is injured, or a panel is across a road and traffic cannot pass safely, call 999. A cable on the ground is 105 in England, Scotland and Wales. That call is set out in the note on the lights going out in the wind.