fence question

[laynlo]

ok i have a block in a new estate, now either side of my block isnt sold but the rear is. now if i want to erect a fence who go halves with me?
A. the devolper
B. wait till theres a neighbour
C. pay for it all myself????

any help would be appreciated
cheers

[rona]

laynlo,
The biggest argument you can have in the building game is over fences!
The safest bet, in your case is to pay a visit to a lawyer, he will send out the necessary paperwork and hopefully you will not have any trouble.
Technically you are only up for half that fence, however if you make a start on your own you couldbe in trouble. If you decide to put up part or half the fence and pay for it on your own, half of what you do is automatically your neighbours, also, you are only liable to pay for half the cost of a normal 5 foot six inch high fence, made from hardwood scantling timbers, if your neighbour want's something different, which is more fancy and expensive, the extra expense over and above your half of a normal fence is his cost and he must pay. As I said earlier a $100.00 or so spent at the solicitors will be money well spent.
Cheers.
Ron.

[Ausyuppy]

Laylo,
I think this does depend on your council, however up here in Cairns when I erected my fence on my new block I was told that developers are exempt from going halvies in your fence. Could you imagine if every second or third block in the estate was sold and the developer had to fork out half for each fence, it would cost them a fortune.

When I built, a back fence was already there and only one side block was sold but not built on. I just found out where the owner lived, knocked on his door and made sure he was happy to go halves. Just be armed with an estimate of costing, and you will find most "reasonable" people wont have a problem. I had to fork out for the other side as the developer is exempt.

Also I would recommend not telling them you are building it yourself as they may baulk at the thought of what may eventuate. Im not suggesting you cannot build fences, however it may put doubt in their mind. I know I didnt tell my neighbour when I did it. When they see the finished result and are happy, THEN tell them you did it yourself That way you both win....cheaper fence

If you have a neighbout that wont cooperate with the above, then give your solicitor a call. That $100 could be spent on 3 slabs of beer

Cheers
Steve

[Sturdee]

ok i have a block in a new estate, now either side of my block isnt sold but the rear is. now if i want to erect a fence who go halves with me?
A. the devolper
B. wait till theres a neighbour
C. pay for it all myself????

any help would be appreciated
cheers

In Vic the issue of fences are covered in the fencing act.

Briefly the adjoining landowner ( developer or otherwise except the State government ) is responsible for half the cost of the proposed standard fence. You must obtain their consent in writing before you build anything and if the adjoining landowner refuses you get a magistrate order.

Hence visiting your solicitor or a fencing contractor who will arrange for the initial notice to fence is sound advice.

Too many homeowners end up having to pay too much or have neighbour disputes because the correct procedures haven't been followed.



Peter.

[abitfishy]

Fences can be fun. I've had 2 issues (dont you love neigbours!):

Scenario 1: We foster care for dogs from pounds when they are about to get the needle, and had a few medium sized dogs, and a very rickety 5ft paling fence and wanted to replace it. For starters we wanted higher, but basically we needed to keep replacing palings, some of it was termite eaten, and had a lean. Although to us it needed doing, it could possibly be argued that it didn't. If there was no dog, maybe there was no need to replace it. Anyway the neighbour on that side is an older man, probably in his late 70's, early 80's. Problem was when first asked, he said he didn't want to have to put money out for a fence at his time of life and on a pension and wanted it to last him out. Fair enough, but lets face it, what happens in the meantime when it falls down and our dog gets loose (its our legal obligation to keep our dogs inside the yard), or if the old bugger lives to 110? We pushed this point, and the money was still an issue so I came to an arrangement that since it was 6 ft colourbond with additional lattice along the top that we wanted, we would pay for the additional lattice, and also, out of our pocket, would let him pay it off over 8 weeks. I think this did 2 things, helped us get our fence, and was in our favour that we attempted to resolve it fairly (actually, I think more than fairly), if he still refused and we needed to take it to the magistrate. We got it done, he popped in for his weekly payments, and all went fine.

Scenario 2: We live behind a nursing home, which, other than the odd 'inmate' yelling and screaming, is a real advantage over 'real' neighbours. However, they had done some extentions at the back, and part of the development consent was that they had to replace the rear fence with a 6ft colourbond with lattice extension. It had not been done and the work on the building had been completed so we contacted council to see if they would enforce it. Of course, 'we have a backlog and will get to it eventually' was the response. About 2 years, yes, 2 years later, I got up one Saturday morning, walked out to the back room, heard some noise and looked outside where the dog was barking a bit (she sleeps outside), and saw someone over the other side of the fence carrying a large pole of some sort (we could see it above the fence line, but couldn't see a person). As I was standing there following it, further along the fence I could see the person themselves head to toe. After taking a second look, I realised what was happening. The @(&%$ had decided to get someone to come and replace the fence, without even letting us know. Here I am, with 2 dogs roaming the backyard, and they have pulled 2 sections of the fence down at the corner. Needless to say I freaked, called the dogs in before they realised they could escape, went outside myself and in between other 4 letter expletives, asked was he doing? He didn't care that I had 2 dogs that I needed alternative accomodation for, and if we had been out and he had started I have no doubt my 2 dogs would be dead on the side of the road. And I'd be up on serious assault charges.

Eventually it worked out (luckily our front yard can be fully closed off, with some inconvenience), and we got a new rear fence for free since they had to replace it. Can you imagine my blood pressure on this Saturday though!!! I was FUMING!!!

About 8 mths after that council rang the bell 'Oh we are responding to a complaint made'. I had no idea what it was about so asked 'by me or about me' to which they mentioned the fence. 'Your kidding, that was 3 years ago' I said. They looked at their paperwork and confirmed this. Needless to say I told them what I thought (a little nicer than I spoke to the fencer though).

Other than a small section out the front, all our fences are now perfect, thank god. And to think after all this, we are probably moving later in the year. Lets hope the fences in the new place are ok!!!!!!

Owning a home can sometimes really suck.

[laynlo]

very helpful guys. ill let you know what i come up with in the next few days.

cheers

[pawnhead]

Interesting stories there abitfishy. I'd be pretty annoyed with those guys pulling down your fence without notice as well. I'm sure that if anything had happened (assault, dead dog), they'd be held liable but the onus would be on you to take them to court over it. Most thoughtless of them that's for sure.

All good advice there about half a standard paling fence except for govt. land. I've noticed at the local park all the fences have their palings on the park side.

I just re-built half a rotten fence in my backyard and I payed for it myself without complaint. I put the palings on my side and the rails on my neighbours. The reason I was happy to pay is that the neighbours had renovated their home after they purchased it three years ago. They built a new half brick half paling fence up to the building alignment, and a paling fence from there to the back of the house so I felt it was my obligation to continue it the rest of the way up the yard. It's about the same distance as what they built but theirs has the palings on their side.

I've got rails on the other side and the back so I've already got my share, but I wonder what happens if there's a dispute over that? Perhaps you'd have to put palings on both sides and split the cost, or perhaps you'd have to look at which aspect the palings were on up the rest of the street. They didn't consult me at all when they designed and built their fence, (there was no fence there at all before they bought the place) and whilst it's no big deal to me, I'd rather have just paid for half of the whole thing, and paid for my half with the labour of installing the whole lot. It would have cost them the same as getting a contractor in, and it would have cost me nothing but my time, and I'd have all the palings on my side. Of course they'd have to pay the extra for the brick section under the timber out the front. (I could have laid those as well though)

BTW I'm a licensed carpenter/builder so building a fence is no problem in that regard.