Thread: Hi and question re fence not on boundary

For 6cm, they are crazy, I would have chat and work out an alternative

I don't think they have a leg to stand on. They built the fence in the wrong place, not you. You are only required to go half the cost of repairs and a new fence replacement if the old one needs to be replaced due age and deteriation. Go to your local courthouse as they often have dispute resolution info and fencing regulations. A google search for your state of the fencing act might help with basic info. Let them take it to a dispute resolution and argue their case. No lawyers are involved then. If they send you a Lawyers letter, then you go to the dispute resolution system in your state, then they can't have a lawyer involved. This is legal information and not legal advice I'm giving you here.

Surely they are not serious?

they didn't build the fence, they bought it like this, their previous owner colorbonded himself in...
we've tried the line ... "gee lot of money for 2inches" .. but it seems to be falling on stubborn ears - I can't for the life of me see why they would want to go to the expense for 2 inches which is in a garden - not like they're getting an extra bunch of useable space.
does anyone know if council has guidelines on how far OFF the boundary line is still acceptable as a boundary fence - there must be some sort of tolerance.

thanx so far
PG

There is probably some obscure law that actually gives you the right to ownership of that tiny strip of land, since it wasn't used by the previous owner/s for such a long period.

Legislation differs form State to State and I don't know that which effects NSW, but one such law (in Victoria) requires a purchaser to sign a document that the land on which the house is sited is as described on the relative title - if there is a dispute it needs to be challenged during the buying of the land, therefore your neighbour could not demand part payment for repositioning of the fence.
As suggested earlier the Fencing Act (or an equivalent) is a place to start.

soth

Hi Everyone

I remmebr many years ago when i was doing work experience with a surveyor and we went to a residential property where the owner was complaining that a garage was being built on her land.
After completing the survey they discovered she was correct and the garage foundations were 5cms onto her property, the builders then had to dig up the freshly laid concrete and start again.
On the basis of that, i think if they push the issue you will have to buckle and give in and agree it is a whole lot of money for nothing.

If it was me, I would allow them to move the fence, at their expense.

At no point would I entertain paying any money to rectify a problem that is in no way of my making.

You didn't build the fence that is currently there, so you didn't get it wrong.

Originally Posted by purple girl

.................. We bought our house 6 yrs ago - our back fence was a falling down paling fence. The neighbours had a colorbond fence immediately (butting against) this old monster. A previous owner fenced himself in all the way round. ... We removed the old paling fence and for 5 yrs no issues.

The old paling fence was ON the boundary at one end and 6cm in the neighbours property at the other (according to the survey we got when we purchased) boundary is 22.99m long

the neighbours now want to move the fence onto the boundary - ie the width of the old paling fence at one end and the width plus 6cm at the other. Is this reasonable or should I tell them where to get off?

They have suggested re-using the colorbond panels and they have a quote to move the fence (reusing the panels) that is higher than I have to replace a longer paling fence with another neighbour!

cheers
PG

Read the highlighted points in your first post.

When you bought the property the paling fence was the excepted boundary fence on the accepted line.

You removed this fence (paling in construction) and substituted the fence on their property as the boundary fence. Regardless of how close to the original fence, it was always on their property and was never the accepted boundary.

My thoughts are (in most states) that by agreement the original fence can be replaced by a fence the SAME and both parties pay half each. If one land owner wants a more expensive fence then the they pay the difference between the same and the dearer option.

Now the fact that the fence is CLOSE TO BUT NOT ON the original line is where your problem exists - my thoughts are that the new fence should be on the line of the original fence and probably not on the line 6cm one end from the original.

I would try and get a agreement with them on where it is because my thoughts are you would have to pay half the cost of a replacement paling fence on the original fence line where it was when you purchased the property.

Cheers

Agree with Calm on those points. Check your local legislation. Your council should be pretty helpful with this sort of this, the may even have information on their website about it.

Certainly here in Victoria, if I were in that situation here is what I would do ...

Get the cost for replacing the timber fence on the boundary. Halve it. That's the amount you should be willing to put in.

If your neighbour wants to relocate the colorbond fence to the boundary or get a difference fence built on the boundary then they have to pay the additional cost. You only need to pay half of what it would cost to replace the original boundary fence.

Cheers,
Af.

As Calm and Afro Boy pointed out I would offer to pay half the cost of the original fence.
Neighbour disputes are best avoided as they often get expensive when reason goes out the window. They also make life a pain in the rump. Any thoughts of lawyers or courts will cost enough to fence every yard in the neighbourhood.
Regards
John

Look guys it's not hard to google 'NSW Fencing Act' and read it!! It says in section 16 of the 1991 Act, "adjoining owner who carries out the fencing work is liable to the other adjoining owner for any defect or omission in the fencing work.

It will turn on the facts. 1. The original owner did not put the fence on the boundary. 2. The new owners did not check or survey before they took ownership of the property so they now become liable for any defects on the property. 3. The fence is defective in that it is not on the boundary and they want it moved. 4. if they don't like it they can go to the Community Justice Centre and if they don't like the decision, then go to the Local Court to determine the matter.

See, it's not hard and only took 10 mins to find it all out. I'm sure if you do a search you could find precedent cases that help establish your case. Note this is not legal advice but legal information only.

SB

SB, I'm not sure its quite as simple as that. From my understanding what has happened is that the origianl wooden fence was supposed to be the boundary fence (although it sounds as if it was not in the correct place either). The new fence was erected just inside the boundary line. I have heard of people doing this when there is a perfectly serviceable fence that is not liked for aesthetic reasons - you can't make the neighbours pay to replace a fence that is perfectly acceptable just because you don't like how it looks, so you put one up just on your side of the boundary. Now that the boundary fence is gone, the neighbours are asking for a new boundary fence to be constructed. That is reasonable - as there is currently no boundary fence at all - there is only a fence that is slightly on one side of the boundary. I suspect that both owners would be liable for half the cost to replace the missing fence. I also suspect that paying half the cost to relocate the fence that is currently existing but not on the boundary may be cheaper. That's my interpretation of it - not legal advice.

Peter

Originally Posted by Afro Boy

Agree with Calm on those points. Check your local legislation. Your council should be pretty helpful with this sort of this, the may even have information on their website about it.

Certainly here in Victoria, if I were in that situation here is what I would do ...

Get the cost for replacing the timber fence on the boundary. Halve it. That's the amount you should be willing to put in.

If your neighbour wants to relocate the colorbond fence to the boundary or get a difference fence built on the boundary then they have to pay the additional cost. You only need to pay half of what it would cost to replace the original boundary fence.

Cheers,
Af.

Afro Boy is spot on. At least in Vic.

Usually when an agreement can't be made over the type of boundary fence to be used, the council will request that the new fence be a timber paling as it is usually the cheapest and is the most common by far. (In my area 4ft farm style fences are the council preferred)

Remember the colour bond fence is not the boundary fence but a fence the previous owner constructed to hide the old fence and is not your responsibility. As you removed the old boundary fence the council will request that you meet half costs to replace the boundary fence, which would be a paling fence. You are quite within your rights to stipulate that you want the replacement fence to be a paling fence not colour bond.

However, as you removed the old boundary fence without seeking permission from your neighbour, you could be asked to reinstate the fence at your cost.

My advice would be to talk it over calmly with your neighbour first as fence disputes can turn ugly and leave you out of pocket along with a nasty neighbour.