Dividing Fence...issues

Hi all,

OK we have a dividing fence at the back of our home seperating a Government-owned property.
Spoke to the woman from the local government and she gave us a quote for $3800 to erect a 1.8m H 15m W fence. That's $1900 each.
OK - that was fine, however she is unbelievably slow in responding to questions etc...and won't answer phone calls and seems to have dropped off the planet.

Question - can I simply build the fence myself (get a professional over to do it) ? Or do I have to abide with local government regulations? I will pay the costs for the whole fence myself and not bother asking for a 50/50 split. I also think i can get it done for around the $1900 anyway and have it built before the next century.

I'm from Perth.

Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks

You're lucky your council pays for half. I'm very certain our local doesn't, soon we need to replace a side fence of about 50m :(

Over here in QLD, we can build a fence without the neighbours approval, as long as it meets certain criteria of course. I found out just the other day that nothing has changed much over the years and as long as the fence is built on your side of the boundary line, it is ok. Again, as long as it meets the current standards and criteria, which are quite vague in some council areas.
It only has to an inch or so on your side of the line.:2tsup:

There must be someone around here who could probably give a more definitive response than my garble.:U

oops - sorry if this has been posted in the wrong forum...!

Tom, that price is high, for 1.8m colourbond it should be less than $100 a metre so over 15 metres your price is alot more accurate. I have just been quoted around $75 for the same but over twice the distance.

It may be different given that you are adjoining government owned land in regard to you doing it and just billing them but if you get a hold of the dividing fences act it states something along the lines that you may replace an inadequate fence on an adjoining property boundary without the adjoining owners approval if they are being unhelpful and then bill them for half. The neigbour is I think able to dispute the price if the quote/price is unreasonable. For interest sake, last time I looked for a definition of adequate fence it referred to whether sheep could get through it:rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TomDunreedy

Or do I have to abide with local government regulations?

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Nah, theyll never know :wink:

not sure bout WA but dividing fences act states that if you put up the fence without their approval they dont have to pay half. They should however be coming good with 3 independant quotes. Sounds like she's doubled the price so you pay it all anyway.
Try getting onto her supervisor and see if you can get some action then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frog's wife

not sure bout WA but dividing fences act states that if you put up the fence without their approval they dont have to pay half. They should however be coming good with 3 independant quotes. Sounds like she's doubled the price so you pay it all anyway.
Try getting onto her supervisor and see if you can get some action then.

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I think there is acutally an act that covers this and the neighbour is acutally bound by law to pay for half the cost of a basic fence.

thats a rediculously high price for a fence, ring the australian law institute and ask them where you stand legally if you build it yourself ( meeting local gov regs etc)...and pay someone to do it for you,( legally this gives no recourse) take photo/s of its condition before and after ....just in case .....now if you want colorbond and naturally the price is higher for said materials .....then obtain three quotes for a "standard fence"......pick the lowest ....divide by two ....and send them a written invoice for their half .....with 30 days to pay it, clearly written on the invoice..and a cover note explaining your actions, and what it would have cost, compared to what it does cost ....and also mention that this will bring closure to something that has taken months to finalise......if this fails to find a cheque in the mail after thirty days ...ring them and explain that you dont really want to bring in dept collectors and that you have been "fair", etc .....they will probably "hand" deliver your cheque lol...one thing local gov dept's dont like ...its complicated paperwork .

Here ya go. All your questions answered.

http://www.dhw.wa.gov.au/193_359.asp


Note question 18 in the FAQ's. Bloody pollies. Fences act does not apply to government owned properties.


Sonja

That is also the way it is in Vic. If your property abuts govt land, say a National Park, a fire in the National Park burns your fences down, govt says "tough, not our problem". DAMHIKT!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TomDunreedy

Hi all,

OK we have a dividing fence at the back of our home seperating a Government-owned property.
Spoke to the woman from the local government and she gave us a quote for $3800 to erect a 1.8m H 15m W fence. That's $1900 each.
OK - that was fine, however she is unbelievably slow in responding to questions etc...and won't answer phone calls and seems to have dropped off the planet.

Question - can I simply build the fence myself (get a professional over to do it) ? Or do I have to abide with local government regulations? I will pay the costs for the whole fence myself and not bother asking for a 50/50 split. I also think i can get it done for around the $1900 anyway and have it built before the next century.

I'm from Perth.

Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks

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You are not obliged to go with any quote they come up with, get a couple of quotes yourself, and submit them to the correct department.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Big Shed

That is also the way it is in Vic. If your property abuts govt land, say a National Park, a fire in the National Park burns your fences down, govt says "tough, not our problem". DAMHIKT!

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when I lived in the Yarra Valley, the property next door was a park, the council was very happy to pay 1/2 for the fence that I wanted put up (ok, so they paid a bit more than 1/2, ok, so it was closer to 75%, the point is they were happy to pay it :)

As for the national parks and destroyed fences, I thought you could get (decent) compensation for any damage caused by them, be it fire or falling tree...

Thanks all for your comments.

Spoke to a new guy today from Homes West - he's beginning the process again for me. Basically he's sending a person out to check on the state of the fence and give the approval for replacement (like the first time I rang them 6 months ago). I asked him about getting my own quotes and the guy was happy for me to do that and if it is under what the local gov come back with then they will use them....phew.
The gov land is a housing block - not a park so we'll be splitting the price.

The fella reckons the people who do their fence work are cheap....!?

Now I have to get some quotes ! Perhaps Burnsy can give me a price. It's actually 19.1m x 1.8m high - colourbond....basically as cheap as you can get it ! :)
Surely there's "Woodworks Mates Rates" :) :) :)