Fence Building Etiquette at New Estates

websterp on 03/05/2020 - 17:25

Hi guys,

I'm building a house at a new estate in Victoria and it is currently 90% complete. My neighbor finished building probably two weeks ago and I believe they are preparing to move in. Today I drove past the house only to find out that they have started setting up permanent fencing around their property. At the moment I don't know who any of my neighbors are as there had been no dealings or any form of interaction with them since my property is still occupied by the builder.

The strange thing is we were never contacted(they could have easily obtained my number by contacting the developer) and we never got a chance to discuss costs and the type/color of fence we could agree with. To make things worse they have chosen a colorbond fence type which has a rib pattern different to what everyone else in the neighborhood have used and as a result we most likely will end up with two different colourbond fences on either side of our property with the only common element being the colour which is dictated by the developer guidelines.

What are my options in this situation? My understanding was you get in touch with your neighbors who you share a fence and go 50/50 with the costs after getting few quotes and agreeing on the type and color of the fence. Should I try to find my future neighbor and express my opposition to what he is doing or if they approached me after I moved in wanting my half of the costs should I refuse to pay as I was never consulted? I got a bad feeling that I will most likely start my relationship with the neighbor on the wrong foot as a result of this.

TLDR: I'm still building at a new estate. Neighbor who finished first has started building a fence and did not contact me to discuss sharing costs and fence type. What should I do now?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • pegaxs on 03/05/2020 - 17:30
    +2

    Another thing to add may be to make sure that they are building the fence on the boundary line. I know a few people who have built a new house, to only find out years later that the neighbour who built the fence moved it over about 1 foot onto their property.

    As for who pays and how much and what notice needs to be given, you can start by reading here: Fencing Law, Vic.

    • websterp on 03/05/2020 - 17:56

      Thanks a lot for the link.
      Yes the trades have already done that at one section and as a result our garage roofline gutters were over their property and I had to point this out when I was there today and asked them to fix it. In the plan there is a 20cm gap for this very reason between our garage and the boundary so all gutters are in our land and nothing is protruding into their property. I will go there tomorrow and make sure this is addressed.

  • AdosHouse on 03/05/2020 - 17:38
    +3

    The developer could not just hand your number out to your neighbour, that would likely be a breach of privacy.

    You are complaining about free fencing on one side of your house? Okay. And no the neighbour cannot claim half the money back as they did not consult you to start.

    You say that everyone else in the neighbourhood is going some other type of fence than what you like, but you think that 3 neighbouring houses to you would go with your type?

    • websterp on 03/05/2020 - 18:03

      if they really wanted to contact us the site manager's mobile number was on display on temp fencing and they could have approached us pretty easily that way.
      I understand the privacy concern but how else are we going to discuss fencing or do we all have to wait till everyone else has moved in?

      I'm not complaining by the way and I was quite happy to pay my share and it would have been aesthetically pleasing if everyone stuck to the same fence type which is what most others have done.

      Finally I don't expect everyone to go with my fence preference, I was only questioning why we did not have an opportunity to have that conversation regarding our shared section of the fence and costs involved. It was also my observation that out of around 20 or so finished houses I could only see 2 including my neighbor who have decided to go with a different colorblind design and everyone else have stuck with the same type which can't be a coincidence.

      • AdosHouse on 03/05/2020 - 18:25

        Yes they could have contacted the SM and they could have asked you if you want to share your number.

        Also I just reread your post and realised you said the NEIGHBOUR used a different type of fence, I read it as you wanted to. So my apologies.

        Is the house on the other side and behind him almost done? I imagine they also might have concerns about the fence.

        Can you throw up a link to the type of fence the neighbour has gone with?

        Have you had a chance to go chat with the neighbour yet?

        • websterp on 03/05/2020 - 18:45

          He is on a corner block so he is not sharing one side with anyone and I'm on the other. At the back he has done his own fence(with the same fencing material) and that property which is still getting built has end up with two types of fencing on either side as a result. So I'd assume they weren't contacted either.

          This is what everyone else seem to be using - https://bit.ly/35uUYDc (via google images)
          My neigh-our has gone with this - https://bit.ly/2KW29L6

          • AdosHouse on 03/05/2020 - 18:50
            +3

            @websterp: Yeah that is different, the first one is pretty much the only type I ever see. Weirdly though, I don't mind his.

            You need to decide if it's worth arguing over. But also you need to go have a chat with him. This is best decided over a calm chat. Last thing you want is a neighbour war before you've even moved in.

            • websterp on 03/05/2020 - 19:00

              @AdosHouse: Yes I think I will get over it but I will most definitely ask them about it at some point and I totally agree - I really don't want to end up going to war with my neighbor when I'm planing to live there for years to come.

              Since it looks like I'm the next to move in, tomorrow when I'm there I'll take down the numbers of SMs of my other neighbors and initiate a conversation with them so this doesn't repeat.

          • Nugs on 03/05/2020 - 18:53
            +1

            @websterp: can the fence be double skinned? i.e. put the common profile over the top of the other
            .

            • websterp on 03/05/2020 - 19:02

              @Nugs: Withe neighbor's it definitely is as it has a 's' shape profile. The other one which is widely used I'm not so sure.

          • John Kimble on 03/05/2020 - 20:58

            @websterp: Not a troll and I know it might be a waste of money, but could an option be to install the one you want, right up against his one on your side, kind of like double fences? Ie so you get to see the type you want, and he sees the type he wants?

            Or are there other reasons this cannot be done?

      • Twix on 03/05/2020 - 20:48

        Your neighbour should have contacted the local council for your name and address and sent the quote in the snail mail months ago.

  • Ryanek on 03/05/2020 - 19:26
    +1

    Tough one. You were not given a fencing notice so technically if he wants you to pay your half and you refuse, he would need to get a court order.

    On the other hand… i'm not sure that's how you want to start relations with your new neighbour.

    • endotherm on 03/05/2020 - 21:16
      +1

      Court order for what? He decided to build a fence without consulting the other owner. He does so at his expense. The other party is under no obligation to pay anything towards it.

      • Ryanek on 03/05/2020 - 21:24
        -2

        He can argue he could not contact the neighbour and bring it to court.

      • Ryanek on 04/05/2020 - 07:54

        You obviously down voted me, here is the section in the Vic Fencing Law:

        In either circumstance — where the adjoining owner cannot be located or does not respond—a court order will be required if the owner who undertook the fencing works wishes to seek a contribution from the adjoining owner.

        • endotherm on 04/05/2020 - 19:38
          +1

          You were suggesting he could lie to initiate a court action. Perjury is never the answer. You are quoting about step 10 of the process, while conveniently ignoring all the requirements and obligations that go before it. The pertinent part of the law that you quoted — where the adjoining owner cannot be located or does not respond — is a qualifier for that section i.e. you can't bring a court action unless you attempted to contact the owner, issued a notice to fence, didn't get a response etc. Initially, you are required to locate the adjoining owner after making ‘reasonable inquiries’ — including asking any person who occupies the property and asking the local council. How hard is it to fill out a pro-forma form, and mail it to the address next door, or give it to the army of workers working there for the information of the owner? What evidence does he have that he tried? I bet he doesn't have a certified letter receipt. It's clearly a case of someone trying to slip in under the radar and get what he wanted without consulting someone else who could mess up his plans. He couldn't have waited a couple of weeks until the neighbour moved in?

          Under the Fences Act:

          you can not go ahead and build a dividing fence or do repairs on a dividing fence unless you either have your neighbour’s agreement or you follow the processes in the Fences Act. If you do not have your neighbour’s agreement, then before you arrange for any work to be done, you need to give your neighbour a notice that contains information about the work you are proposing (fencing notice).

          We don't know at this stage if the neighbour is willing to bear the entire cost of the fence himself, in order to secure the design he wanted. You could get away with this under the pre-amendment legislation. The current legislation requires that you serve a notice or have an agreement.

          Under the pre-amendment Fences Act, notice was only required where a financial contribution was being sought. If an occupier did not want a financial contribution to the fencing works from their neighbour, they could undertake fencing works without giving notice to the adjoining occupier or seeking the adjoining occupier’s agreement. The Fences Amendment Act provides that an owner must generally give notice to an adjoining owner before undertaking fencing works, unless the owners have already agreed outside of the Fences Act.

          The Magistrates court involvement in these matters is typically to determine whether a fence is needed, if it is urgent, the type of fence required and to enforce any agreements. It is not to enforce a "contract" that was never made on a person that never made such contract. From their Fences Dispute Resolution Guide:

          In the majority of fencing disputes, before a person can file a complaint in the Magistrates’ Court, a ‘Fencing Notice’ is required to be given to or received by the owner of the adjoining land (or where applicable, the tenant). A fencing notice must be in writing and contain certain information. A template ‘Fencing Notice’ and ‘Urgent Fencing Notice’ is available on the DSCV website. If no agreement is reached between the parties after a certain time (usually 30 days) then a complaint may be filed.

          So, you don't do what you are supposed to, but still expect to leverage the court to enforce a payment? This is as repugnant as someone suing you for being hurt in your house while trying to burgle you. And even if you were able to register a complaint (despite not having any of the required notices and documentation), how can you serve this complaint on the owner, seeing as you apparently had so much trouble locating them for service of a "notice to fence"?

          And finally, from the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria f.a.q. (where fencing disputes are strongly channeled initially for arbitration, to avoid frivolous court use):

          I built a new fence without consulting my neighbour; do they still have to contribute?

          No. If you don’t consult first, the other party is not legally obliged to pay anything.

          If there is no "notice to fence", it can't be dealt with under the fencing act. If there is some other (perhaps verbal) agreement, it is dealt with under contract law. As there are neither, my statement he does so at his expense stands.

  • Wickz on 03/05/2020 - 21:18
    +1

    Im building in a new estate and I can tell you from experience, the estates have very strict design guidelines that cover the colour of concrete, building material, how many plants in your front yard and even include fences. Have you read your estates guidelines to see what the approved type of fence is? It seems very odd that they would allow three different types.

    You may find by reading the guidelines, that one of your neighbours isn’t compliant, and if so the estate will usually make them take it down at their own cost.

    As others have said, just reach out to your neighbour and start a friendly conversation and see what they say.

  • cheaplee on 04/05/2020 - 08:22

    I don't mind the neighbours fence design. Looks like it would be a more expensive profile than the other.

    How about you save the money from that half of the fence you didn't pay for and put it towards upgrading your other three sides at your cost to the same profile?

    The other neighbours might not agree, but if they do than you get the same profile all around hopefully for the same cost

  • GangGang on 04/05/2020 - 09:36

    Even though your fence is built. Get a quote for the standard colourbond fencing and you tell the neighbour you are happy to pay half. Also tell him you're not interested in any other design & that you are happy for him to absorb the extra cost of going above a standard product.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join