Hi guys so the issue is we have a old wooden fence that is breaking apart and the house next door sold in 2021 the owner has worked a bit on it but have not seen them in a year and no one lives there.
Now they have a mouse family living there that are starting to come into our house and backyard. Our dog does not seem to scare them. What can we do to contract the owner and try work out building a new fence?
Do they give phone numbers of said owner? Or a way to contract
they may be able to send a letter on behalf of you.
But no one lives there
@Rukiata: You answered your own question:
how to replace a fence if no one living next door
Duh. Who said there was no owner
@Rukiata: And you said
But no one lives there
Like it's an issue because no one is there to contact.
@Trance N Dance: That means no one is living inside the house but it is owned i said there is an owner but no one lives in that house and we have not seen said owner for a year
They live somewhere else
@Rukiata: Then contact the council. Fencing in Victoria
Finding the owner’s contact details
If you don’t know who owns the neighbouring property:
- if it’s a rental property, ask the current tenant for the property manager’s or owner’s details
- call your local council (External link) and say you want to send the owner next door a Fencing Notice but don’t have their contact details
- run a title search on the LANDATA website (External link) to find the owner’s details(Fees apply).
If you still can’t find the owner you should get legal advice. If you want the owner to contribute money you’ll need a Magistrates’ Court order before any work begins.
@Rukiata: A fence is the responsibility of boundary owners, not the responsibility of whoever lives there…
they have a mouse family living there
This /s
send bill to mouse
Micky and Minnie
I'm not entirely convinced a fence would stop a mouse from visiting your yard. My cat brought one inside the other day (and this is about 4x the size of your suburban mouse). When I had it cornered, the prick managed to fit through a 1cm gap and disappeared into thin air. So good luck keeping them out with your fence. Better off just getting a cat.
Is there any laws for mouse infected houses? and needing to get pest control or anything for that? that we could push them towards and not having to just hope they are friendly and listen to us
I very much doubt it. Just do whatever you can to prevent them entering your house.
ok i contracted the council about it they made a report, did not bother about the fence im more worried about the mouse's spreading and getting worse
You just described a rat
It's some sort of protected species of rodent. I just call it a mouse because it's now as ugly as a rat.
Protected Species???!!! No a protected species rodent will be in the zoo or in captivity not running about and breeding furiously in the wild.
@skillet: A friend thought it was protected and I just went with it.
I believe it is called a Brown Antechinus.
Contact council to find the real owner
Council will tend not to get involved as it's a private matter between owners - they 'may' assist by contacting the owner, but you're unlikely to get a resolution as the owner can simply ignore the request to provide you information. Council won't be giving you any contact or private information pertaining to the neighbour… or they shouldn't be….
There's a few situations where owners in your situation replace the fence at full cost, and then some time later (maybe years) seek reimbursement from the owner or new owners of the neighbouring property.
I'm not a lawyer, but it was my understanding that there are provisions in the rules for replacing fencing for where there is some reason the job needs to be done and the other owner can't be contacted or refuses to respond. Of course going and seeing a lawyer, and going through a legal process, can be just as expensive as just doing it yourself. Depends on how long the fence is and the resultant cost.
I doubt if mice would be considered a very compelling reason. Even a new fence doesn't stop mice. I say that as someone who has recently reluctantly inherited a family of rats because my neighbour got the pest "control" people in to get them out of his roof. Rats and mice can easily get over and under a fence if there's something they want on the other side.
contact the council, they'll provide the details of the owner of the property. Send a registered letter, with quotes advising of what needs to be done and prepare for them to ignore it
my neighbour is trying to get his neighbour to replace the fence, been told it'll cost about $15-$20k to go to court AND there's no guarantee that even if he wins, the neighbour will actually pay
Build a new fence?
Send invoice to owner.
If its not paid at least you have a new fence :)
At least OP can do whatever design/colour he wants without getting his neighbour's opinion.
Building a new fence sounds like a fun couple of weekends to me!!
if you want to have some fun, feel free to have fun replacing my fence
If you wasn't in Melbourne then I might have taken you up on that offer.
Unfortunately you may be stuck with paying for it.
You can hold onto the invoice and approach the owner when they (or someone else) moves in and hope they agree to pay 50% or provides you with the owners detail (if they're renting) but unfortunately the owner has no obligation to pay back anything.
I had a fence related matter a few years ago, two of the posts broke as a result of high wind meaning the fence was now leaning putting strain on the other posts (which would eventually give out due to high-wind and weight). I had owners details from a previous interaction (Owner was renting that property out so they didn't live there). No response after various calls and text messages, contacted the real estate agent managing the property and all they could do is 'Contact the owner and await a response' which of course never happened. I was left with no choice but to get it fixed to prevent further damage (and more costly repairs), cost me approx $400 (Give or take)
I later found out from the other neighbour who used to know her before she moved out of that property that she now lives in a multi-million dollar property somewhere in Queensland with a somewhat lavish lifestyle….. Yep
contacted the real estate agent managing the property and all they could do is 'Contact the owner and await a response' which of course never happened
Could you not send the bill to the REA in charge of managing the property?
Or, ask for contact details of the owner for mediation or a legal letter of demand before taking them to the Magistrate's Court to recoup their share of the costs?
2 options.
1 Contact the owner via council. Arrange quotes, negotiate and get them to pay half. Then try and chase them for money once built, or have the pay contractor direct.
2. Build the fence, pay for it.
New fence won’t affect mice. Get a pest controller for your property.
I think op is more concerned about the mice than the fence, judging by their comment above about their discussion with council.
Honestly it's mice, they breed fast but can be managed if you can be bothered doing a few things… including blocking areas to come through the old fence, traps, poison (as a last resort for me). Have you actually tried anything as yet or just saw the mice, created a post and called the council hoping you can make the owner pay for pest treatment/removal?
yea we placed poison around, i legit cant sleep at night because i keep hearing it
but they ate the poison so they should die soon hopefully.. and im more worried they will keep coming.
Chill. They are just mice, they are everywhere. Keep your house in good order and they’ll likely not come inside, there’s plenty of bugs and stuff outside for them to eat
but if they bite you , you can get infected with bad infections. i would rather them nowhere near my home. im not used to them at all, they only showed up because of the people next door buying the house looking to build it into something else to flock off for more money. now turning it into a nesting house for mice they left it overgrown
im so stressed out because it makes me feel like anything can get into my house and its not as safe, idk why im so worried and stressed over them.
@Rukiata: Get two big carpet pythons build secure wire "run" the length of the fence let pythons loose no more mice problems
@Rukiata: Mice aren’t going to bite you. They are pretty timid and will run away.
Doesn’t matter where you live, there will be nice nearby.
Get a cat?
@Rukiata: Unless you are applying peanut butter to your toes before you sleep, you have nothing to worry about.
Mice are one of the timidest animals around.
Unless you are actually talking about the European rat, Rattus norvegicus, then it's a whole different story.
These bastards duel cats for shits and giggles.
the issue is we have a old wooden fence that is breaking apart
Get home insurance, claim on it and let them deal with whoever the neighbour is?
can you do that if its already breaking?
No. It not an insurance thing.
Complain to the council about a mice plague from next door too.
i did they marked it under Unsightly Premises/Private Property and wont tell me how long it will take.
Will they provide baits for you at least? Ask for them.
no lol
@Rukiata: I have got baits from the council before (Gold Coast and a few years ago).
Tell them you now see rats as well and ask for some baits.
Build the new fence 1ft into their property. Pays for itself.
Then hope new owners don't find out for a period of 15 years. Apply for adverse possession after that.
Dogs never going to fix a mice problem bait and traps. As to the fence contact council go from there.
I would approach the council & enquire if the rate payments for the said property are up to date, indicating that you might be in a position to help the owner with arrears. If the rates have not been paid , then there is a good chance that the property has been abandoned, so you are unlikely to get any assistance from the owner even if you can locate them. If it is abandoned, then you might be able to have the property title transferred to your name under the provisions of "Adverse possession". The law varies from state to state. Good luck
I would approach the council & enquire if the rate payments for the said property are up to date, indicating that you might be in a position to help the owner with arrears.
The council won't give out financial information even if you lie.
If it is abandoned, then you might be able to have the property title transferred to your name under the provisions of "Adverse possession".
If the rates are in arrears the council will take possession of the property. The mouse family would have more luck with
"Adverse possession" than some random.
If you move in and start paying the rates you’ll be able to try for adverse possession. I suspect however, that OP would be unlikely to set foot on the grounds let alone live there because of the mice.
You have a mouse problem, but pretending to need to contact the owner for a fencing issue will get their contact details. Check dividing fences act (or similar in your state). Meanwhile a cat or some baits may help
In Qld you can call counsel, explain you want to contact the owner. They can provide the postal address. You can then send them a letter. If they don’t respond you maybe able to do the work and go after them in qcat for half.
Have you sent a written letter to your neighbour?
It won't even cost you a stamp to post it.
Did you talk to the council to find out who is the registered owner?