Retaining Wall Requirements for New Builds

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  JimmyF on 02/07/2023 - 13:48

  +2

  Retaining Wall Requirements for New Builds

  Retaining Wall should be on the property of who gains from it. ie the cut side in this case. Normally 30-50cm in from the boundary.

  The neighbour has previously discussed about splitting the costs which I am happy to contribute

  Same as above, the retaining wall is paid and maintained in full by the side that benefited from it. Hence why it should be on THEIR land not the boundary.

  There is no fence and very unsafe from my side (which I am okay to live with for the time being)

  Fencing if required can be split 50/50.

  • 

    Logical on 04/07/2023 - 13:14

    -2

    your advice should be reworded as both parties technically 'gain' from having a wall built, the house on the higher side doesn't slide down the hill while the house on the lower side enjoys a flat building platform: As such, the advice should rather be:

    Retaining wall should be on the property who forces the wall to be required in the first place.

    Scenario 1: the owner of the block up the hill wants to fill their land to make a flat building platform, in this case the owner up the hill must build and pay for their wall to retain their fill.

    Scenario 2: the owner of the lower block cuts into the land to create a flat building platform, in this case the owner of the lower block must build and pay for the wall that retains the higher block of land.

    • 

      JimmyF on 04/07/2023 - 18:42

      Retaining wall should be on the property who forces the wall to be required in the first place.

      Yeah that is what I said…. "Retaining Wall should be on the property of who gains from it"

      Scenario 1: the owner of the block up the hill wants to fill their land to make a flat building platform, in this case the owner up the hill must build and pay for their wall to retain their fill.

      Scenario 2: the owner of the lower block cuts into the land to create a flat building platform, in this case the owner of the lower block must build and pay for the wall that retains the higher block of land.

      As above, The Retaining Wall should be on the property of who gains from it and the retaining wall is paid and maintained in full by the side that benefited from it. Hence why it should be on THEIR land not the boundary.

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  AngoraFish on 02/07/2023 - 15:24

  +1

  JimmyF is correct. The wall is their problem and their responsibility and has to be on their land.

  They are not obliged to install a retaining wall as part of the rebuild. It's their choice to do that, or not, depending on how much room on the lot they need for their house and whether they're willing to pay for a flat block. The existing land-form can more or less always remain as-is, as of right, even if it was modified at some stage.

  They can't dig into your land in any way to build the wall without your permission. Any wall, but particularly one of that height, will need significant drainage infrastructure behind in addition to the structure of the wall itself. The minimum set back from the title boundary will be the full width of the wall plus the full extent of any cut required to construct it. They can't remove any of your soil without your permission - that would be grounds to take them to QCAT, as a minimum.

  The fence will be a 50/50 obligation once you get to that, and you would be wise to negotiate a suitable one in advance otherwise they will have no incentive to compromise. From their perspective a 2m+ wall will be their boundary fence for all practical purposes (eg keeping pets in). With that amount of cut a planning permit will almost certainly be required and if you can't negotiate an appropriate outcome on the fence in advance this would be grounds for lodging an objection to their permit application, so you have some leverage.

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  upended on 02/07/2023 - 16:01

  At least in my council area in NSW, fencing including retaining wall costs are shared. You can still negotiate with the neighbour for the retaining wall, but fence costs are generally split.

  In my case, we split fence costs equally, but my neighbour (who is on the higher side) paid 75% of the retaining wall costs and I paid 25%).

  It is in the best interest of both neighbours to have a retaining wall in place. Given your land is at a higher level, you need the retaining wall in place to ensure your side of the land does not sag / collapse.

  You can never be sure what happened 40 years ago. Perhaps the earlier owner of your property filled? Also, in my opinion, it is unfair to sit on the outside and assume the neighbours are rich since they are rebuilding. This should definitely not be the reason to make them pay.

  • 

    MrFrugalSpend on 02/07/2023 - 18:52

    +2

    Actually you can be fairly sure of what happened 40 years ago. A geotechnical engineer will be able to determine what is natural ground and what is fill, and the cut can be determined from there. Geotechnical engineering experts were used in this case:

    https://qldbusinesspropertylawyers.com.au/blog/boundary-exca…

    "In NSW there is State statutory requirements for the right of support of land you excavate. The NSW provision in section 177 of the Conveyancing Act introduced in 2000 creates an action in negligence in relation to the right of support for land that replaces the common law obligation.

    In Queensland, [the OP's state] the common law right of a landowner to have the land in its natural state supported by the land of an adjoining owner applies and is assisted by section 179 of the Property Law Act which creates a statutory cause of action in circumstances where such support is withdrawn. "

    Retaining walls
    Retaining walls are not classed as fences under the Neighbourhood Disputes Resolution Act 2011. Retaining walls are built to support built up or excavated earth. They are normally not a matter of joint responsibility for neighbours as they are usually benefit one neighbour more than the other.However, QCAT can make orders about fencing disputes that includes work on a retaining wall if the repair of the fence will also require work on the retaining wall.
    https://www.qld.gov.au/law/housing-and-neighbours/disputes-a…

    Retaining walls serve a different purpose than fences. They are engineered to support built up or excavated earth. Retaining walls are not normally a matter of joint responsibility for neighbours because a retaining wall is usually of more benefit to one neighbour, therefore equal contribution is unsuitable.
    https://www.qcat.qld.gov.au/case-types/tree-and-fence-disput…
    .

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  Loot N Plunder on 02/07/2023 - 17:04

  The retaining wall will have to be on someones property so that person pays for it, as for the fence it should be on the boundary and then that is a shared cost unless the person changing the fence is only doing it for cosmetics and not its condition then they pay the lot

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  sumyungguy on 02/07/2023 - 18:09

  Which council area are you in? If in Brisbane you'll be able to access the DA in due course via Development.i

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  Ugly on 02/07/2023 - 18:28

  +2

  If a retaining wall is required because one party altered the level of the land, the party that changed the level is fully responsible for retaining the existing ground.

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  nswnotill on 03/07/2023 - 08:09

  Not sure about Q'ld, but in NSW retaining walls above a certain height require an engineering certificate. Have you checked this out?

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 04/07/2023 - 18:45

    Mad waves breaking since OP posted