Correct Way to Split The Cost of a Fence?

LIjustneededaname on 04/03/2025 - 14:04

Hi all,

Just wanted to get an opinion on what to do in this situation.

I live in 1 of 3 subdivided units.
We share a fence with a standalone House to our right that runs across from the 1st unit (at the front) to the 3rd at (the back).

How do we go about splitting the cost of the fence in this scenario?

One of the unit owner are asking to do a 50/50 split between the 3 Units + House next door
and then split the 50% into 3 portions (1/3 from each Unit owner)

I would've thought we'd just do a 4 way split amongst the owners?

MS PAINT REQUIREMENTS
https://imgur.com/a/90HueLS

Home & Garden Fencing

Comments

  • 87percent on 04/03/2025 - 14:05
    +1

    Good luck getting 4 people to agree on it.. the fence with my sub-divided neighbour was damaged, and 1 is such a biyatch that me and the other neighbour said we'll just do 50/50. Luckily it was only $500 between us

    • Ijustneededaname on 04/03/2025 - 14:06

      It seems like the easiest thing to do is a 4 way split.
      But then you have neighbours who hate each other

  • zoob on 04/03/2025 - 14:13
    +80

    I would say the other unit owner is correct.

    The fence belongs 50% to the house and 50% to the 3 units as I understand it from your diagram, so the cost should be split that way too.

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 04/03/2025 - 17:32
      +8

      This is the way!

      • DoctorCalculon on 04/03/2025 - 20:48
        +5

        💯

        X = Cost of Fencing

        0.5X = Share of Cost on either side of the dividing boundary line

        => Share of Cost for each strata unit = X / 6

  • CodeXD on 04/03/2025 - 14:13
    +9

    Logically the 50/50 split between the 3 Units + House next door makes sense.

    If you think about the usage of the fence for 2 houses, it is split 50/50 between house 1 and house 2.

    The 3 units make up house 1.

  • geekcohen on 04/03/2025 - 14:15
    +16

    House 50% and then the remaining 50% between the 3 units. That would be similar to if the 3 units was a single house.

    So if it is $2,000. House is $1,000 and then the units are $333.33 each.

    Just like if you back onto a main road/street (like me) or share a side with a street/foot path, you have to pay the entire fence. Recently had to do this and had to pay all 55m of Fence.

    • AustriaBargain on 04/03/2025 - 14:37
      +6

      Who pays the missing $0.01?

      • geekcohen on 04/03/2025 - 15:00
        +5

        New this would happen. Because not even $333.34 works……..

        Fence builder cops it.

        • playerzer2 on 04/03/2025 - 15:50
          +9

          Unsustainable for the fence builder. Does he have to absorb the $0.01 for every fence he builds?
          How's he going to pay off the lifted Ranger with the extra bright headlights?

    • S2 on 05/03/2025 - 14:12

      Recently had to do this and had to pay all 55m of Fence.

      The street/footpath belongs to your local council. They may pay half with you. Reach out to them to ask for their process.

      • geekcohen on 05/03/2025 - 14:14
        +2

        They may pay half with you. Reach out to them to ask for their process.

        may

        I've had to pay for both in full. Built a house with a side on the footpath, no go. Same for the recent back fence at a different house.

        I am yet to hear about any council/shire that will be happy to pay for half of a fence.

        • S2 on 05/03/2025 - 14:21
          +1

          I stand corrected. An online search indicates they only share when it's against council land like a park, but not a road.

  • Wiadro on 04/03/2025 - 14:20
    +5

    @MS Paint do you like the drawing?

    • MS Paint on 04/03/2025 - 14:23
      +17

      8/10 would definitely open again

      1 point lost for straight lines
      1 point lost for non-handwritten text

  • star-ggg on 04/03/2025 - 14:20
    +6

    Does the whole fence need to be replaced? If I owned the house I'll wouldn't agree to paying half of a whole new fence if only one section of an unit is damaged.

  • AngoraFish on 04/03/2025 - 14:35
    +7

    Strictly in your scenario the unit's body corporate pays for half and the adjacent residence pays for half.

    Ultimately it doesn't matter how the cheques get written though. It would be simpler if every unit owner just paid their 33% of half directly to the fencing guys.

    • tenpercent on 04/03/2025 - 15:51
      -2

      Who pays the remaining 1%?

      • AngoraFish on 05/03/2025 - 00:15
        +2

        I was imagining that you might chip in.

    • andrek on 05/03/2025 - 09:09
      +3

      I was in the same situation a few years ago, I was that standalone house. I didn't even deal with the unit owners, I only discussed everything with body corp. 50% was paid by the body corp. I don't know how they've charged each unit, I would expect the cost to come from the body corp funds and not individual units.

  • AustriaBargain on 04/03/2025 - 14:36

    50/16.66/16.66/16.66 of the cost of the minimum viable fence, if it indeed needs replacing. And if any of y'all want a fancier fence you pay the extra. Sounds like it would be easier if there were strata to just enforce these things on the units…

    • Ijustneededaname on 04/03/2025 - 15:50

      Our body corp has been a shit show.

      Any recommendation for a good one?

      • AustriaBargain on 04/03/2025 - 15:52

        You could get involved, but the drama may not be worth it.

      • Ocker on 04/03/2025 - 18:25

        With only 3 units, and assuming all the owners are on speaking terms, the get rid of the body corp. and form your own.
        There is plenty of info on how to do so and you will save a heap on your outgoings probably 20% plus

        • tenpercent on 05/03/2025 - 07:03

          There is plenty of info on how to do so

          For example? I've looked into this before and found it difficult to get the information.

      • trongy on 04/03/2025 - 22:29

        The owners corporation is the legal entity that manages the common property of the block of units. You and the other two unit owners are the members of the owners corporation.

        What is an owners corporation?

        • Ijustneededaname on 05/03/2025 - 06:49

          I think we have a strata manager atm.
          It was set up prior to me purchasing the property.
          Any recommendation on a good Strata Insurance?

          • coffeeinmyveins on 05/03/2025 - 07:58

            @Ijustneededaname: If you do this, you'll realise quickly how selfish people are.

            YOu may be on speaking terms now, but the moment you bring money + property into the mix, people change. It's good that you have 3, so there can be a tiebreaker but yeah.

            Source: On owners corp and seen direct neighbouring units vote against remediation work for my property. They were the only one that voted against it. Guess what happened when the same thing happened to them. They came running to strata.

    • AngoraFish on 04/03/2025 - 14:49
      +12

      You didn't read anything other than the subject heading before posting, did you.

  • Dollar General on 04/03/2025 - 14:43
    +2

    Ask the fencer for his/her opinion. They will come across this scenario more than ozbargainers

    • DoctorCalculon on 04/03/2025 - 20:53
      +1

      You will find that every fencer just wants to get paid for the job.
      They don't want to be involved in the politics of how that happens.

    • JIMB0 on 05/03/2025 - 09:07
      +1

      They just play the neighbors off against each other for extra money.

    • OzzyOzbourne on 05/03/2025 - 14:44
      +2

      They will ask all properties to pay half each 😅

  • jv on 04/03/2025 - 15:06

    Ask the fencer for his/her opinion.

    touché

  • happydude on 04/03/2025 - 15:17

    The answer will be in the Fences Act 1968 (Vic).

    https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/fa196…

  • Hellfire on 04/03/2025 - 15:32

    Split 50/50 between house and body corporate/strata.

    Strata will split it among the units.

  • tenpercent on 04/03/2025 - 15:50
    -1

    How much of the fence is exposed to your yard?

    Half of the fence is exposed to the neighbour's yard so they pay 50%.

    Half is exposed to the three units. Then divide this half up according to the metreage of fence exposed to each unit. If each unit's yard is exactly the same dimensions then your neighbouring unit owner is correct:

    One of the unit owner are asking to do a 50/50 split between the 3 Units + House next door
    and then split the 50% into 3 portions (1/3 from each Unit owner)

    But that's only if you all agree to the replacement.

    If your section of fence does not need replacing then you should agree to pay 0% and suggest the neighbouring house owner should fork out for that whole section if they still want it replaced.

    • Ijustneededaname on 04/03/2025 - 15:57
      +1

      Seems like it's better to save myself from future headache and just change the whole fence in 1 go.

      Don't want to find another fencer to come out and do a mismatch of my section later on!

      • tenpercent on 04/03/2025 - 16:05

        Good point. But could be worth seeing if the house owner will still go ahead with that section. If they won't go for it then cough up to save a hassle later.

        I just saw your diagram. It looks like one of the units has a longer section of fence than the other two? If you're one of the top two units I'd suggest using the metres of fence to work out each unit's share of the 50% - it shouldn't be equal. But if you're the bottom unit with the longer section of fence I'd agree to one third of 50% and hopefully the other unit owners don't have an issue with it.

  • JimmyF on 04/03/2025 - 16:31

    How do we go about splitting the cost of the fence in this scenario?

    A fence cost is split 50/50.

    So each person pays for their own section of fence by the meter.

    If a unit has 10m of fence, they pay 50% of 10m of fencing and so on.

  • Benoffie on 04/03/2025 - 16:44
    +1

    This actually depends on your state.

    In SA:

    https://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch31s02.php

    50/50 isnt always the outcome. There is usually a process to trigger claims. You need to follow it to be successful.

    Check the Fences Act in your state

  • Gdsamp on 04/03/2025 - 17:35
    +3

    does the fence need to be replaced at all

    if not, then hwhover is wants to replace it can cover 100%…..

    • bargaino on 05/03/2025 - 00:28
      -1

      This!
      if the fence is damaged between house and one unit, they pay 50/50 for that repair or replace.
      If the other units want a new fence, they can damned well pay 100% .

    • Ijustneededaname on 05/03/2025 - 06:53

      The whole fence is looking rather old.
      Think we'd get a better deal doing the whole length in 1 go than doing a portion

      • Gdsamp on 05/03/2025 - 11:55
        -1

        The whole fence is looking rather old.

        Seems unfair to ask someone to pony up for a replacement fence if the current one is functional/intact/undamaged. if 1/4 parties wants to change it for aesthetic reasons they can cover the whole cost as far as im concerned

        • Ijustneededaname on 05/03/2025 - 12:57

          Half the fence is leaning towards our side. Going to just crumble down eventually. I think it's also ripping up some of the soil

  • ihbh on 04/03/2025 - 18:28
    +2

    If I was the other house, I'd love you … and your lack of logic.

    • AustriaBargain on 04/03/2025 - 23:22

      His idea has him paying more. Why would he shoot down the other idea which saves him money without trying to understand it, I don't understand. Does he have unlimited money?

    • Ijustneededaname on 05/03/2025 - 06:52

      The 50/50 doesn't seem too much more than a 25%.
      I rather pay a bit more and just keep things chilled in case of any other future dealings.

      • ihbh on 05/03/2025 - 07:42

        I rather pay a bit more and just keep things chilled in case of any other future dealings.

        All good, but don't impose your logic on your other two townhouse neighbours.

        That is, house neighbour pays 25%, your townhouse neighbours pay 16 2/3% each and you pay the balance of 41 2/3% to get to 75%.

        • Ijustneededaname on 05/03/2025 - 08:14

          Yeah, I understand. I'll just go with what the majority of the Owners decide.

          I had a feeling it'd be a 50/50 then whatever that 50% split is amongst the 3 Units

          Just wanted an opinion of what seems like the correct way to deal with this situation.

  • BNEmatt on 05/03/2025 - 08:35

    50/50, then the strata side can split by their contributions.

  • 82norm on 05/03/2025 - 09:02

    Do the fence yourself and pocket the change.

  • hubs1982 on 05/03/2025 - 09:33

    Not sure what type of fence is going to be there, assuming it's the "traditional" type, which side will get the "front" of the fence (just plain vertical strips), which side will get the "back" of the fence (with the horizontal supports)?

    • Ijustneededaname on 05/03/2025 - 09:59

      God, haven't even thought about that.
      Currently we have the posts on our side.

      Guess we go half and half!?
      Build 2 fence?
      Have posts on BOTH Sides?

      So many little things to think about

      • Eeples on 05/03/2025 - 13:13

        I have one of these. Palings on both sides.

      • ihbh on 05/03/2025 - 16:14

        Normally the side that gets the quotes gets the choice.

  • afah0447 on 05/03/2025 - 11:26

    Ha ha! This issue comes up every six months or so.

    • 1d0ntkn0w on 05/03/2025 - 12:25
      +1

      Really, how often do you replace your fence?

      • Ijustneededaname on 05/03/2025 - 12:57

        Maybe he's the fencer!

        • 1d0ntkn0w on 05/03/2025 - 16:08

          Maybe he needs a sparring partner. No need to slash at your fence mate!

  • WaterMark on 05/03/2025 - 13:13

    I agree to the 50/50 with the strata splitting into 3 lots. Also if the neighbouring house wants a better fence that costs more, they will need to pay the difference in cost that exceeds the cheapest quote of the current existing fence type. I would also suggest getting a surveyor to peg the boundaries incase they ‘magically’ got more land on their side. This cost is also split 50/50

    • gromit on 05/03/2025 - 13:32

      The party requesting the survey is responsible for the cost, this will not be split unless the other party agrees to recheck it.

      • WaterMark on 05/03/2025 - 18:34

        From where I am at in NSW, it’s part of ‘fencing’ work which is included.

        • gromit on 05/03/2025 - 19:00

          might want to read into that more carefully. In some scenarios you share cost, especially if in agreement. however if they state the boundary is already correct and you hire a surveyor, you are entirely up for the cost unless the surveyor shows the boundary was incorrect

          "if your neighbour pegs out the boundary line in response to your notice, and the registered surveyor confirms your neighbour's markings to be correct, your neighbour will be entitled to claim any costs they have incurred from you."

  • UFO on 05/03/2025 - 14:22

    Boundary fence. House is responsible for 50%, the units are responsible for the other 50%.

    How the unit owners split their 50% share is up to them. Typically it would a 1/3 split if that ground is common property that no one owns. If private ownership is attributable to the whole length, then the % would be broken down to who owns what % of length. If there are other unit holders in the complex, and the land adjoining the boundary fence IS common property, then the cost of the fence should be attributed to ALL owners (be 3, 6, or 10 units).

  • Ijustneededaname on 05/03/2025 - 14:35
    +1

    Thank you all for the reply!

    Nice to see some healthy discussion and to weed out the people we can live with!

  • dtxau on 05/03/2025 - 15:29
    +1

    @Ijustneededaname just went through this with the same 3 units and 1 next door neighbour.

    50% for the neighbour, and the other 50% split up with the 3 units.

  • Dreamcast on 05/03/2025 - 19:21

    No fence, then you're more than neighbours

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