If part of a fence falls....

[Pamela H in Texas]

Is there one party that is responsible or are both?

 

In our case, this fence piece is set up where we are the ones with the fence post (on the other side of the yard, it is our neighbor who has the fence posts). I wondered if that played a part in who was responsible for it.

 

Wind knocked over a panel breaking two horizontal boards. Hubby has a zip tied up right now. Landlord is willing to pay for it, but wondered if we should ask the neighbor to go in on it also. That sounded reasonable since it's their fence also. But I thought maybe the way the fence faces plays a part.

 

Any idea?

[Brilliant]

In every neighborhood we've lived in, it was either stated directly in the covenants, or assumed that the fence was the property/responsibility of both. Post placement was irrelevant.

[AngieC]

I think the person whose property the fence is on is responsible for it. (If you have a survey, it will show if there is a fence on the property if you are unsure.) Yes, the other party benefits from it, but it still only belongs to one person/family.

[Cinder]

When we lived in TX our neighborhood was full of privacy fences that sat on the property lines. Though there was no HOA or covenants, when part of our fence fell (due to high winds) we and the neighbor just assumed we'd each pay half. The fence fell into their yard and since they had big dogs they were more concerned with getting it fixed quickly. So they came to us with the proposal and we agreed to pay half.

 

I'm not sure how it would work out for you if your neighbor isn't agreeable, but I think it's reasonable to ask if the fence is on the property line.

 

Most everywhere else we've lived the fence has to be within the boundary of your property and there needs to be enough room outside your fence for you to be able to maintain it without encroaching on the neighbor's property.

[Parrothead]

I thought fence belonged to who ever paid for it. Every place I've ever lived if one wanted to tie into an existing fence one had to ask permission of the owner of the fence.

[Parrothead]

 

Most everywhere else we've lived the fence has to be within the boundary of your property and there needs to be enough room outside your fence for you to be able to maintain it without encroaching on the neighbor's property.

:iagree:

[KidsHappen]

We have a house with a privacy fence that sits on the property line. The posts are on the neighbor's side of the line, she bought the fence and she owns the fence. She allowed the previous owners to tie onto her fence. The HOA has no say in the matter of who owns the fence, only if one can be constructed in the first place. It is the city, county or state surveyor (whoever is in charge of those plots of land) who would be the determining factor in where the fence can be placed in regard to ownership of the land and who owned the fence. If the fence was pre-existing when the property was bought, the paper work should clearly state if it is the owner's property or not. If built after the house was bought they should be paperwork with surveying, permits approval and such as to where the fence is placed and who owns it. It is the responsibilty of the owner of the property to insure that no one builds on their property. It is actually terribly complicated. I know because when we bought our house the fence was pre-existing and we already had an issue regarding ownership of the fence. I thought that we owned the fence but after much research found that in fact the neighbor owns it. I personally would let the landlord handle it.

[CarolfromIL]

Barring a HOA covenant, the fence is sits on the property line---and whoever purchased then fence would have placed the fence on their property---probably inches away from the property line.

 

So if my neighbor has purchased a fence, and three years later a gust of wind knocks down a panel and/or a post------and he/she comes to me asking me to help pay for the repair???????? :confused: Yeah Right!

[Trish]

Fencing etiquette is delicate, and people can get hurt if they don't wear padding. Doesn't the landlord know if he owns the fence or not? The owner pays for repairs unless someone else damaged it.

[LidiyaDawn]

Huh? Why would the neighbours pay for the fence if it isn't theirs?

 

I would assume that whoever owns the fence would go fix it.

[livingnlearning]

Here in MT the gentleman's agreement is that you find the halfway mark of the fence and you take responsibility for the the half to your right.

[dani3boys]

Fencing etiquette is delicate, and people can get hurt if they don't wear padding. Doesn't the landlord know if he owns the fence or not? The owner pays for repairs unless someone else damaged it.

:iagree:

 

He should know if he owns the fence or not, and if he owns it, he should pay for it. It seems odd to me that he would even ask you about asking the neighbors to pay a part of it.:confused:

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

When putting up a fence it is always best to place it half a foot inside the property line. Then there is no question. As for who pays, it is the person whose property the fence is on. If it is on the property line and the original purchaser of the fence is no longer a part of this then it is the one who wants the fence fixed.

[Jennifer3141]

In our township, you may not fence to the property line but have to have a 10 foot buffer. That way, the fence owner is always clear.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I doubt the landlord, when buying a new home (in a new subdivision) thought more than five seconds about the fence. There are so many other things you are worried about; you're just glad the fence exists to keep the neighbor's dog and yours separate. It really doesn't seem odd to me that the landlord doesn't know the status of the fence. And he's not a landlord on purpose. They simply had to go where the work is so found someone (us) to take over the mortgage payments and take care of their stuff.

 

But maybe the next door neighbor knows. Or at least they haven't moved in the few years since the houses were built so can find, easily (?), information. It isn't that much money and my landlord is happy enough to pay for the fence. Of course, it's always nice if your part of something is 50% rather than 100%.

Edited October 17, 2011 by 2J5M9K

[Parker Martin]

In our neighborhood people generally share fence responsibility if both of them have fenced yards. They do not share if one has a fenced yard and the other doesn't.

 

A couple of our neighbors even went out and built their new, shared fence together.

[Starr]

You don't need to do anything. It would be up to the landlord to settle things. If I were renting I wouldn't want to cause potential difficulties with neighbors if I wasn't the one making decisions.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Well, around here, the way the fence goes is determined by city ordinance, and a fence has to be clearly on one property or another. If you put up a fence, the side with the exposed posts must face your property. I know all this only because we had a large section of fence replaced this summer.

 

Regardless of who owns it, I think whoever damaged the fence should offer to pay to fix it.

 

ETA: I now see you said the wind knocked it over. I guess the landlord would have to find out whether the fence was on his property and fix it if it's his. He could offer to help pay for it if it belongs to the neighbor.

[In The Great White North]

The owner repairs the fence (and makes all other decisions about it.)

 

The landlord should know if he owns it, especially if he lived there himself, and it might even say on the deed.

 

When putting up a fence it is always best to place it half a foot inside the property line.

Not true. In some states, the neighbor, after a certain number of years, can claim that strip of property that you "abandoned" as his. I have seen this happen with that small strip of land, that the neighbor effectively used, and finally claimed, a few sales after the original owners.

 

As others have pointed out, local laws vary.

 

Title issues happen over fence placement all the time. And illustrate why the buyer should ALWAYS pay attention to the fence.

 

If the landlord's happy to pay for it, let him. At any rate, you should not have to negotiate with the neighbors for him. I'm sure he has a phone.

[Wayfaring Stranger]

It is different in each state. In Tennessee if the fence is on the property line, the property owners share ownership of the fence. If it is not on the line the fence goes with the property it is on. Most people place fences so they stay on their own property.

[Trish]

I doubt the landlord, when buying a new home (in a new subdivision) thought more than five seconds about the fence. There are so many other things you are worried about; you're just glad the fence exists to keep the neighbor's dog and yours separate. It really doesn't seem odd to me that the landlord doesn't know the status of the fence. And he's not a landlord on purpose. They simply had to go where the work is so found someone (us) to take over the mortgage payments and take care of their stuff.

 

But maybe the next door neighbor knows. Or at least they haven't moved in the few years since the houses were built so can find, easily (?), information. It isn't that much money and my landlord is happy enough to pay for the fence. Of course, it's always nice if your part of something is 50% rather than 100%.

 

Well, the neighbor should know if HE owns the fence or not. And if the landlord used to live in the house, I would think he'd know the answer to that too. In any case, I think it would be up to HIM to ask the question of the other neighbor, not you.

 

Which brings up the philosophical question: If a fence falls in a yard and no one owns it...does it exist?

 

:D

[SkateLeft]

We own a rental home in northern California, but live out of state. We have property managers in CA that handle repairs, etc.

 

A fence panel in the backyard of that house recently fell down. Since it's a shared fence, normally the repair costs would be shared with the homeowner of the adjoining lot. However, that house is currently bank owned, so we're paying the entire repair amount.

 

Regardless, our tenants are not responsible for repairing the fence.

[AuntieM]

Someone owns the fence. The owner is responsible. That said, good fences make good neighbors (so the poem goes). It wouldn't hurt to help out if you can.

[bettyandbob]

It's not really your issue, since you are a renter, so I wouldn't worry about it more than to tell the landlord to take care of it. How he does that is his responsibility.

 

New house, new subdivision, suggests an HOA. The HOA will have specific rules about fences. If the builder put up the fence when the house was being built then it will be described buried in the paperwork at the time the landlord purchased.

[Melissa in Australia]

wow the rules are very different in Australia. Here both parties have to pay half of the cost of the fence. the fence has to match the fencing in the area. if one neighbour wants something fancier, they they pay the extra. the laws on fencing are very clearly laid out.

[snickelfritz]

The responses here didn't make sense to me, as someone who grew up in an agricultural area.

 

It is more complicated than "whoever's land it's on must fix it."

 

Oklahoma has a fence law. I didn't cut and paste since it's not really pertinent to a different state, but both parties are responsible, in farming areas, to keep the fence in good repair. If one of them wants their land un-fenced, there is a 6 month process to do that. So, no, you can't just tear down fencing on your land, if it's adjacent to someone else. There were even lien provisions for fence repair.

 

Our neighborhood doesn't have room between people for each fence to be definitively on someone's property. And all fences connect to other fences. It would be a legal mess if my yard (and possible permanent fixtures) actually included someone else's property. And since we have neighbors on 3 sides, and two caddy corner (all of them fenced with connecting fences) it could be a really huge mess if someone requiring fencing to be moved off of their property so they had their whole yard available to them. I tend to think (though it is a guess) that they would have done this massive amount of fencing along property lines to avoid future problems selling the houses.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I guess I was thinking that the way the fencing is done probably told the owners something about who is responsible for what since they are all done a certain way. The neighbor to the right of us has the fence posts for that side and we have the fence posts for the fence to the left of us. So I thought, "maybe that means each person is basically responsible for one, not both?" So many times, there are rules like that in life kinda like driving on the right side of the road. But having not lived in a subdivision, how would *I* know? But it sounds like it isn't that simple.

 

As for whose responsibility. I understand it is the landlord's responsibility to handle the fence, but I can't see the harm in calling the guy to repair it, paying for it, then taking it out of our next payment to landlord. I won't get into it with the neighbor, but just asking if they know about the fence responsibility seems harmless. Not necessary though as the landlord is actually coming down Saturday to pick up some stuff so he can do it himself.

 

I guess I don't see our relationship as formally as some people do. I like things a little more laid back generally.

[Halftime Hope]

Pam, your situation is probably very much like ours. Almost all newer developments in north TX have HOAs, as it has been the policy of most suburbs to require them for about the last 20 years, so that the ownership and maintenance of common areas (roadside easements and such) can be transferred from the city to the HOAs. If your subdivision has an HOA, there will almost certainly be CCRs which govern all things, including fencing.

 

In our CCRs, the kind, height, general color family, and direction of fences are specified, so that everything is pretty uniform and is kept in good repair. No back yard is allowed to be unfenced. It is common practice for neighbors who share a fence to split the cost of repairs, and for sections of fence that are unshared to be the homeowner's sole responsibility.

 

We have a nice neighbor, and he helped with the work as well.

 

hth

 

 

I guess I was thinking that the way the fencing is done probably told the owners something about who is responsible for what since they are all done a certain way. The neighbor to the right of us has the fence posts for that side and we have the fence posts for the fence to the left of us. So I thought, "maybe that means each person is basically responsible for one, not both?" So many times, there are rules like that in life kinda like driving on the right side of the road. But having not lived in a subdivision, how would *I* know? But it sounds like it isn't that simple.

 

As for whose responsibility. I understand it is the landlord's responsibility to handle the fence, but I can't see the harm in calling the guy to repair it, paying for it, then taking it out of our next payment to landlord. I won't get into it with the neighbor, but just asking if they know about the fence responsibility seems harmless. Not necessary though as the landlord is actually coming down Saturday to pick up some stuff so he can do it himself.

 

I guess I don't see our relationship as formally as some people do. I like things a little more laid back generally.

[UnsinkableKristen]

We've replaced the fences on all three sides of our back yard, which we share with 5 neighbors. Each time, we've split the cost and/or labor with whoever we shared that part of the fence line with. We like all of our neighbors and had no problem doing it. Like others have said, the fences are all on the property lines here, and most people around here share the responsibility for shared areas.

[GoVanGogh]

Like others have said, the fences are all on the property lines here, and most people around here share the responsibility for shared areas.

:iagree:

Same state, no HOA to regulate.

City restrictions state that property lines are defined by fences and any work done on fences (repair and replacement) must be approved by the city, to ensure that the property lines remain correct.

We are in a cul-de-sac situation and have more than your typical number of neighbors with shared fences. :tongue_smilie: Only one has ever been a jerk about it. He decided he wanted a fence that was his and only his, so he took out our shared fence and put a new one up - an inch over onto his property line. (All this without telling or asking us. We came home to find a new fence.) He then came over to our house and told me I couldn't touch "his" fence nor have anything growing nearby that might touch "his" fence. :lol: The people he hired to put up the fence did an awful job and within a month, the fence needed repair work done - on our side. I did relent and let his workers onto "my" property, but it was funny to think that he thought he could move a fence an inch and declare it totally his, but only allow an inch for someone to get in to work on it. :glare: Then he wasn't happy when I showed him city regulations that stated he had officially moved the official property line by moving his fence. Thanks for the extra inch of land. :D (Don't know what was up with this neighbor - he had never been a jerk before - then we spoke against each other at a city planning and zoning meeting regarding new development that will affect both of us. Now he is a roaring jerk to us.)