[jill1972]

I received a voicemail on my phone today. It was from our old neighbour where we used to live but is now our investment property. He's telling me that they're getting new fences put up on their property & the side which borders our side will be up by the end of next week & he wants us to split the cost half each. Ok, this is the first I've heard of this, we've not been shown any quotes, not discussed which type of fence or colours etc. No discussion whatsoever.

I don't understand why they've gone ahead without our permission as we were very good friends. I would never start something like that without the approval of my neighbour! I phoned the wife of the couple with whom I'm very friendly with & she pretty much said she's not handling it & that she left it to her husband & she'd get him to call me back. I asked her how much it was going to cost & what colour & she said she didn't know ......I don't really believe that. So now I'm waiting for this phone call & feeling very anxious. What if it's really expensive, what if we hate their style & colour choice???? I'm feeling really sick about it, I hate confrontation. What are my rights here?


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[Sinister Bonnet]

Check your council guidelines. They cannot do this without agreement in advance. They must discuss it with you.

Our council guidelines are clear that if you go ahead with the fencing you cannot claim--we also have the situation where the party who builds the fence without consent can be required to tear it down and build it within their own fenceline.

[Georgie01]

If you're in Vic the rules are all here (I Googled "boundary fence") and, as the PP said, your Council can help. It's fairly black and white - I guess because this is a common issue between neighbours.

[Bwok~Bwok]

I think it's a bit rude they didn't advise you.

With the old picket fencing at our house, DP had to provide a quote (with colours) and the 'workings' on how much each share was (4 properties). From memory they had 6 weeks to pay, but i could be wrong on that. But he gave them about a 3 months heads up before doing it though.

ETA: and yes he needed their approval, which in our case wasn't hard as the picket fencing was falling apart

This post has been edited by Bwok~Bwok: 29/11/2012, 04:34 PM

[mummy.to.one]

They really should have consulted you and discusses what you each wanted in regards to material and colors. Not sure if they legally had to but it's nice to think they should have.

I'm pretty sure, if they have some ridiculous quote, you can obtain another one, and only pay half of the cheaper option. I know our neighbours when we had our fences replaced, wanted the lattice part on top of the colorbond, they paid for that.

If a wooden fence is cheaper than you only pay the price for that not the more expensive one. But better to get that checked.

[bakesgirls]

From what I have heard on this subject in the past, if the current fence is still in working order, not broken or falling to bits, you don't have to pay for anything. If the neighbour wants new better looking fences, that's their problem and it's up to them to pay for it.

If the fence is broken, you are not obligated to pay for a more expensive type of fence, just half the cost of repair or half the cost to get the fence replaced with like for like (if that makes sense). So you can't be expected to pay half if your fence was wooden, but the neighbor wants a colour schemed colour bond fence to match their roof and the roses growing in their yard. They would have to pay the difference in increased cost due to wanting something more expensive than is what is currently there.

They also can't just arrange a new fence without getting quotes and getting you to agree to it. They can't just hold out their hand and expect you to pay for their choice.

[niggles]

Go to the council website and look for the dividing fences act information.

In my council, you don't have to agree to replace a fence that doesn't need replacing. If someone else wants to do it then, unless they get you to agree to it, they pay for it themselves.

If they want you to pay half then you get input into what type of fence, what quotes to get and which one to accept. Assuming you agree.

Your neighbour is being heavy handed I think. Or didn't tell you about a damaged fence. If the fence was damaged you'll have to pay but they should have let you know so you can have input into quotes and fence type.

[whoisme]

They must get your permission first.

They are responsible for the total cost of the fence as they did not provide you with quotes nor get your agreement to go halves.

[opethmum]

We had that done by neighbours, if you do not live there any more I would honestly let it go re the colours, you do not have to put up with the condition of the fence and decor of the colours.
I would just pay the difference and you know get on with the rest of your life and just build that bridge and get over it. Stop making it bigger than it needs to be. Just be grateful they took care of the arrangements and that your privacy was not compromised in the building of the fence.

[Joey11]

I second checking with your local council.

It's also my understanding that it should be agreed in advance for them to be able to charge you half. However, they may still be able to take some civil action to recover costs, especially if the old fence wasn't fit - it will then be up to the legal body (i.e. magistrates' court or VCAT-type tribunal) to determine how much you will pay.

If you think a new fence was necessary, how about offering them what you think is about half of the cost of the type of fence you would have wanted? Then there's much less incentive for them to have the costs and inconvenience of taking legal action.

This is a good resource for Victoria http://www.fencingonline.com.au/disputes/victoria.htm.

Bit weird of your neighbours to do this when you have a good relationship. Not very sensible.