Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 07, 2013 11:45 am Hello, I'm seeking advice for fence related issues. We have been in our house for a month and prior to moving in, we had a break in. This frightened us and we felt better if we had a fence put up quickly. We're in Mernda villages so all our fences has to be colourbond of a specific height and colour. We had the fences put in and the lots next to us just got sold and the one in the back is still vacant. We apologized to the neighbour on our left for not contacting them sooner but said if they could find a lower quote for the same thing, we'd be happy for them to pay half. They paid half of the fence. The other neighbour just started site cut and told us that they bought a package and the builder will put in fence. The builder has told them that they will pay half. That was a month ago and now that site cut has started, there has been dents into our fence adjoining this neighbour. Then, this Saturday as they were digging the site, we went out for the day to come home to two panels of the adjoining fence ripped out along with one post and all this was put onto our property. There was no letter or permission since we were home for earlier part of the day. We felt quite alarmed at this action. The fence was put half on both boundaries and since the builder's office is away on holiday till 14th of Jan, we don't know what to do. I've hung a note on the temporary fence for the SS to contact us but we have heard nothing. There are no details of the builder or the SS on the lot and we are at a lost. How illegal is this and should I be afraid of a prolonged struggle for payment for fences? P.S They took out the fence to cut the site for their garage leaving no AG pipe drainage. What would you do? We have sent emails with photos of the fences. Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 2Jan 07, 2013 12:45 pm If I was you I would document everything and take lots of pictures, I believe the builder left the panel on your land because he isn't legally allowed to remove it (as in dispose) because it not his property! I also don't believe he can bill you for replacing a fence when the old one was still in good condition! At least until he dented it! I would expect the builder to make good the fence at his cost! 2 Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 4Jan 07, 2013 1:03 pm Call the builders head office when they get back in the mean time I'd try the council then the police, get some info on whether it's considered illegal or not, years ago we had stuff dumped on our property when we moved in our newly built first home including big off cuts of heavy concrete there was a house getting built behind us and we had no fence for a few months . I called the well known builder to tell them they need to remove it ASAP.. A few calls later it was removed. Good luck Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 5Jan 07, 2013 1:42 pm In W.A.? if so what they've done is illegal. They must first send you a letter advsising that they need to take down part of the fence. You then have a certain time in which to respond positively or negatively. They have to provide secure temporary fencing, an accurate time estimate of when the fence will come down and when it will be re-established and they must re-establish to what they found. If you fence panels have been damaged they will have to replace but of more concern would be the lack of notification and discussion. You could quite easily get an injuction to stop all work until they rectify. Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 6Jan 07, 2013 6:09 pm The builder has provided no sign with information of contact details, no portaloo or skip for rubbish. Left our contact details on temp fence for the past two days, work has been done on lot but he hasn't contacted us yet. Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 7Jan 07, 2013 6:39 pm Keep in mind that most builders are on holidays at the moment - some of their sub contractors might be on site, but the building company's office probably isn't open. None of the contractors are likely to take any notice of your sign. The fence panels shouldn't have been removed without first contacting you, but again, a contractor may have just gone ahead in the absence of the site supervisor because it needed to be done; often they're just focused on doing their part of the job and don't consider how their actions might impact on others. Right or wrong, it's what many of them do. Assuming they had contacted you, and it was impossible or extremely difficult for them to complete the work with the fence in place, it would be unreasonable to say no, and I don't imagine you would do so ...so am I correct in saying that the main issues are: 1. Removing your fence without consent or prior notice 2. Damage to fence panels If it was me, I would contact the building company in writing and complain about the lack of consultation, but more importantly, ask for written assurance that the fence will be reinstated and any damaged sections replaced, without cost to you. I'd also ask for a timeframe - on completion of construction wouldn't cut it, but within a reasonable time to allow access for brickwork, for example, would be. If you have pets or small kids, that's a whole other thing, of course. You can't live with a gap in your fence for weeks at a time. Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 8Jan 12, 2013 8:19 pm I think it's disgusting doing that and just leaving it. Stuff the builder if it makes their job hard KEK the boundary is the boundary. The have NO right to remove fence panels and use your land. Builders and their subbies are scumbags and most are bottom feeders who can't even spell respect let alone use it for anyone else. A bank is a place that will lend you money only if you can prove that you don't need it... Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 9Jan 12, 2013 8:41 pm It's been a week and no response. There has been people on site to deliver materials but we are waiting till Monday to call and seriously complain. It is trespassing and destruction of property! Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 11Jan 15, 2013 7:51 pm Ha! So so angry. This week we called site supervisor. He said its not his fault , it was done by workers when he was on holiday. He also said that he won't pay for damaged or any of the remaining fence. I came home to find he had ripped out more of our fence, used our water from our garden tap (still dripping), had coffee cup on our hot water unit AND put in support stakes well into our lot to support their base before pouring slab! I mean seriously ? Going to cAll Ahb or iq living tomorrow because it is ridiculous! Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 12Jan 15, 2013 7:53 pm And any legal ppl out there, help! This is just the beginning of the build.what are our rights? Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 15Jan 16, 2013 1:41 pm Not his fault and he won't pay?????????? he is the supervisor isn't he and if he was on holiday then who was standing in for him. Go around him direct to AHB - when I had issues with the build next door - supervisor perving over the fence, hurling abuse at us - went to his company and told them I was going to get an injunction against them and stop their build - supervisor replaced next day and now relationship is all good. Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 16Jan 16, 2013 7:03 pm How does one get an injunction? From it it seems he doesn't supervise at all. Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 18Jan 18, 2013 5:37 pm Thanks Althom. I have heard back from the builder and they are willing to pay 80% of the fence (of their 50% that is). They said that their clients contract states only a set amount of fencing, so she is only authorised to pay the amount she offered me. On top of that, she said she will replaced damaged fence panels with the panels that they had ripped out from the boundary. That's not fair is it, they're going to use panels I paid for and they're not willing to pay for, to replaced damage panels that created! My partner is writing an email demanding the full payment of their share. How can they have that in the contract, do people who has fenced before they start building always have to eat the loss? It doesn't make sense to me at all! Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 19Jan 18, 2013 5:58 pm I think you'll find they haven't got a leg to stand on. As long as you haven't put up something more than is required i.e. I'm assuming you've just gone for a standard height colourbond job - then they don't have a choice. They have to pay 50% and I'm pretty sure that they don't have any chopice but to restore to the conditioon they found it in. That's how it works in WA anyway. Re: Fence ripped out by builder next door 20Jan 18, 2013 7:33 pm Hi padams. I had to deal with the same builder for both sides of my mums house. They use a fencer from the west that is impossible to get a hold of, let alone get a fence erected. Mum's house was ready in Dec 11 and I was chasing him from September 11 to come install fences before handover. I ended up getting my own guy to install fences and paying their share of the extra because after 3 months I was over it. Also here's a tip... Don't do any landscaping until they have finished their building and landscaping. Trust me save yourself aggrevation. As a side note, our land titled yesterday! Settlement end of Jan and hopefully start building next month!!! 6 months behind schedule... But who's counting... Building the Oasis 27 in Mernda i imagine you also have another contract with an architect? and yeah, whatever other's said about special conditions and appendices 16 15980 Hi all I am looking to run a water line under my concrete footpath which is directly next to my home, was seeing if this is possible without cutting the entire section… 0 20166 Did you know that you can get rugs made from carpet? So much cheaper than buying a shop rug. So many styles to choose from, but you won't get the highly patterned… 0 6264 |