Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Oct 04, 2012 5:00 pm I was hoping to discuss boundary fences and the developers obligations with contributing toward its construction and peoples experiences. I am currently building within an new estate and nearing completion on my house, I purchased the block privately and not off the developer, and so sent them a notice to fence a few weeks ago. The reply I received was that under there sale contracts they do not contribute toward fences. Now I didn't sign that contract, the previous owner I purchased off of did. Now as part of my sale I signed that I had viewed and received a copy the estates building guidelines, but this doesn't mention an exemption by the developer to contribute. The main question I have is how binding are these covenants after the initial purchase? My understanding is that any covenants that apply to a block have to be listed in the land title (in my case there are none, I'm in Queensland also by the way). The building "guidelines" document while included in my contract is very loosely termed and very little is written in a legally binding matter, which has got me thinking perhaps the document the previous owner signed is similar. If this is the case anyway then this should have been disclosed to me when I brought, and if the agreement the developer has is with the previous owner and not me, then this means they are bound to contribute by my reckoning. any thoughts or similar experiences? do your contacts/covenants with your developers name you only, or do they make it your responsibility to inform new owners of the covenants? Thanks... Re: Developers and Boundary Fencing Contributuion 2Oct 04, 2012 6:54 pm It's becoming more common for developers to wriggle out of paying for fences on land that they own by adding a clause to sale contracts. I don't know whether that stands up on a subsequent sale though - if the usual laws don't apply, there ought to have been some disclosure to you prior to signing the contract....at least morally anyway. You may need to seek some legal advice - The Dividing Fences Act states clearly that owners of adjoining land are liable to pay, but clauses in contracts of sale can pass on all sorts of legal obligations of the seller to the purchaser. Subsequent sales muddy the waters, but you can bet the developer has had their best legal minds working on this. Personally, I think developers would avoid problems and breed goodwill by simply paying for fencing as part of the sale contract. The cost could be built into the price, so they wouldn't be out of pocket, purchasers would have privacy and security for pets and kids, and it would improve the appearance of the estate (no unfenced blocks). Plus: no disgruntled customers. Oh, the Act is here: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/ ... fa1953137/ You should be able to encase the sewer but you will need it designed and approved and access to lot 580 to do the work 2 17154 ask the surveyor for clarification would be the logical approach 1 20132 just talk to them, tell them it is unsightly and ask them for a solution. Any reasonable person would render it for you or do something similar. If they give you trouble… 4 18811 |