Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jun 29, 2014 8:24 am I would really appreciate if you share your experience or refer me to the law in NSW clause as per my situation below: One of my next door neighbour constructed his home before me and sold the property. He did the fencing and small section of shared retaining wall about 9 months ago. Now previous owner has contacted asking me for half of shared fencing cost as well as full of retaining wall cost. I am not sure if he has already charged full cost from buyer of his property. Currently new neighbour has rented the property and I never met with the new neighbour. My neighbour is about 200mm higher than my land. Initially when both the lands were released, there was about 1000mm slop from back to front for both blocks of lands. It looks me naturally there was no retaining wall requirement before any construction work. By googling, I found FAQ's - Issues on Dividing Fences When Buying & Selling Property at http://www.vickiphilipoff.com.au/dividing.asp which is basically states about WA but couldn't find any similar information from NSW. Just wondering if anyone know if NSW has same law? I would appreciate if anyone can refer me to the NSW law about same subject or any advise would be much appreciated. Thanks, Re: Shared Fencing & Retaining Wall under Campbelltown Counc 2Jun 29, 2014 10:02 am I don't understand where someone sells their property, then comes back to demand 50% payment after the property has been sold, and he's obviously been paid for his whole property. IANAL, I'd tell him to stick it. I think he's missed the boat for getting the money from you. Where you living there before he sold his house ? If so, then I think he's had ample opportunity to speak to you before selling. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Shared Fencing & Retaining Wall under Campbelltown Counc 3Jun 29, 2014 10:11 am As I understand it - retaining walls are not fences anyway. He has no right to ask you to pay for a wall he built for his needs. I'd ignore it - it might well be a try-on. Also - as he doesn't own the land now I'm not sure how he can ask you to pay him for something he doesn't own. Re: Shared Fencing & Retaining Wall under Campbelltown Counc 4Jun 29, 2014 10:26 am The law states that fencing is a shared cost however the neighbour is required to come to you with a notice to fence and seek an agreement from you to proceed - and both parties need to agree on a quote. It sounds like you were never consulted in the first place? I fail to see how he thinks he can come to you for payment on something you weren't consulted about or agreed to and for a property he doesn't own. I'd ignore it. And certainly a retaining wall he's built for his own building works is his responsibility and not yours. Completed a knock down and rebuild in northern Melbourne. Handover completed 27/09/2013 and now moved in. Re: Shared Fencing & Retaining Wall under Campbelltown Counc 5Jun 29, 2014 2:42 pm Thanks a lot guys... You made my day bpratt I don't understand where someone sells their property, then comes back to demand 50% payment after the property has been sold, and he's obviously been paid for his whole property. IANAL, I'd tell him to stick it. I think he's missed the boat for getting the money from you. Where you living there before he sold his house ? If so, then I think he's had ample opportunity to speak to you before selling. Exactly that is what I was thinking as well as he might have already claimed the full fencing cost to the new owner saying him that he can claim 50% from neighbour (i.e. me) after I move in. Regarding your question, I never lived there, in fact my house is yet under construction. I am searching for relevant legal information or NSW Govt website about these kind of issues. I will share with all in this thread, if found anything so others can get benefit. Saint Mike As I understand it - retaining walls are not fences anyway. He has no right to ask you to pay for a wall he built for his needs. I'd ignore it - it might well be a try-on. Also - as he doesn't own the land now I'm not sure how he can ask you to pay him for something he doesn't own. Thanks Saint, you rocks and a perfect advise... Bluesuede The law states that fencing is a shared cost however the neighbour is required to come to you with a notice to fence and seek an agreement from you to proceed - and both parties need to agree on a quote. It sounds like you were never consulted in the first place? I fail to see how he thinks he can come to you for payment on something you weren't consulted about or agreed to and for a property he doesn't own. I'd ignore it. And certainly a retaining wall he's built for his own building works is his responsibility and not yours. Thanks for sharing very handy info, much appreciate it. BTW he never came to me with any quote and he didn't know me earlier either... I guess, I should look for neighbour definition under the fencing act because law only applied to neighbour NOT the former neighbour... what do you think? Also guys, what is your opinion on proceeding further when he contacts again? Should I simply refuse him and let him go to tribunal? Once again much appreciate your responses... Re: Shared Fencing & Retaining Wall under Campbelltown Counc 6Jul 01, 2014 8:46 am aHomeHunt Thanks a lot guys... You made my day bpratt I don't understand where someone sells their property, then comes back to demand 50% payment after the property has been sold, and he's obviously been paid for his whole property. IANAL, I'd tell him to stick it. I think he's missed the boat for getting the money from you. Where you living there before he sold his house ? If so, then I think he's had ample opportunity to speak to you before selling. Exactly that is what I was thinking as well as he might have already claimed the full fencing cost to the new owner saying him that he can claim 50% from neighbour (i.e. me) after I move in. Regarding your question, I never lived there, in fact my house is yet under construction. I am searching for relevant legal information or NSW Govt website about these kind of issues. I will share with all in this thread, if found anything so others can get benefit. Saint Mike As I understand it - retaining walls are not fences anyway. He has no right to ask you to pay for a wall he built for his needs. I'd ignore it - it might well be a try-on. Also - as he doesn't own the land now I'm not sure how he can ask you to pay him for something he doesn't own. Thanks Saint, you rocks and a perfect advise... Bluesuede The law states that fencing is a shared cost however the neighbour is required to come to you with a notice to fence and seek an agreement from you to proceed - and both parties need to agree on a quote. It sounds like you were never consulted in the first place? I fail to see how he thinks he can come to you for payment on something you weren't consulted about or agreed to and for a property he doesn't own. I'd ignore it. And certainly a retaining wall he's built for his own building works is his responsibility and not yours. Thanks for sharing very handy info, much appreciate it. BTW he never came to me with any quote and he didn't know me earlier either... I guess, I should look for neighbour definition under the fencing act because law only applied to neighbour NOT the former neighbour... what do you think? Also guys, what is your opinion on proceeding further when he contacts again? Should I simply refuse him and let him go to tribunal? Once again much appreciate your responses... Tribunals like to see you participate. They like to see you discuss. So maybe put your ideas on paper - eg the retaining wall was for his benefit - not yours etc etc. You feel it is not fair and just for him to come to you after all this time etc etc. He never gave you a copy of quotes or asked you. While you appreciate his position you feel he has no right to seek costs at this point. Be firm but polite and sound logical ... As I said - the Tribunal will look at the case and they do like to see people try to settle difficulties without rudeness or fighting. So - play the game. Re: Shared Fencing & Retaining Wall under Campbelltown Counc 7Jul 06, 2014 5:06 pm This is the NSW Government page about fences http://www.lawassist.lawaccess.nsw.gov. ... ences.html They also have an enquiry line you can ring for more information 1300 888 529 Re: Shared Fencing & Retaining Wall under Campbelltown Counc 8Jul 07, 2014 12:00 pm Saint Mike As I understand it - retaining walls are not fences anyway. . In Qld, a retaining wall, if on a boundary and integral with the fence, is part of the fence. Re: Shared Fencing & Retaining Wall under Campbelltown Counc 9Jul 07, 2014 12:06 pm Any fencing work to be done, must first be agreed upon in writing by both parties. In the absence of this, any work that is done by a person is at the sole risk and cost of that person. I havent read the NSW fencing laws but I think this tenet is pretty universal in Australia. In your case, as the person in question now has no interest in his sold property, he has no right to make a claim on you. You cannot claim cost retrospectively. Re: Shared Fencing & Retaining Wall under Campbelltown Counc 10Jul 13, 2014 10:44 am qebtel Saint Mike As I understand it - retaining walls are not fences anyway. . In Qld, a retaining wall, if on a boundary and integral with the fence, is part of the fence. qebtel Any fencing work to be done, must first be agreed upon in writing by both parties. In the absence of this, any work that is done by a person is at the sole risk and cost of that person. I havent read the NSW fencing laws but I think this tenet is pretty universal in Australia. In your case, as the person in question now has no interest in his sold property, he has no right to make a claim on you. You cannot claim cost retrospectively. Agree - I was just talking in general - but retaining walls are an interesting case. Someone may want one for aesthetics - not need. Many of them are not on the boundary because of this issue - ie they are not necessary for the fence. And therefore are not at the expense of the neighbour. They are build to one side to ensure we know who owns them. The word integral may be a key ... QCat - "A dividing fence is generally constructed on the common boundary line of adjoining land. A fence is a structure, ditch or embankment, or a hedge or similar vegetation barrier, natural or artificial watercourse, enclosing any land, whether or not it extends along the whole boundary of land separating the neighbours. A retaining wall is NOT a fence." "Retaining walls serve a different purpose than fences. They are engineered to support built up or excavated earth. Retaining walls are not normally a matter of joint responsibility for neighbours because a retaining wall is usually of more benefit to one neighbour." "Retaining walls are not defined as part of fences because they usually benefit one neighbour more than another, therefore equal contribution is unsuitable. However, QCAT can make orders about carrying out fencing work that includes work on a retaining wall if the repair of the fence is dependent on the work for the retaining wall." Hi, I live in a single storey semi-detached house with a shared wall. All is well until my neighbour’s kid started piano lessons (using an upright piano) and the noise… 0 12867 Thanks for the insights, that makes perfect sense, and yeah, I will be leaning on the experience of the excavator operator entirely. 6 16048 Yeah my reasoning is just that those house posts are designed for vertical load not lateral. I just didnt want to risk interfering with the existing house… 4 11514 |