Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Oct 07, 2015 8:16 am Hi ! We recently moved to a new estate. Our neighbor sent us a fencing notice and we agreed to it and went ahead with the fence. However their house being on a slope, they wanted a to build a retaining wall so they can even out their back yard. They did mention that they will be building a retaining wall under the fence so they could fill up the corner and have a flat backyard. We were under the impression that the retaining wall being under the fence, will be on the boundary with the sleepers on their side. The fence was built with the posts inside our boundary which is totally fine as they wanted the flat side to face their house, but they got the retaining wall built inside the fence posts which means it is on my property. The retaining wall does not benefit us a they need it to retain the soil they are about to add and the retaining wall is take up about 60mm - 70mm of our side. We found this on the same day as it was constructed and contacted the fencer. He threatened saying it is allowed under the fencing act of 1968. I had a look and found nothing on the fencing act. I need help understanding whether I am correct or not and is there any ruling regarding constructing retaining wall under fences. Thanks a lot. Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 2Oct 07, 2015 9:14 am Welcome to my world. Luckily we stopped the fencer after we saw the holes that they dug. Unfortunately they had already completely cut the neighbours land on the neighbours instructions. I had a devil of a time trying to find the laws that relate, because fencing laws aren't retaining wall laws. The essence that I found: - whoever gains the benefits of the retaining wall is entirely responsible for its construction and maintenance - encroachment law is your friend with this one. Unless you give permission, none of their retaining wall structure or foundation is allowed to encroach on your land. - with your permission, a retaining wall under the fence is ok, however only with your permission. Our estate also has a covenant that retaining walls under fences must finish at least 100mm above natural ground level. It all depends on your state though as these are state based laws. I found SA law had the most clearly written up explanations with diagrams. I wouldn't be happy with a wooden retaining wall under my fence, what happens 10 years down the track when it's rotten and your neighbours house has been sold to someone new, they will come after you to repair it because it's on your land. Good luck Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 3Oct 07, 2015 1:50 pm I was under the impression retaining walls are not considered fences and agree with Insane - above. Funny - we had a neighbour who did this - or tried to. BUT - wanted to place it on our side - completely. When I questioned the "fencer" he said it looked better from the neighbours side AND it was only a small bit of land anyway ... He was using wood - which I didn't want. I told him to p*ss off and tell his client to speak to me. The fence is now up and the wall - not wood - but its on his side completely. I actually gained a "small bit of land" Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 4Oct 07, 2015 3:05 pm In Qld, a retaining wall can actually form part of a fence. Any fence, must be constructed as near as practical to the boundary. 60-70mm out is not good enough, and you are entitled to request to have it rectified. If you are on an acre its not really a big deal, on a suburban block it might be. The fencer is bluffing you because, he doesnt want to re do his work. He should have received clear instruction from your neighbour as to where the boundary line is, and it sounds like he didnt get it. Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 5Oct 08, 2015 8:14 am Thanks all. I emailed the fencer on Tuesday - the same day as they made the wall & fence and am still waiting to hear from him. I think the fencer knows what he has done is wrong & thought we may not notice or speak up. If I don't hear from him today, I am going to get in touch with the neighbor with whom we have hardly spoken. The husband seems nice but I am not too sure about the wife as she never smiles or says hello. What options do I have if the fencer does not agree to fix it? Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 6Oct 08, 2015 8:31 am ajs Thanks all. I emailed the fencer on Tuesday - the same day as they made the wall & fence and am still waiting to hear from him. I think the fencer knows what he has done is wrong & thought we may not notice or speak up. If I don't hear from him today, I am going to get in touch with the neighbor with whom we have hardly spoken. The husband seems nice but I am not too sure about the wife as she never smiles or says hello. What options do I have if the fencer does not agree to fix it? I would say pending what state you're in you would have to take them to vcat or qcat over it. Let a judge rule on it. Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 7Oct 08, 2015 10:13 am depending on the matter of whether the encroachment is affecting you or its only a principle thing, you may want to considder your next steps as you will have to live next door to these people for the forseeable future. Creator of superduperonium, expert at expert things, nobel laureate, can hold my breath for 10 minutes. Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 8Oct 08, 2015 12:53 pm Ponzu depending on the matter of whether the encroachment is affecting you or its only a principle thing, you may want to considder your next steps as you will have to live next door to these people for the forseeable future. If the blocks are anything like the new estates, having a wall 600-700mm inside my property would be a BIG deal (495m2), even affecting resale depending on what you can do landscaping - wise, so I would be fighting tooth and nail to claw back my land. The neighbours would (should) only get their noses out of joint if they were trying to be deceptive about the wall placement in the first place. Building the Denver by Metricon on acreage Land settlement: 24/8/15 Contracts: 8/7/16 Finance approved: 5/8/16 Council approval.....? viewtopic.php?f=31&t=79213 Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 9Oct 08, 2015 3:25 pm In WA retaining is not covered under the fencing act. Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 10Oct 08, 2015 8:19 pm bubblynutter Ponzu depending on the matter of whether the encroachment is affecting you or its only a principle thing, you may want to considder your next steps as you will have to live next door to these people for the forseeable future. If the blocks are anything like the new estates, having a wall 600-700mm inside my property would be a BIG deal (495m2), even affecting resale depending on what you can do landscaping - wise, so I would be fighting tooth and nail to claw back my land. The neighbours would (should) only get their noses out of joint if they were trying to be deceptive about the wall placement in the first place. Op said 60-70mm. Grab a tape measure, get out to the back yard, and get some context. Creator of superduperonium, expert at expert things, nobel laureate, can hold my breath for 10 minutes. Re: Retaining wall built by neighbor on our side 11Oct 08, 2015 9:51 pm Ponzu bubblynutter Ponzu depending on the matter of whether the encroachment is affecting you or its only a principle thing, you may want to considder your next steps as you will have to live next door to these people for the forseeable future. If the blocks are anything like the new estates, having a wall 600-700mm inside my property would be a BIG deal (495m2), even affecting resale depending on what you can do landscaping - wise, so I would be fighting tooth and nail to claw back my land. The neighbours would (should) only get their noses out of joint if they were trying to be deceptive about the wall placement in the first place. Op said 60-70mm. Grab a tape measure, get out to the back yard, and get some context. Ah, misread. 6-7cm is a lot different than 60-70cm!! In that case, I'd push the fencer to fix it, but at the end of the day I'd pick my battles, unless it REALLY screwed up my landscaping plans. We are retained on both sides of our block. The walls are both approximately 10cm on the inside of our fence line. They actually leave a ridiculous gap between the fence and retaining wall, which has proven to be a PITA to deal with. I would have preferred them to be ON the boundary, but definitely not encroaching on my neighbours. Building the Denver by Metricon on acreage Land settlement: 24/8/15 Contracts: 8/7/16 Finance approved: 5/8/16 Council approval.....? viewtopic.php?f=31&t=79213 Thanks for your reply! All valid points and I agree with you on many of them. I am in QLD, any recommendations on a construction lawyer would be helpful 3 2629 Thank you again Simeon.. I will call my certifier for that. Have a good day 4 5143 Thanks for the insights, that makes perfect sense, and yeah, I will be leaning on the experience of the excavator operator entirely. 6 16106 |