Boundary Fence

Age30 · Feb 19, 2019 8:53 pm

Hi there,
We are currently building in a new estate. We are starting to get the ball rolling with boundary fences. On one of the sides it boarders rural land. The owners won’t pay for half the fence. What shall we do? Are they liable for half the cost? Originally the fence was a standard farming fence but obviously this isn’t sufficient anymore. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

bestspecials · Feb 20, 2019 9:45 am

The problem is that the fence isn't suitable to the new estate but still perfectly suitable for the rural land. I would think that the owner of the rural land wouldn't have to pay anything towards any of the new owners who border their land wanting to update the fence.
But, I really have no idea. Just my opinion.

I know when we built in a new estate last year, the land behind wasn't on the market yet. We had no claim to the developer for half of that fence.

gillybean · Feb 20, 2019 10:29 am

bestspecials

The problem is that the fence isn't suitable to the new estate but still perfectly suitable for the rural land. I would think that the owner of the rural land wouldn't have to pay anything towards any of the new owners who border their land wanting to update the fence.
But, I really have no idea. Just my opinion.

I know when we built in a new estate last year, the land behind wasn't on the market yet. We had no claim to the developer for half of that fence.

Yeah I agree but I’d still be querying the developer. They’ll probably still get out of it, buried in the fine print somewhere but can’t hurt to ask. Good luck.

eirrac · Apr 19, 2019 9:33 pm

Not sure what happens in Victoria but where I am if there is a preexisting fence already there the most you can get the other party to pay is to fix it if it breaks. If the new owner wants to update the fence then that cost is on them. Where we are a hedge is classed as a fence so if someone wanted to put a hedge up that would be deemed good enough....

sweetswisssteel · Apr 21, 2019 7:07 pm

Just pay it yourself. Don't hassle the farmer, or just leave it as a standard farmers fence if you don't want to pony up a few hundred bucks.
You should have got it included in your tender with the builder.