Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 28, 2010 5:40 pm hey all... When we purchased our vacant block, the rear property was already settled and the rear fence was already up.... I ask my conveyancer if i had to pay half for the fence and she said no, as it was already up and was no mention of paying existing owner in our contract.... The rear owner had no claim on the original land owner/developer as there was a no claiming for fence clause in the contract.... He now thinks he has a claim on me..... So, legally where am i....?? So, morally where i am...??? When of the reasons of picking this block was to save a bit of fence money.... Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 2Apr 28, 2010 5:48 pm I'd check again with your conveyancer - perhaps they can get hold of the original owner and put the onus back onto them as you purchased the land "as is" - and that included the fence already being there. If it wasn't in the contract that you should pay for the fencing then it should be paid by the owner of the block at the time that a) the fencing notice was sent out (prior to fencing) and b) the fence was installed. Morally, I'd say that the other land owners shouldn't be up for the full amount. I'd also say that morally, the previous owners should have paid for it already. Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 3Apr 28, 2010 6:15 pm I would've thought that it should have shown up on the Section 32; legally I don't think your neighbour can do anything about it. Morally it probably wouldn't hurt to make a contribution towards it - or tell them tough luck - depends on if you want to remain civil to these people. Built a Tribeca 44 with the Big M Sales Accept 15/06/09, Contract Signed 24/09/09, Site Start 23/11/09, Slab 11/12/09, Frame 12/01/10, Roof 20/01/10, Lock-up 30/03/10, Fixing 30/04/10, Handover 27/08/10. Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 4Apr 28, 2010 6:51 pm Not your problem - and I wouldn't be paying. You have no legal or moral obligation here. Their contract would have had the same clause as yours re not being able to claim fencing costs from the developer where the adjoining land is owned by them, so they can't claim not to have known. Too bad. Be sympathetic but don't budge. Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 5Apr 28, 2010 7:00 pm if he fenced the property when you did not own the land, not your problem.... I would have considered it if I were friendly with the neighbour... but if this guys come straight out like a prick and demanded it... only one option "on your bike matey" in my contract of sale for my block of land, there is a fencing clause put in by the developer... for as long as he owned the opposite block of land I wanted to errect a fence on, his contribution would be $1... I bet your new friend over there bought off the developer and had a similar clause put in.. Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 7May 02, 2010 9:53 am Who cars about legality? Morally, giving them 50% is the right thing to do. Think of it this way, if they waited until you purchased the land and then wanted to build the fence, you would have to pay 50%. At least this way, it's more convenient - the fence is already built so once you build your house, there's no mucking around for you in waiting for a fencer to come out and do it. I had a similar situation, we purchased our block. The block to the left was being reserved by the developer to build a house and land package on (they had it reserved for 1 and a half years). The block then turned into a fill dumping ground and after checking with the developer, they said yes, we are still building on it but it will be the very last one in the estate. They said if we do build on it, we will contribute 50% so we decided to build a fence. Waited a couple more months and then built the fence. A week later a For Sale sign appeared on the block ![]() Block has now been purchased, wonder if my neighbours will be nice about it. Al & Caitie- Building the Hamilton 278 (Coral) at Narangba
Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 8May 02, 2010 10:50 am Medsy my conveyancer told me exactly the same when I asked re fencing costs. She said that it was the neighbour's problem as they were the ones who chose to fence prior to me buying the block and in doing that, they also had the choice of style/colour/etc for the fence, although in the estate only hardwood fencing is permitted (no colourbond). The contract didn't mention being responsible for fencing costs. My block was only re-titled last month and will settle tomorrow, whereas the surrounding blocks were titled some time ago but having said that, the block directly behind mine had to be re-titled too, so there's no fencing along that portion of my back boundary so I may have to share costs on that section, but again, the conveyancer said if they build before me and construct a fence without consultation then it's at their cost. Keep in touch so we can compare notes. ![]() Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 9May 17, 2010 10:08 pm That's not right for SA for new housing estates. If your in an estate where your neighbor erected the original fence then he/she can legally request half the costs from you under the Fences Act 1975. Check out the links below. Probably a good idea to check your contract too. http://www.lsc.sa.gov.au/cb_pages/pamphlets.php http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A ... 01975.aspx New housing developments In some housing developments, the contract of sale may provide that an owner cannot collect a contribution for fencing from the developer if the neighbouring block is unsold. A contract may also state that the buyer of the land has to pay the developer or the neighbour for existing fencing. I'm currently building in a new estate and have no neighbor on one side or the back but once there is I will be requesting they pay for half the cost of the fence no matter how long they take to sell. New Fence 10Feb 03, 2025 12:18 pm Hi everyone, fences must be the worst part of owning a home! We have 5 neighbours and the fences involved are everything from no bad to almost good. The property behind us has been sold and bought by a developer. I'm just waiting to hear what will happen to our fence. I'm happy for the corrugated sheets to be recycled and new steel posts and runners installed. We live within the Campbelltown SA council area, and I will keep everyone informed of what happens. Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 11Feb 04, 2025 8:17 am ![]() Who cars about legality? Morally, giving them 50% is the right thing to do. The legality of it is wholly relevant. This problem isn't the OPs, its his neighbor's. His neighbor is trying to sting him for something that is not his legal obligation. That in of itself is immoral. I would not be trying to keep a neighbor happy that is trying this BS on. Not only would i not pay anything, I'd give them the knowledge they need to know, without any question, that I'm liable. Make them realize that anytime they bring it up or ask me for money for it, that they KNOW theyre an a hole for even asking. Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 12Feb 04, 2025 8:17 am ![]() Who cars about legality? Morally, giving them 50% is the right thing to do. The legality of it is wholly relevant. This problem isn't the OPs, its his neighbor's. His neighbor is trying to sting him for something that is not his legal obligation. That in of itself is immoral. I would not be trying to keep a neighbor happy that is trying this BS on. Not only would i not pay anything, I'd give them the knowledge they need to know, without any question, that I'm liable. Make them realize that anytime they bring it up or ask me for money for it, that they KNOW theyre an a hole for even asking. Re: Fence payment legality / morality....?? 13Feb 04, 2025 11:20 am ![]() ![]() Who cars about legality? Morally, giving them 50% is the right thing to do. The legality of it is wholly relevant. This problem isn't the OPs, its his neighbor's. His neighbor is trying to sting him for something that is not his legal obligation. That in of itself is immoral. I would not be trying to keep a neighbor happy that is trying this BS on. Not only would i not pay anything, I'd give them the knowledge they need to know, without any question, that I'm liable. Make them realize that anytime they bring it up or ask me for money for it, that they KNOW theyre an a hole for even asking. I have spoken to the demolition contractors, who will be clearing the site and they told me that the new owner will have to pay for all fencing on all sides. Lucky for them, our's is the only side that needs it. They told us that some owners try to grab money off their neighbours in situations like this, but because they decide on the materials and colour, they carry the entire cost. I would be worried about new neighbours trying to scam me like this, as they would have been informed by the builder and the fencing contractor of their obligations. photos would help, the fence is usually centred on the boundary, ie middle of post on 1 9743 I ended up refusing him to pay to fix HIS mistake. I paid money to fix just one ceiling, that too was overpriced but had no choice I shared my build story on another… 2 29418 Hey Buddy I am so sorry to hear. I have been going through something very similar. In our case a client owed us circa $200k for the final payment and moved in without… 2 13201 ![]() |