Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 05, 2008 12:33 pm Hi all - I hope you all had a great Chrissy and Happy New year - I did!
My apologies if this has already been discussed somewhere previously (I did a search and couldn't find it). We're building a new house and we will probably be the first in the estate to erect a fence and we were wondering, is there an etiquette or unwritten law as to who should pay for the fence? Because we are the first do we fork out for the lot? Do neighbours who later build on adjoing properties have to pay? Thanks in advance. Cheers, Tim -------------------------------------------------------- Built 'Cremorne 41' with PD - Handover took place in Nov '08 http://homeforourcherubs.blogspot.com/ Re: Who pays for a new fence? 2Jan 05, 2008 12:53 pm Hi Tim, welcome to the forum. With fences, i would recommend you contact the council or the developer and request the contact information for your neighbour's... Then contact them and see if they want to erect fences now....
I need to ask though, if you are not commencing the build till May 08 why do you want fences erected now??? You need to be aware that some builders charge an extra fee if you have limited access because of things such as fences.... Also if you don't need to cough up the money now, isn't that better....that is to wait until you need to get them? If the neighbour's are not willing to pay now, you have the obvious two choices, 1. pay it yourself and give them a freebie fence, or 2. wait until both parties are further along the track of building and are both interested in paying the costs... It's your choice at the end of the day, if you want to pay and have them all erected now, then go for it, personally i know we are waiting until our house is finished and we are moving in.....it also gives better site access when doing the garden or having to get in bob cats etc.... Good Luck.. Re: Who pays for a new fence? 3Jan 05, 2008 3:46 pm Some builders and fencing contractors will arrange the serving of the fencing notices for the neighbouring blocks, if the blocks aren’t sold I’m sure the developer is responsible and will pass the costs onto the new buyers.
I think you will find the fences both permanent and temporary are erected before the house start. Re: Who pays for a new fence? 4Jan 05, 2008 3:52 pm kiwi056 I think you will find the fences both permanent and temporary are erected before the house start. Actually there is no requirement for permanent fences to be errected in our estate whilst the block is vacant and while the house is being built... Temporary fencing is a must with builders for OH&S issues and insurance.... So Tim, you might want to check that out with your council or developer for clarifiation first. Re: Who pays for a new fence? 5Jan 05, 2008 4:18 pm **Phoenix** Actually there is no requirement for permanent fences to be errected in our estate whilst the block is vacant and while the house is being built... Temporary fencing is a must with builders for OH&S issues and insurance.... So Tim, you might want to check that out with your council or developer for clarifiation first. If that is the case then you’ll be paying (included in your costs) for the temporary fencing for the duration, and still have to pay for half the permanent fencing. Re: Who pays for a new fence? 6Jan 05, 2008 4:20 pm kiwi056 **Phoenix** Actually there is no requirement for permanent fences to be errected in our estate whilst the block is vacant and while the house is being built... Temporary fencing is a must with builders for OH&S issues and insurance.... So Tim, you might want to check that out with your council or developer for clarifiation first. If that is the case then you’ll be paying (included in your costs) for the temporary fencing for the duration, and still have to pay for half the permanent fencing. Correct!!! This is the case regardless...temp fencing is a mandatory requirement. Re: Who pays for a new fence? 7Jan 06, 2008 6:40 pm Thanks for the Advice everyone.
Yeah we are starting to build in May, but as the developer pulled the prices off the market from the surrounding blocks soon after we signed the contract in late August, and halted the sale off most of the other remaining lots, we believe at this stage we may be the first ones to build in our group of lots. We will be using (as most) temporary fences during the build and erect decent ones after handover. Obviously if there are neighbours who happen to build at the same time - great - we will share the cost. Cheers, Tim -------------------------------------------------------- Built 'Cremorne 41' with PD - Handover took place in Nov '08 http://homeforourcherubs.blogspot.com/ Re: Who pays for a new fence? 8Jan 06, 2008 9:26 pm Quote: ...temp fencing is a mandatory requirement. What state are you building in, teml? This may be a mandatory requirement which varies from state to state. Lots of new development around here and I've never seen any sort of temporary fence, and the house nearly always gets built first and then the permanant (and only) fence done afterwards. On the other hand if it is a vacant block surrounded by existing houses with fences already in place that doesn't seem to cause any access problems either. Re: Who pays for a new fence? 9Jan 07, 2008 2:17 am Helyn Quote: ...temp fencing is a mandatory requirement. What state are you building in, teml? This may be a mandatory requirement which varies from state to state. Lots of new development around here and I've never seen any sort of temporary fence, and the house nearly always gets built first and then the permanant (and only) fence done afterwards. On the other hand if it is a vacant block surrounded by existing houses with fences already in place that doesn't seem to cause any access problems either. You are right Helyn ... we are building in a new development in SA and there is no requirement for temporary fencing. From memory I recall fencing being used in the past but it must no longer be a requirement ... or are the builders taking law into their own hands Re: Who pays for a new fence? 10Jan 07, 2008 6:53 am Hi Helyn, we're building in Lilydale, Victoria. They have included temporary fencing (and crossover protection) as part of thier costs to the amount of $1429. As Phoenix has mentioned they need to cover themselves for OH&S and vandals too! Cheers, Tim -------------------------------------------------------- Built 'Cremorne 41' with PD - Handover took place in Nov '08 http://homeforourcherubs.blogspot.com/ Re: Who pays for a new fence? 11Jan 07, 2008 8:01 am teml Hi Helyn, we're building in Lilydale, Victoria. They have included temporary fencing (and crossover protection) as part of thier costs to the amount of $1429. As Phoenix has mentioned they need to cover themselves for OH&S and vandals too! Hire costs don’t take long to add up. Re: Who pays for a new fence? 12Jan 07, 2008 8:14 am **Phoenix** Correct!!! This is the case regardless...temp fencing is a mandatory requirement. Sorry P....but it's not!! Our council didnt require it, so we saved $750 odd by not having it!! and not one thing went missing from our site..... Builders seem to tell you you need it and take the $$$ unless you make the effort to find out!! Built Porter Davis "Dromana" 2007. Re: Who pays for a new fence? 13Jan 07, 2008 8:59 am likewise in QLD, the only builder i've seen that uses them is Clarendon Plantation Homes - The Meridian - http://ourmeridian.blogspot.com/ Re: Who pays for a new fence? 14Jan 07, 2008 10:30 am Just spoke with the local council and they have said that they have 'no' requirement for temporary fencing although they did say that the builder may be doing it for safety reasons. I then followed up with a call to our PD CSC who said I would need to ask at our Tender app't on the 17th. Wait for the next installment.... Cheers, Tim -------------------------------------------------------- Built 'Cremorne 41' with PD - Handover took place in Nov '08 http://homeforourcherubs.blogspot.com/ Re: Who pays for a new fence? 15Apr 03, 2008 9:55 am How did you go tim, I noticed there has not been a next installment as yet....
Only reason I am asking is because we will be erecting our fences in the near future (4-6 weeks) and the land behind and one lot beside us has not been released for sale yet. It stipulates in our contract of sale that the fencing costs will and con not be passed on to the developers as the land pricing has been reduced by approx the fencing costs when sold...... A load of bollocks, we all know, but we can not pass on the half of teh costs for the fence until the land has been purchased. I have not found anywhere if there is time frame from building a fence to when the neighbor or pottential neighbor no longer needs to honour their half of the cost... Does any one know if there is such a thing? Gav & Vanessa Building In Melbourne (Sth East Suburbs) http://www.arkraider.blogspot.com/ Rawdon Hill Construction - Canterbury Heritage Re: Who pays for a new fence? 16Apr 03, 2008 11:21 am Hi Guys, well as far as we are aware no one has purshased or started working on the blocks adjoining us so we are no closer to knowing who may need to go halves with us in the cost.
The cost for the temp fencing remained in our contract after signing and obviously if they don't erect it, we will be claiming it back The builders are hopefully today assembling the formwork for the slab as they have now erected the retaining wall, laid the plumbing and installed the meter box. Bring it on. Cheers, Tim -------------------------------------------------------- Built 'Cremorne 41' with PD - Handover took place in Nov '08 http://homeforourcherubs.blogspot.com/ Re: Who pays for a new fence? 17Apr 03, 2008 12:19 pm I havent read thru the whole thread so forgive me if its been mentioned but.
You are not liable for half the permenant fencing 'until the completion of a substantial building on the property' quoted from the Dividing Fences Act. So your neighbour is not liable to pay half until they finish building. You can always ask them for money before then but their not legally liable to pay. Re: Who pays for a new fence? 18Apr 03, 2008 1:11 pm cool, thanks shady... I will keep it in mind... Gav & Vanessa Building In Melbourne (Sth East Suburbs) http://www.arkraider.blogspot.com/ Rawdon Hill Construction - Canterbury Heritage Re: Who pays for a new fence? 19Apr 03, 2008 3:26 pm I'm not sure where we stand on this either. In our land sale contract it states that "so long as the Vendor is registered as the proprietor of any land adjoining the boundaries of the Lot, the Purchaser will not make any claim against the Vendor for contribution to the cost of erecting any dividing fences or walls".
Does this mean as soon as someone else buy the block next to us we can get their 1/2 of the money for an existing fence? Might have to ring the council... Ray. Second Time 'Round Re: Who pays for a new fence? 20Apr 03, 2008 3:53 pm Shady You are not liable for half the permenant fencing 'until the completion of a substantial building on the property' quoted from the Dividing Fences Act. Having read through the Law Institute of Victoria site re: fencing I can't find anywhere that states you can refuse to pay for the fence if there isn't a dwelling on the property. It states you have one month to respond to the fencing notice, otherwise you can be taken to the Magistrates Court. http://www.liv.asn.au/public/legalinfo/ ... ences.html Ray. Second Time 'Round Building Standards; Getting It Right! Hi everyone, My lot has just been titled and during the settlement we found that the rear pegs were not visible. We requested for a re-establishment and pegging plan… 0 18942 Hi, It’s important to keep in mind that dividing fences have thickness, so it’s impracticable to expect them to be wholly constructed within the neighbouring… 2 18399 Yes i guess this is one of the main reason as i checked one post foundation 4 9997 |