Council regulations when putting up a common fence - Perth-WRX.com

trainwrex · #1 11-09-2007, 05:38 PM

Hey guys,

Just had a property owner send me a registered post with them wanting to put up a boundry fence..

Id like to know my options:

1) Do i have to pay half?
2) What type of fence is minimal

3) They have also requested that they think that the fence line is not certain and want to get a survey done. Now do i have to comply to this request even though the fence boundry ajoins other boundries from other properties.

Any help would be appreciated...

wild_rx · #2 11-09-2007, 05:41 PM

he can ask you to pay half i think but you can refuse!! (again i think)

our next door neighbours built a wall and paid for all of it!! not sure about the fence part, but i think all he wants is your permission to have it checked out!! i guess you could refuse if you wanted!!!

BLUES · #3 11-09-2007, 05:42 PM

T - it's got F'all to do with Council - it's governed by the Dividing Fences Act.

Check the Dept of Housing & Works website - i'm pretty sure they have a download doc with all the bullshit in there.

Have fun!

BLUES · #4 11-09-2007, 05:47 PM

http://www.dhw.wa.gov.au/193_359.asp

GX-REX · #5 11-09-2007, 05:47 PM

i could be wrong but i have been lead to believe that boundary fences are to be settled by the original owners of the houses involved. If there is an existing fence there that they want to replace i dont know what happens there. The last house i owned my neighbour flattened the shitty picket dividing fence when cutting down a tree. I just said to him that he broke it he fixes it. He replaced it with colorbond fence and cost me $0...

ImPreSiV · #6 11-09-2007, 05:51 PM

Ive found that some council's do govern the fences, some don't.

Basically, the fence has to be split 50/50 As its both of your fences. How-ever an agreement has to be reached upon what type of fence you are going to install. Some council's have minimum requirements, ie: must be at least 1.8m high from the ground on the highest side. Some council's tell you what sort of fence you have to have, ie: colorbond, fibro, thatching etc..

After that has been reached, they need to get 3 quotes, and you can get some quotes of your own. Once you find a quote you are happy with you go with it.

Regarding the survey, this is my area of expertise, as its what I do day in day out. A survey will not tell you shit about the fence line. What you need is called a "repeg" where your boundaries are re-defined by geodetic marks. If the neighbour wants to dispute the boundaries, and wants a repeg, HE has to pay. Nothing to do with you. If you want the number of someone who can do the work for you, give me a buzz Tino. Like I said, I deal with this every day.

As for complying with the request, if the owner gets a survey done, the surveyor's will make every attempt not to step foot onto your property. But sometimes, this is not possible, and they must seek your permission before stepping foot on your land.

trainwrex · #7 11-09-2007, 05:58 PM

thanks guys for the replies..

What annoys me is they sent me a letter dated the 30th registered mail and i only got it today. They then said that ive got 20 days from the date of the mail.. Today is the 11th do the maths...

Kym when u said u got ppl that can do the work, which is that? installing the fence?? or the surveying.. I think they want repeg but the fence line clearly divides both properties so that is the reason why i think that its unescessary...

They have also only given me one quote for a colourbond fence as they rekon they cant get anyone to install a hardifence.. hmmmmm

I can install the bloody fence myself which i will do and charge them for it... hahahah The rest of the boundries are hardifence thus i dont want to have a colourbond fence as it dosent suit...

trainwrex · #8 11-09-2007, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLUES

http://www.dhw.wa.gov.au/193_359.asp

Fred yeah they sent me that book.. and they pointed it out to page 20 about the repeg. But it dosent seem to me that this is needed as the fence line is clearly seen..

Kato · #9 11-09-2007, 06:53 PM

Tell the neighbour to go suck a lemon.

Usually a minimum of 2 quotes are required to validate you are not getting ripped off by the owners mate. 3 quotes being the usual norm.

I'd call you local governement building section and ask them what the rules and regulations are in your area. If there is an existing undamaged fence already there, you do not have to do anything.

The owner of the other property can install a new fence at their cost. You do not have to pay half.

I'm assuming they have put up Colourbond fences on the other sides of their property and want to change your fence to suit. You do not have to agree to this, nor pay for anything. In some cases I have seen people erect a colourbond fence next to the Hardie fence. (i.e. they lose a couple of inches of their property, but it is all nice for them and you retain the same look in your property)

If they want to have a survey done to re-peg the fence lines, that is all at their cost. I've had a neighbour do this once and they ended up losing property and I got to chuckle a lot

Long story short, they have issued you a letter with a timeframe on it to try and pressure you into the decision. This means crap all in my opinion and only makes unnecessary tensions between neighbours. Go talk to you local government's building section as they will point you in the right direction. Most likely after this you can then send them a letter back telling them where to stick it and for them to reply in 21 days

dtrally · #10 11-09-2007, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kato

Tell the neighbour to go suck a lemon.

Probably only recomended if it's an investment/rental that you never intend to live in.
If you have to live next to these people for the next however many years it's probably worth coming to an amicable agreement. You never know when you may need their help etc. Probably not worth having a disgruntled neighbour complaining to the shire about everything you do for the sake of a few bucks worth of fence.