I understand the price of a redwood fence nowadays, especially since the pandemic, can be very expensive. If one party refuses to cooperate, the other party can do any of the following: The definition regarding Join for Use is likely going to be a major factor in deciding who is legally responsible to pay. In short, the law says that the lower neighbor "owes" support to the upper/higher neighbor. Although you didnt follow the steps necessary under the CA Good Neighbor Law, if it were me I would go ahead and take him to small claims court. Thanks for any time you spend reading about my situation. The solution is simple a fence called a good neighbor fence where the rails as you call 2x4s alternate with every post linearly. Hi we live in a resort area and our neighbor who does not live full time at his home, wants a fence between our yards to keep his dog in, privacy, etc. To put it much more simply, If a property owner benefits from the fence, he has to contribute to its cost. Check if your spelling is correct, or try removing filters. Since the pandemic lumber prices have soared through the roof and while labor and material costs used to be similar, they are no longer. I had the fence erected entirely on my property. Whos fence is it and do we have the freedom to modify it or remove it without permission from the neighbors? Its been about two months now and I have not heard from them and they have not trimmed their trees/bushes. We both want to replace it. Hi RC fencing! Their fence does nothing to secure my property. Michael, thanks for the question. You are not responsible for any of the costs whatsoever and therefore you should not pay half much less the full costs, which I have no idea how this neighbor believes this to be fair. The only issue that will come into play is the short notice period or your case would be a slam dunk.. He has not responded to my texts since May as to when he will replace the fence. If she fails to respond, you will then go ahead with the construction (just make sure and inform her the days they will be replacing the fence in case she has dogs, etc.) A retaining wall is a wall designed to resist lateral earth and/or fluid pressures, including any surcharge, in accordance with accepted engineering practice. Am I supposed to send another certified letter with the bids on replacing the fence and give them a demand again or just go to small claims court and ask the judge to rule that they need to split the cost on fixing the fence? keeping dogs/ children, etc. Lagging consisting of wood, steel or precast concrete panels is inserted behind the front pile flanges as the excavation proceeds. 30 years ago, the original owner of this neighboring house decided to build a 2-to-4 foot retaining wall (30-feet long) at his cost without consulting with me. Call Now (925) 405-7658[email protected] RC Fences and Decks Est. Boundary fences, or division fences, must conform to fencing laws established by local ordinances and CC&Rs. This type of question has not been answered since the fence had NOT fallen over and was being maintained but was just not as pretty or strong as when new and so was replaced. Personally I dont think they look as close to real wood as they need to. You must then pay the contractor in full. He then re does his 3 sides but not our shared said nor buy material for it or even ask us to go half for the cheaper material. I have a shared fence with my neighbor and we plan to share the cost of the fence equally. I have a 5 acre property with no HOA or perimiter fence requirements. Neighbor wants to replace fallen fence due to construction on his property. This applies only if the fence is currently directly on the dividing lot line. On the invoice, the contractor put good neighbor fence. Is this considered a good neighbor fence under these circumstances? I Said they should of waited till the house was under my name and I would of helped out. What other option does a homeowner have if their fence is failing miserably and needs replacement immediately, yet their neighbor refuses to pay a dime? If there is a better option out there please let all our readers, as well as I, know! Sheets of steel are driven pneumatically in to soft soil in the tight access or flood zones to create an area of excavation, Its Usually deigned by a Structural Engineers, some times including tie backs. As the wall is next to a footpath lying within the adjoining owners land, ownership of the wall to establish who is liable for the cost of repairs has become an issue. Ct . If a fence falls over and it in-closes his backyard, but not my front yard, other than being on the property line. Weve contacted our neighbor to alert him of the project but he refuses to have the fence removed. And her contractor for one year. I told them they need to trim back their trees and shrubs and that I would be getting estimates to repair the fence and take them to small claims court. This applies to those who live in rural areas where fences are not as common and many landowners dont want to build or maintain a fence around their property. The wall was apparently put up to create a level lot downhill from my property so another house could be built. Am I correct? I hope the business property has to clean up and replace it. Period. He charge me $80 that I paid him because I am tired of being harrassed. Part of the fence is now leaning into the neighbors property. The fence needs to be repair. My neighbor just bought the house next to my rental and moved in and want to put up a new fence to replace the existing one. However, you can be right and still have to pay for the whole fence. The fence falls after he rent it out to another family who as well as me has 3 large dogs. Hello, My neighbor installed a 6 foot rod iron fence with brick pillars which is about 3 to 4 inches on my property The fence is only about 15 feet long and was installed years ago. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions! Our neighbor just built a fence on the property line without any discussion with us that separates our 2 lower side yards, so we now have no access to the area under our side stairs. Start out by documenting the current condition of the fence. Do owners of homes with pools fall under a different set of rules. To check your legal obligations and responsibility regarding retaining walls, you should contact the Building Department at your local council office. You can also let them know that their best bet at recouping some of the money would be to go after the previous owner of the house. He offered to remove our old wooden fence for $600.00. Shouldnt they have to replace the fence since they removed it? A retaining wall supports the land and is designed from bricks, timber, masonry, concrete bags, or suitable material. Detail(s) are to be wet stamped and signed by a California registered civil or structural engineer. Not your property, not your fence. It sounds to me like your new neighbors are bullies and I wouldnt let them push you around. We saved all receipts from the hardware store. Why would this be true.. the fence is not on the boundary like therefore it is the responsibility of the property owner in which has the entirety of the fence on their property to maintain it as they like. He has the responsibility to pay for half of a fence between yards. /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */, All These walls above require Building permits. As you might imagine, this is a fairly unusual scenario. The shared good neighbor fence between my yard and the neighbor fell during a storm 3 months ago. He came and took measurements and then said he would have to contact the homeowner to get approval and that I would have to use their contractor. Can she insist on a new fence and I have to pay for half? The spiders build their webs on the 2x4s and birds perch on the 2x4s. I am willing to pay for fixing the fence as needed but it does not need to be replaced with a new fence. The fence was not leaning and still standing up and was holding up to natural elements such as wind but the neighbor claimed he or his dog could break the planks. However, he wants all the planks on his side while the 2x4s are in my side. What recourse do I have? Thanks. He of course parks this car not in front of his house, but instead in front of my house, which hes done for over a year and I never cared or said a peep about it. There hasnt been any communication at all from my neighbor Then he said he would come up and build the fence and also move my gate for which I would pay him for and 1/2 the neighbor fence. Unless the fenceless owner someday decides to fence in his own property benefitting from the already existing division fence. The fence its in a really bad condition. who takes overall responsibility for all aspects of the design and field reviews for the Retaining Wall. They would then have the law on their side and if they went through the proper steps outlined above, most likely would win a judgment against you. Any time children, especially my own, sat on the fence, the homeowner would yell get off my fence. Only 43 of that fence serves me, and then my gate encloses my yard. I would send them a letter certified mail with return receipt requested (for proof should you need it down the road) to immediately stop[ all harassment against you, state that you will not be paying them a dime as you were not the homeowner at the time of replacement, and should they wish to take you to court, go ahead! It gets a little complicated when it comes to retaining walls. My neighbors want the fence between our houses done. I am willing to fix it but she wants a new fence. Also, the new fence could not be an unnecessary upgrade from the previous fence. Actually, under the law, any maintenance to keep the debris from the trees off the the fence could be billed half to the neighbor. Essentially, neighbors are required to refrain from doing anything to their land that undermines a neighbor's land; or if they do, they're required to shore it up properly at their own expense. In that case, he has to pay the other owner for one-half of the already existing fence. And approached us in an aggressive and very critical manner. The fence is old and grey but was being maintained with new planks when needed. This height does not include the wall and depth of footing below grade. Yes, the 30 day timeline still applies, but I would have to imagine a judge would take the extenuating circumstances into account. Now the neighbor wants the planks that my husband nailed to be removed. Vancouver, BC Generally speaking, if a fence or retaining wall is on your neighbour's side of the property line, then they're responsible for paying for it. You do not absolutely share the cost of the fence. I asked a contractor how much to tear down my older wooden fence. My backyard borders three neighbors (cul de sac), and the fence was in approximately the same (poor) condition across all three. If you have a retaining wall or are planning to build one, it is important to ensure the structural integrity of the wall. He would have had to get at least 3 bids from reputable companies and presented all these to you. It was always referred to as their fence, and nobody else could touch it. We agreed not to touch their ground, but to build a scaffold around our sidewall, and not touch their ground. Especially since they are quite a bit more expensive and in theory will last a lifetime. Re: Retaining wall law. When tiered walls are not properly offset from each other, the upper wall may impose a surcharge condition on the lower wall. Joel I wish I could be of more help but this is a question outside my area of knowledge. What if the adjacent property is an apartment complex? Since from what youre saying he did none of the above, he has no legal backing to pursue any money from you. Therefore the law states that this fence is not benefitting your neighbor. retaining wall: [noun] a wall that is built to keep the land behind it from sliding. lower soil grade) to the finish grade at the top of the wall (i.e. We sent the insurance coverage, licenses. The fence needs to replace much of it because of the poor maintenance on my neighbors side. I do not think this qualifies for a Good neighbor fence. I have offered to help with the labor and split the cost 50/50. The second and third reasons only apply if the fence needed to be replaced in the first place, but I will touch on them anyway. There were 3 major mistakes on his part. I have 2 concerns, would we need to pay for the sections that dont enclose our backyard? Once the fence is completed, make payment in full to the contractor, making sure to keep all documents such as invoices, receipts, copies of your check, etc. You can state you will fight them in court. We also included a timeline of when we planned on repairing the fence ( that weekend ) and to contact us if there were concerns or wanted to further discuss the cost and/or actions of the repair (included name and number) .We did not give them a 30 day notice however as we have a dog and the fence was completely collapsed (are you suppose to wait 30 days in these situations? Neighbor wants to upgrade the whole new fence and pay for the whole project. Revised on 02-04-2022 A retaining wall is a structure designed and constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil, when there is a desired change in ground elevation that exceeds the angle of repose of the soil. This means he has direct line of sight into my entire front yard, and we can walk into each others side yards if feeling entitled. Where it is on the property line, they need to get your permission before building it, and should attempt to come to an agreement on the price. As far as the CA Good Neighbor Law is concerned you ARE NOT liable for half the fence. The existing fence isnt bad at all. Our neighbors property has their front yard side fence built on their property, parallel to our fence, about 16 inches from our fence along the entire way. I know I cant remove the 3 foot rod iron fence because it is totally on his property but can I remove the 6 foot fence that is on my property? This was not a tornado , ir hurricane , and there was no other wind damage in the neighborhood . Our back yard is 150 ft from the property perimeter and we maintain a privacy fence on it for our yard. I understood and said whatever wood you do your fence we can get. I am very sorry to hear about your situation. You bring up replacement due to aesthetics and upgrading a fence? Thank you. 200 from either boundary. What is hus responsibility and should I bear any ? Aesthetically, it looks better and I have another fence with another neighbor where I already have the 2x4s on my side. First off, they cannot tell you not to touch the fence at all, the fence as long as it is on the property line is both your neighbor and your property and therefore you have just as much right to it as they do, whether or not they paid for it. This has been on going for 3 years. Well, I wish I could give you better advice but the matter is in your neighbors hands. Although I was not informed in advance, not included in the planning, never saw a quote or even a final bill, I felt bullied, and paid him the $500. Soldier piles retains soil, using vertical steel piles or wooden posts with horizontal lagging. Wed be up for taking down the existing fence down and adding new planks to our side of the new fence but arent sure about it since its 4 inches away from the original fence. We intend to remove the fence. I would still consider paying him a curtsey fee, yet am certainly less inclined to do so now. again please do not pay him a dime. We need to have some stucco repair to the side of our house in that area and would like to be able to get in there periodically to weed, etc. Were going through a similar situation. If you dont agree to her doing the job, which I would be very wary of and personally would never allow, then she has no choice but to pay for it all herself or you guys use a different contractor. text messages, etc.) Home About Us 8 years ago I was worried that my dog would get injured by the new neighbors aggressive bulldog so I suggested we put up a new fence, he said sure as long as I replaced with heavy duty commercial chain link with slats (original is a leaning 42 yr old commercial chain link with broken and missing wood slats). I noticed this when it was almost done. Sloping retained soil A lot of people make the argument that since they dont care if their property has a fence or not, they arent benefiting from the fence. Our backyard fence (100) is on or rear neighbors front yard side fence. We are planning on filling our in-ground pool and need a shared fence temporarily removed to allow for pool demolition equipment to enter the backyard. It leaves me in this terrible circle. He then ghosted me, my mother. I live downhill from a neighboring house which was built after my house. I would definitely go ahead with the notice to alter shared boundary as soon as possible giving the neighbor as much time as possible before construction commences. There has never previously had a boundary fence. I am a little confused as to your question. To keep the peace, we planted shrubs that created a barrier between our lawn and THEIR fence, so nobody can get to their fence from our side. Having said this I do not believe what your neighbor has done is in any way illegal and I must warn you should you take this stance and they go about replacing the fence according to the steps necessary in the CA good neighbor law, then you would likely lose in court. Who is Legally Responsible for a Retaining Wall My question involves real estate located in the State of: CA (unincorporated Alameda County) I am the uphill homeowner, my neighbor is the downhill owner. Do your neighbors not agree on fixing the fence, what contractor to use, or the price? Theres an easement/driveway between my backyard and my neighbors front yard. 2) If a retaining wall is attached to a building or if a building foundation is directly dependent upon the location and design of the retaining wall it is to be included in the building permit for the construction of the building. This is due to your neighbor not following the required steps. We cant move forward with the project without the fence removed. Some homeowners don't like enlisting the help of professionals when building at home, but this isn't the time for that. Certified letter of intent Then let him know you would be willing to cover 100% of the costs as long as he is willing to switch to a vinyl fence. Does this mean both neighbors are responsible for the cost of the retaining wall as well? Surcharge is a vertical load imposed on the retained soil that may impose a lateral force in addition to the lateral earth pressure of the retained soil. I also gave him the link to the brochure from the manufacturer which has multiple darker wooden although they cost 40% more. If you have any further questions regarding Californias Good Neighbor Fence Law call RC Fences today and we can walk you step by step through the entire process to make sure you dont make any mistakes and risk having to pay the entire cost of your new beautiful fence! HOA has tried working with her to explain the responsibility and has even gotten their legal counsel involved. There better be good reasons other than make my yard look better. There was nothing wrong with previous wood fence it had while home was in escrow. If he continues to do so anyway, call the cops. 3 quotes Therefore it seems to me she is trying to rip you off! Most would agree that, yes, in most cases, splitting the cost is the right thing to do and fair. what about security/privacy?) All other retaining wall construction will require a separate Building Permit. Does it? She insists I pay half of the new fence. In summary, I WOULD NOT pay your neighbor a dime, as he not only replaced a fence that didnt need to be replaced in the first place, but he did not follow the proper steps in order to be able to collect half the costs fro0k you via the courts. The fence is old and rotted and they have ivy growing on it which has helped to cause it to fall into my yard. Never allowed us to consider disparate bids. Despite this, many neighbors will downright refuse to pay a penny towards the costs. We are bought material and begun our construction on the 3 other sides( in progress before he approached me). Seems your neighbor would be reaping the rewards with no out of pocket costs for him. As I just stated I would be very hesitant to allow her to build the fence for two reasons. a picture frame fence since it looks the same from both sides, or when a basic nail-up fence is built with alternating panels, hence both neighbors get equal shares of the bad and good sides. The fence boards (good side) all face our property, the framing is all on their side. Labor to build a retaining wall costs from $50 to $75 per hour. We wanted to replace it and he said we need 3 bids, my wife worked for months to get 3 bids and when we presented him with these he promptly said he could not afford to replace the fence. The sides of our yard are 6 white vinyl. It is a common misconception by builders, designers, landscape contractors, pool contractors and homeowners that this section of the UBC allows retaining walls of up to 4 feet in exposed wall height to be constructed without a permit, regardless of the back slope conditions. I disagree with you fully due to one small issue, what other way can you go about the situation should your fence need to be replaced immediately and your neighbor refuses to pay. upper soil grade). I will now finish the fence, pay 100%, block his view of my yard, and recapture my privacy. This is very true OriginalWally, thank you very much for the information! The neighbor got another quote for exactly the same price and I said, ok, we can use your guy. I call upset that he has been pettt by ignoring not just me and my mother but the 2 contractors we tired to hire for this shared fence. The wood fence is failing and needs repair or replace but we have zero need for that privacy fence meeting their HOA requirements. in the table. The fence is over 25 years old and the entire fence could stand to be replaced. #gallery-1 img { Neighbor has constantly harassers me constantly if he sees something touching his fence. Here is a short section of the actual law to better explain what I mean by this: Boundary fences sit on the boundary line between two properties. No work until 30days after certified letter. Do you know? If this sounds familiar then your in the right place and your problem is soon to be solved with The California Good Neighbor Law also referred to as California Civil Code 841 or The Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013. what if my dog runs off? Now Im waiting for a response but Ive already put down a deposit and the contractor seems like a good guy so Im not completely worried that I cant get my money back. You need professionals to come up with a solid design for the retaining wall and you need them to execute it. My neighbor fence between the driveways in California needs to be replaced from wind damage last December. This is simply the exposed wall height and it is for this reason that the Planning, Inspections and Permitting Department interprets UBC 106.2, item 5 as follows: A building permit shall not be required for retaining walls that are not over 3 feet in exposed wall height unless supporting a surcharge . Eventually, we could no longer see the fence from our side. Some retaining walls are structurally necessary, others are purely for looks. The builder had built a fence between my neighbor and me ( there was no fence on that side of the neighbors property before). We both had existing wooden fences, about 12 apart. I text him to have proof and he calls me to answer do I have no write that he agree to go half. I dont want to get taken to court over this, but my other concern is I am struggling as is, and can no way afford to give our neighbors $3,000 for a fence. They said that would be a civil dispute amongst neighbors. What i am doing after reading your sites info: Without They replaced it a couple of times, and eventually changed the style to a more traditional looking front yard fence. They told me that as long as I dont pay then Im not allowed to touch their wall at all and they were going to take me to small claims for them to collect what I owed them.