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Planning & building
Dividing FencesDividing Fences Act and Council Conditions - Published: 21 Jun 2007 DIVIDING FENCES ACT The Dividing Fences Act 1991 commenced on 1 February 1992. The Act is about how the cost of a dividing fence is shared between adjoining LAND OWNERS where an owner wants to erect a dividing fence or wants work done on an existing dividing fence. It sets out only the minimum requirements, and owners may always agree to arrangements above those requirements. A DIVIDING FENCE A DIVIDING FENCE is a fence that separates the lands of adjoining owners. The FENCE may be a structure of any material, a ditch, an embankment or a vegetative barrier e.g. hedge. It does not include a retaining wall or a wall of a building. The COST of a dividing fence includes the cost of all related FENCING WORK, such as preparation of the land, and the design, construction, replacement, repair and maintenance of the fence. SHARING THE COST OF A DIVIDING FENCE Adjoining land owners are liable to share equally the cost of fencing work that will result in a sufficient dividing fence. A SUFFICIENT DIVIDING FENCE is a fence sufficient to separate the properties, for example a paling fence in a residential area, or a wire and steel star post fence in a rural area. If a court or land board needs to decide what is a sufficient dividing fence between adjoining owners, it will consider matters such as any existing dividing fence, the uses of the lands, privacy or other concerns of the owners, the usual kind of fence in the locality, or any relevant local council policy. If one owner wants a fence of a higher standard than a sufficient dividing fence, the owner wanting the higher standard is liable to pay the difference in the cost between that fence and a sufficient dividing fence. If an existing dividing fence is damaged or destroyed by one owner or someone on the owner’s land, that owner is liable to pay up to the whole cost of restoring the dividing fence. SERVING A FENCING NOTICE An owner wanting an adjoining owner to share in the cost of a dividing fence must first serve a FENCING NOTICE on that adjoining owner (personally or by post) before any fencing work is commenced. There is a sample Fencing Notice on the following page. Owners MUST share in the cost once agreement is reached. A Community Justice Centre may be able to help if adjoining owners have difficulty reaching agreement. If agreement is not reached within one month of the Notice being served, either owner may apply to a Local Court or Local Land Board to have the matter decided. more .. |
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