What was the outcome regarding the neighbors trees/vegetation ruining your fence? They have the planks on their side and our side has the 2x4s. For the law to be on his side he would have had to give you a 30 day Notice to Alter Shared Boundary. Your neighbor did not follow the proper procedure in order to go after you under the CA Good Neighbor Law for half the costs. The neighbor is bullying you in order to make money off you. I would still consider paying him a curtsey fee, yet am certainly less inclined to do so now. 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. If they bear the cost, its probably not my business; but if we share the cost, is it reasonable for me to ask my neighbor to remove the trees before repairing (or replacing) the fence? Melissa, very good question. The rest of the fence between our backyards is fine. Your next step is to file a lawsuit against him in small claims! We asked if we could pay for a gate to be put into the fence at our cost so we could have access to the area. 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. I am willing to pay for fixing the fence as needed but it does not need to be replaced with a new fence. Neighbor does not want half he wants full amount. fence, the proposed solution for addressing the problem, the estimated construction UBC 106.2, item 5 states that: "A Property Lines: 829-835. The fence does not enclose their front yard but is still a neighboring fence. https://california.public.law/codes/ca_civ_code_section_841. Surprisingly I get a txt from the neighbor that he doesnt approve of the vinyl fence and wants a wooden fence because he feels it makes his house look bad. 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. Whether they are facing financial hardships of their own, are very tight with their money, or just take no pride in the upkeep of their property, the refusal usually comes from the misconception that they are not legally responsible to pay. If you have ever sat through a small claims court session you undoubtedly saw at least one litigant going after a neighbor to pay for half of a fence. Fences and Walls: Neighbor Does Not Wish to Use Our Fence Contractor; Am I responsible for half of 75 of fence on the property line, or only half of 43 of fence that serves me? However our back fence was not vinyl, but an older wooden fence, in some need of repair. As long as you took the proper steps in contacting the owner, getting multiple bids which you presented to him, and hopefully sent him a notice a month prior to starting the work of Intent to Alter Shared Boundry, than according to the CA Good Neighbor Law he is legally responsible to pay you half the costs. Redwood trees at top of slope in his his corner hides the fencing in this area. They have their vinyl fence and we have our wooden fence (though not economically sound). They replaced it a couple of times, and eventually changed the style to a more traditional looking front yard fence. The neighbor is legally responsible to pay for half the fence but only for a fence of similar design not one that is upgraded or more expensive as in a vinyl fence. That neighbor has since moved and a new owner bought the house as a rental property. He was not nice when I went out to talk to him about it. Retaining walls in California require engineering and permitting if they are greater than three feet in height. California Civil Code Section 841.4 states: Any fence or other structure in the nature of a fence unnecessarily exceeding 10 feet in height maliciously erected or maintained for the purpose of annoying the owner or occupant of adjoining property is a private nuisance. We did not like it. It seems irresponsible to not include other information that might leave you stuck with the bill. Our backyard back fence ( about 100 feet long) had a wooden fence built on our property. Neighbor wont negotiate further and wants me to pay half now to a terrible looking mismatch. It leaves me in this terrible circle. He was not able to remove our fence othe next day, but was able, last minute to come three days later when we were out of town for the day. No fences. (b) (1) Adjoining landowners are presumed to share an equal benefit . This has been on going for 3 years. The fence currently keeps the neighbors (lot to the east) cattle in. The Folsom Municipal Code adopts, by reference, the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC). Preliminary Provisions. And approached us in an aggressive and very critical manner. They had a 5 day notice from time of the written letter to the fence being repaired. One section however that was falling down was simply wooden boards. 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! A boundary fence is a fence that is located on or near a property line, though the exact definition can vary by state. Who knows, if this were allowed to take place a neighbor could hire their cousin lets say and pay him whatever fee and then later claim the costs were way higher than actually paid in order to make him or his family member/ associate some extra money. personal aesthetic, architectural, or other preferences. You are correct that retaining wall issues can be substantially different than shared fence issues. There is a fence that runs right through our parcel it is aprox. The wall is leaning significantly toward my property and I am afraid it could fall. Call a minimum of 3 fencing companies, such as. Your right, the Good Neighbor Law does not cover upgrades or replacing a fence just because it looks bad, yet I will not go into detail regarding this as this information is all clearly stated in the article which you would have known had you fully read it! The pool has nothing to do with it. Thanks for any input. Include good color pictures. If the neighbor has a fence around his house, whether he likes it or not, a court will find that he benefits from the fence. I did not understand exactly but saw it was the same price and pressure treated, etc. Claiming to only want to speak to said contractor or my brother( union famer but didnt live here) not me or my mother. 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. Now as far as the law is concerned although your neighbor is not being a very good neighbor nor is he being very diplomatic, but I believe he still has a right to refuse the vinyl fencing whether or not he is paying a dime. Im looking forward to returning to your website. Every property on the North side has the planks and the on Southern fence you have the 2x4s. In fact once you file the small claims suit and he is served most people will end up paying then because they dont want the hassle of going to court and they realize they will likely lose anyway. Join thousands of people who receive monthly site updates. Hello, I bought a house last year and within days neighbor asked me to pay $3500 for the block wall he had built. agreement, shall be presumed to be equally responsible for the reasonable costs of Theres an easement/driveway between my backyard and my neighbors front yard. We sent the insurance coverage, licenses. The back line of our fence lined up with all the adjacent neighbors fences who also border these townhouses in that development. She just moved into the neighborhood in December, but the strong winds we had back in January/February left us both with a collapsed fence. 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? Fight it until the very end! (D) The reasonableness of a particular construction or maintenance project, including 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. A day later, while I was out, the neighbor came and spoke to my wife in a very critical fashion. Consequently, when a fence needs repair, both property owners must share the cost. Such a bizarre situation, youd think that any homeowner in their right mind would prefer a fixed fence over one that is collapsed. text messages, etc.) You bring up replacement due to aesthetics and upgrading a fence? My neighbor fence between the driveways in California needs to be replaced from wind damage last December. Hes going forward with it and we will get the framed side. It is very good you havent paid anything for it yet. Well, I wish I could give you better advice but the matter is in your neighbors hands. She does not want to do it that way. (on their property) We were never asked to pay for any of it. I think it was never our intent to have a fence and continue to advocate for no fence. It came thru the fence and nearly thru the fwnce on the OTHER side of my yard . We deal solely with fences and decks and not siding, etc. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature or via Westlaw before relying on it for your legal needs. The fence its in a really bad condition. Our property is the lower one and theirs is the higher one. 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. What options do I have? He then complained about us buying expenseive material (6ft red wood) and did not want to spend that. Then his brother who lives in the house said he would do it and never provided quotes. There were 3 major mistakes on his part. At the beginning of March I put a notice on there door that were replacing the fence with a textured vinyl fence. The neighbor said he gave notice ahead of time but has no proof and I never got any prior notice. Good luck. The main one being, that they dont benefit from the erection of said fence. Cal. Our backyard neighbors dont trim their trees (70 feet high) or their shrubs and now a few sections of the fence are leaning in our backyard due to the foliage pushing against and through the fence. The fences between them, unless one of them chooses to let his land lie without fencing; in which case, if he afterwards incloses it, he must refund to the other a just proportion of the value, at that time, of any division fence made by the latter. The back part of the fence, in the backyard, fell and is neighboring half of the neighbors front yard. Still, we would have been happy to go 50/50 on a new fence but they did not inform us and did ask for us to help pay for a new fence. Some years back, with consent from the prior owner of the neighboring house, my husband paid for and built a fence in our FRONT yard between our driveway and neighbors side yard for growing plants on (decorative). for non-profit, educational, and government users. In other words, while Civil Code section 841 may not prescribe liability for Plaintiffs' claim, Civil Code section 841 does not preclude it. whose property is the retaining wall actually retaining? For example, in the area where you live, all of the houses have had fenced yards going way back to the 1950s. The fence is old and grey but was being maintained with new planks when needed. If he continues to do so anyway, call the cops. It happens all the time. Now there are two fences that not only a too totally different styles but heights. The other lot owners, said they want to erect a fence on the eastern boundary and for us to pay half. Does this mean both neighbors are responsible for the cost of the retaining wall as well? You need to stand your ground, tell him you will not be paying for any of the costs of the wall, or anything else for that matter. Im thinking giving up a few inches just to be sure he has not a single leg to stand on might be best. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select. This year the fence is leaning towards our house and part of the fence is on the ground, my wife got 3 bids and has contacted a contractor to build a new fence she sent a letter to the gentleman to tell him we are going to replace the fence and He sent us an e mail and I quote as for sending me a bill for my portion of the fence, since I personaly did not agree to participate in the replacement there for I will not pay anything. Cal. 1. (Please confer with a licensed Attorney to confirm as we can only provide information and not legal advice!). What i am doing after reading your sites info: I informed him that I already have a contractor in place but he was insistent that I use who they subcontract through and ordered me not to proceed any further. 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