Fence issue/Neighbor gave us a week notice to replace fence.

[McCarthy]

What is the name of your state? CA

One of our neighbors that shares part of our rear fence knocked on our door last night. They told us that they were moving and they were replacing the old fences so they have a better chance at selling their home (on advice of their agent).
They advised us that they knew about the move for quite awhile and the new fence is schedule to be started in a week!! Our portion will be about $500. They also told us that the neighbor next to them, who also shares part of our rear fence wants that replaced at the same time. This means about $1,000 out of our pocket.

I don't mind replacing the fence, as it really needs it. What bugs me is the lack of consideration on the notice on their part. We just finished paying a landscaper about $4K to do some work in our front yard and if we had known ahead of time, we might have scaled that back a bit.

Is there any sort of requirement of notice on this good neighbor fence law? Can I delay paying them for awhile?

Thanks for the help.What is the name of your state?

 

[LeeHarveyBlotto]

I don't understand what you're saying. The fence is on property A (yours) or property B (his). If A, they have no right to do anything to your fence. If B, they can do what they want, but you have no obligation to pay a dime to replace their fence.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

I don't know the requirement for your state for common fences, but in Missouri the timeline is much longer than one week. Plus, the parties have to come to agreement on what must be done, who will do it, how will the cost be distributed (particularly if one of the parties does the labor, etc), and if the fence needs to be fixed.

Hopefully, others will provide specific CA statutes and regulations. Are there any local fence ordinances? Building/fence permit requirements?

 

[divgradcurl]

There have been a ton of postings on this site on California shared fence laws recently, you could do a search for California Civil Code Section 841. There is no time limit or notice requirement in this statute. If there is a time limit or notice requirement for your location, it will be in your county or local/municipal regulations.

 

[HomeGuru]

I agree with div. unless there is a recorded party wall or fence easement orsome sort of maintenance agreement.

 

[McCarthy]

How this applies?

841. Coterminous owners are mutually bound equally to maintain:
1. The boundaries and monuments between them;
2. 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.
...
Ok, so here's the civil code. Does choosing to "let the land lie" mean that I do not pay my portion of the fence and fence doesn't get built?
What happens if my neighbor, that is movated to sell his house, pays for the whole fence without my portion because I tell him that I was not given enough notice? Does the law require me to pay him at a later date? Since he built the fence without my share of the costs, does that mean he has given up his right to collect from me?

 

[divgradcurl]

Ok, so here's the civil code. Does choosing to "let the land lie" mean that I do not pay my portion of the fence and fence doesn't get built?

What this means is that if you choose to have your backyard "unfenced," you are not liable for maintaining the coterminus fence. If your backyard is fully enclosed, then you have not allowed your yard to remain unfenced. If you do allow your yard to remain unfenced, then later fence it in, you wil then become liable for your share of the coterminus fences, no matter how long they have been in place.

What happens if my neighbor, that is movated to sell his house, pays for the whole fence without my portion because I tell him that I was not given enough notice? Does the law require me to pay him at a later date? Since he built the fence without my share of the costs, does that mean he has given up his right to collect from me?

If your neighbor goes ahead and builds without your payment, you are still liable for your share, and he can sue you in small claims court for your contribution. Once he has a judgement, he can enforce it through various means, including a lien on your house.

Of course, you are not liable for 1/2 of ANY fence your neighbor builds -- if you neighbor builds a huge expensive masonry wall, for exampe, and what existed before was a simpe wooden fence, you would not have to pay 1/2 of the expensive wall, but you would still be liable for 1/2 of the cost of a fence similar to the type that was already there. That may be up to you to prove in small claims court, however, so if he starts building a very expensive fence, you might want to get your own estimate for a simple fence in case you need to defend yourself in court.

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

He gave you notice. He is replacing the fence, maybe you have dogs that need to be maintained.

There is no specific law that makes you liable for the rebuilding, but if he takes you to court, I will bet you he will win. We just replaced out whole fence line, but thankfully all neighbors were in on it. We had to maintain dogs at certain points, but all went smoothly.

Do the right thing and split the cost. We took a payment from one of our neighbors a month after. Work something out with him.

 

[divgradcurl]

There is no specific law that makes you liable for the rebuilding, but if he takes you to court, I will bet you he will win.

He will win because there IS a specific law making him liable -- California Civil Code section 841.