California
The owner of the property bordering mine is refusing to pay her share to replace a rotten fence.
I have 92’ of 6’tall “good neighbor” (how ironic)
fence that straddles the property line. It borders four other properties. When a section of fence between my property and one of my neighbors blew down in a storm I decided it was best to replace the whole fence because much of it was rotten and repair would be a waste of effort. Time was of the essence because my neighbor’s dog was now able to enter my yard through the downed section. Three of my neighbors agreed to replace and pay their half.
The fourth neighbor is the problem. We share a 43” section the fence that had not fallen but was rotten. Two of six the posts had rotted all the way through, the fence was leaning well into her yard and the rails were beginning to crumble.
The house is a rental. I had no way of quickly notifying the owner. I visited the property twice, making contact with the tenant the second time. I gave her a copy of the estimate ($774 for 43’of fence) and asked that she have the owner contact me. I did not hear from the owner and the fence was replaced 4 days after I contacted the tenant.
After four more attempts I finally talked to the owner and she said she refuses to pay because I did not contact her “months” in advance to discuss replacement.
What actions can I take to force my neighbor to pay her half? Do I have a small claims case here?
The owner of the property bordering mine is refusing to pay her share to replace a rotten fence.
I have 92’ of 6’tall “good neighbor” (how ironic)
fence that straddles the property line. It borders four other properties. When a section of fence between my property and one of my neighbors blew down in a storm I decided it was best to replace the whole fence because much of it was rotten and repair would be a waste of effort. Time was of the essence because my neighbor’s dog was now able to enter my yard through the downed section. Three of my neighbors agreed to replace and pay their half.The fourth neighbor is the problem. We share a 43” section the fence that had not fallen but was rotten. Two of six the posts had rotted all the way through, the fence was leaning well into her yard and the rails were beginning to crumble.
The house is a rental. I had no way of quickly notifying the owner. I visited the property twice, making contact with the tenant the second time. I gave her a copy of the estimate ($774 for 43’of fence) and asked that she have the owner contact me. I did not hear from the owner and the fence was replaced 4 days after I contacted the tenant.
After four more attempts I finally talked to the owner and she said she refuses to pay because I did not contact her “months” in advance to discuss replacement.
What actions can I take to force my neighbor to pay her half? Do I have a small claims case here?