FENCE Responsibility

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  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,732
    When I lived in Chautauqua County, New York, nobody had fences, so I don't know what to tell you.  (I only spent two separate years there but moved around a lot- Dunkirk, Fredonia, Dewittville.)

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • The Juggler
    The Juggler Posts: 49,599
    brianlux said:
    When I lived in Chautauqua County, New York, nobody had fences, so I don't know what to tell you.  (I only spent two separate years there but moved around a lot- Dunkirk, Fredonia, Dewittville.)

    What about the other places you lived, Brian?
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  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    I love the fence episode of King of Queens.

    Gimme a good fence anyday.  Even if we had a house and corresponding yard/fence with neighbors we love (does that even happen anymore?), I wouldn't want that commune-y feel of neighbors just meandering on over our property.  Nosy bastards.
  • oftenreading
    oftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,856
    hedonist said:
    I love the fence episode of King of Queens.

    Gimme a good fence anyday.  Even if we had a house and corresponding yard/fence with neighbors we love (does that even happen anymore?), I wouldn't want that commune-y feel of neighbors just meandering on over our property.  Nosy bastards.

    At my former house I had great neighbours on both sides, so it can happen, but even so, the fences were a good thing, if for no other reason than to keep the damn deer out. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,732
    The Juggler said:
    brianlux said:
    When I lived in Chautauqua County, New York, nobody had fences, so I don't know what to tell you.  (I only spent two separate years there but moved around a lot- Dunkirk, Fredonia, Dewittville.)

    What about the other places you lived, Brian?
    I grew up on the peninsula south of San Francisco.  In suburbia everybody had fenced yards and in most neighborhoods, the fences were build high enough such that the average person couldn't see over them.  This was normal.  After that, I lived in San Francisco and the one place out of 4 there that was actually a house also had fences.  Several apartments after that and then, in the mid-seventies, I went to Western New York State where I found the lack of fences to be refreshing!  Neighborhoods felt like neighborhoods, not fake little ranchettes- which is what suburbia has tried to create since the 50's- little plots of land with ranch style houses, lawns and yards that are tiny imitation ranches like the one I grew up in. This is talked about in this excellent documentary, "The End of Suburbia":


    I also lived in Sequim, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula where at the time (early 90's) fences between houses were not common.  That may have changed by now.  Where I live now, there are deer fences around most properties to keep the deer from eating everything in the yard, not to block out neighbors.  On our mile long street only a few house have wall-like fences. 
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • tempo_n_groove
    tempo_n_groove Posts: 41,738
    When we cut through yards in NY there wasn't a fence that could contain or deter us, lol.
  • tempo_n_groove
    tempo_n_groove Posts: 41,738
    F Me In The Brain said:
    I read Juggs' other thread....and after that, I say go with Chadwick's suggestion.  Burn it down.
    (The neighbor's house)
    :lol:
    That thread made me chuckle too.
  • mace1229
    mace1229 Posts: 10,012
    This is my understand of how fences work.
    the “pretty” side has no meaning as to who is responsible. Usually whoever pays for the original fence will have the pretty side facing them. If the fence that was built by the developer  then there would be no owner and the fence is probably directly on the property line(and there’s probably HOA guidelines on the matter too). Otherwise, if you build the fence it is supposed to be completely on your side.
    This is because sometimes people want uniform fencing on all 3 sides of their yard, so if your neighbor puts up his fence on his side, you can still put up yours.
    So depending on the type and location of the fence it may be reasonable the neighbor doesn’t want to pay. For example my backyard has 3 different fences. All 3 of my neighbors (left, right, back) have uniform fences to match their yard which leaves me with 3 different fence styles facing my yard. But if one of those fences fell down I wouldn’t want to help cover the cost. Why should I pay for something that primarily benefits my neighbor and not me? It’s clear none of them are my fences.
  • mace1229
    mace1229 Posts: 10,012
    If all the fencing in the neighborhood  is uniform and the only difference is which side the pretty side faces, then I bet they are all the same due to an HOA or city ordinance, and they will probably have the solution on who is responsible. 

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