Thanks for any input. The only issue that will come into play is the short notice period or your case would be a slam dunk.. Especially since they are quite a bit more expensive and in theory will last a lifetime. The fence is horrible now because it does not match existing and neighbor says too bad, that I had agreed to the estimate, even though I had sent link to what I wanted. The fence falls after he rent it out to another family who as well as me has 3 large dogs. They asked permission and we acquiesced but chose not to participate in the fencing. against one of my trees. While you really cant fix the past, what I would do about the future is document the damage caused by the debris (showing the fence areas without trees and debris), and then ask them if theyd like to keep the fence cleaned off monthly, or would they prefer to split the cost of a lawn care service company to come and keep it cleaned off using a leaf blower. Also, it would be good to know for the future in case it happens again. I want to get this done the sooner the better and he has not giving me a response since December 2020. The cost of rebuilding a retaining wall on appellants' property cannot be held to be equivalent to the cost of restoring respondent's property to its original condition by mere speculation and without some evidence, and the finding of damages is therefore not supported by the evidence. Where on earth this belief ever came from is unknown, but it is widely accepted and 100% wrong! Thanks. Schedule one of the fence contractors, most likely youll want to choose RC Fences and Decks, due to their superb attention to detail along with their reasonable prices, but keep all of the bids so you can show that the price was reasonable. The neighbor got another quote for exactly the same price and I said, ok, we can use your guy. then more than likely a judge is going to side with you. The spiders build their webs on the 2x4s and birds perch on the 2x4s. How is this even possible? Of course, like many laws there are exceptions. While these panels may look nice on the store shelves, they are made from inferior wood products and generally all the lumber is dimensionally smaller. He insists that he could build his side of the wooden fence and our other side if I split the cost with him. I talked to the contractors and they felt bad no notice was given. Both neighbors are 50% responsible according to the CA Good Neighbor Law. In short, each owner has to pay one-half of the cost of maintaining or replacing the fence. This applies only if the fence is currently directly on the dividing lot line. There was nothing wrong with previous wood fence it had while home was in escrow. Our property is the lower one and theirs is the higher one. I am willing to fix it but she wants a new fence. If they refuse to pay for half the costs, then Yes you can still take them to small claims court. The slats are winged vinyl so I have to poison from above and it is becoming too big of a job. I stated I was not the owner at the time, but I was willing to pay half. Our backyard fence (100) is on or rear neighbors front yard side fence. Make a demand to the neighbor for half of the costs. Detail(s) are to be wet stamped and signed by a California registered civil or structural engineer. RETAINING WALL Extreme II ELEVATION Extreme I Strength I Service I Q=1.00DC+1.00EV+1.00EH+1.00CT+Td Q=1.00DC+1.00EV+1.00EH+1.00EQD+1.00EQE+Td Q=aDC+BEV+1.50EH+1.75LS+Td Q=1.00DC+1.00EV+1.00EH+1.00LS+Td Anchor Design Load Vehicular Collision Force Soil inertia ignored for stem design Soil and Structure Components Inertia. The pool has nothing to do with it. All other retaining wall construction will require a separate Building Permit. My question how do I attach/extend to the existing fence (which the neighbor project managed/paid in his name)? Everything you need to know about the California Good Neighbor Fence Law! Ninety-five percent of Californians live in urban areas. I also gave him the link to the brochure from the manufacturer which has multiple darker wooden although they cost 40% more. However, if the neighborhood has a fence around all properties, it really doesnt matter much if the fence is 1 foot over on his yard. Home About Us I have a 5 acre property with no HOA or perimiter fence requirements. Lastly, the neighbor failed to serve the notice to you. #gallery-1 { But the legal issues can be as muddy as the mess in your backyard. This morning we came to see that the townhouses HOA just took it upon themselves to remove the back wall so now we no longer have a back fence wall! Do we still split it in half? Then once the fence is finished you can go after him for half the costs minus any extra work that was solely for your benefit (the gate). It gets a little complicated when it comes to retaining walls. The fence needs to be repair. If she fails to respond, you will then go ahead with the construction (just make sure and inform her the days they will be replacing the fence in case she has dogs, etc.) In other words, it is no longer capable of serving its intended purpose, i.e. Personally I dont think they look as close to real wood as they need to. Unless the fenceless owner someday decides to fence in his own property benefitting from the already existing division fence. Whos responsible? Im just wondering if the wording of the invoice would create any sort of legal rights to the neighbor; if so, should I have the contractor change the wording? They would then have the law on their side and if they went through the proper steps outlined above, most likely would win a judgment against you. We didnt do anything about it, as we didnt want to cause problems in our first year here. Also if you file a small claims suit you can go after him for all your time you spent going after him for the money like the time it took you to go to the courthouse, etc. The good news, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Two neighbors agreed to replace theirs and those are done; one neighbor is fighting it, saying it doesnt need to be replaced and is demanding a survey be done because they think the fence is entirely on their property and I dont have the right to touch it, even though the fence is in line with the other two neighbors (and the rest of the block). The neighbor is bullying you in order to make money off you. If it comes down to it you might need to get a restraining order against him. My last correspondence by text with the homeower who lives out of the area is if you want it done now you can do that and pay for it all yourself. I know this sounds very complicated and it is, so please try and answer the questions to the best of your ability! Where it is on the property line, they need to get your permission before building it, and should attempt to come to an agreement on the price. PDF CALIFORNIA RETAINING WALL TYPE 5SWBP-DETAILS No. 1 Many legal problems can arise otherwise. My neighbors want the fence between our houses done. We gave them a written letter explaining that we would be repairing the fence along with their equal responsibility for the cost of repair. We live on a hillside, so our backyard is 3 stories down. (I believe youve already tried this approach and it failed?). level backfill only) and the wall does not support a solid fence. upper soil grade). Neighbor has constantly harassers me constantly if he sees something touching his fence. Our properties backup to a small slope. Our back yard is 150 ft from the property perimeter and we maintain a privacy fence on it for our yard. Call Now (925) 405-7658[email protected] RC Fences and Decks Est. I have offered to help with the labor and split the cost 50/50. Such a bizarre situation, youd think that any homeowner in their right mind would prefer a fixed fence over one that is collapsed. I was barely in escrow when they did fence as soon as I moved in they asked me to pay them 3,000 I told them that was not my responsibility because the house wasnt mine yet. All the Best. Thank you! Revised on 02-04-2022 A retaining wall is a structure designed and constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil, when there is a desired change in ground elevation that exceeds the angle of repose of the soil. 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. RETAINING WALL DESIGN - egbc.ca Fight it until the very end! The back line of our fence lined up with all the adjacent neighbors fences who also border these townhouses in that development. Notice of Intent to Alter Shared Boundary Fence. In this case, if a neighbor builds a fence, the fenceless owner doesnt have the pay for it. Any tips on how to proceed? 13. I sent the neighbors a demand letter as they would not answer the door to us for several months of trying (nearly a dozen times). First off, the biggest one is if everything you say is correct, there was not a valid reason to replace the fence in the first place. In the broadest terms a wall on the property line might be shared. My new neighbor just started replacing all his fencing in his backyard. The husband came racing over as soon as he saw me drive up to inform me that I owe him $500 for this fence. in the table. I know this is not exactly fair and therefore a situation like this is best handled by sitting down with your neighbor and trying to have a mature constructive conversation. If you dont agree to her doing the job, which I would be very wary of and personally would never allow, then she has no choice but to pay for it all herself or you guys use a different contractor. PDF DESIGN OF RETAINING WALLS - Los Angeles County, California I would still consider paying him a curtsey fee, yet am certainly less inclined to do so now. Since from what youre saying he did none of the above, he has no legal backing to pursue any money from you. As far as tearing down part of his fence. T 604-864-5510 E planning-info@abbotsford.ca Building Permits & Licences 1st Floor, 32315 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC T 604-864-5525 E building-info@abbotsford.ca . Retaining Wall Permit | County of San Mateo, CA So you are presented with the same predicament? However, he wants all the planks on his side while the 2x4s are in my side. when we started doing the siding work. To keep the peace, we planted shrubs that created a barrier between our lawn and THEIR fence, so nobody can get to their fence from our side. 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. Seismic Earth Pressure . The fence was not leaning and still standing up and was holding up to natural elements such as wind but the neighbor claimed he or his dog could break the planks. My neighbor agreed to pay half the cost of putting in a new fence. Here is the Actual Law for those of you who like reading this sort of stuff CIVIL CODE Section 841, And for those of you who would rather read a laymans description of the California Good Neighbor Fence Law, here goes. Im thinking giving up a few inches just to be sure he has not a single leg to stand on might be best. We agreed not to touch their ground, but to build a scaffold around our sidewall, and not touch their ground. Usually driven into the material with boring, or rotation and drilling anchors are then expanded at the end of the cable, either by mechanical means or often by injectingcement, which expands to form a bulb in the soil. 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. and defecate on them. A lot of people make the argument that since they dont care if their property has a fence or not, they arent benefiting from the fence. We deal solely with fences and decks and not siding, etc. Are they responsible for paying for half of the fence that runs along their easement, even if the fence doesnt border their yard? Once you get three estimates from reputable companies, present them to her, then decide on a fence contractor, and send your neighbor the 30-day notice. First off, please whatever you do, do not pay this man a dime. I do not see why you wouldnt be able to do what youre proposing except for the fact that it could bring along with it a lot of issues. Ive got all my quotes and now guess what.. none of them will agree to the job unless both homeowners consent! Eventually, a neighbor moved and sold their house. Even more important than that is I believe many contractors would not want to get involved with something such as this due to another company building part of a fence they built, so if there are problems down the road, all of a sudden they might take the blame for another companies poor workmanship. Hope this fully answers your question, if you have any further questions please let us know. Whos fence is it and do we have the freedom to modify it or remove it without permission from the neighbors? Ct . I would imagine it will not be built as well as a professional could do, therefore down the road, it will likely fail much sooner! We were gone for a free days, and the contractor had a job cancel, so he asked if he could come early and remove the fence. If the neighbors refuse to pay half of the costs for repairing the fence, will we be able to take them to small claims? Most houses have nothing between them in the front yards other than a concrete mowing strip or plants, if anything. Join for use: the attachment of another fence to the boundary fence That 32 of fence is behind a large hedge and is not even visible from my property. 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! There is a fence that runs right through our parcel it is aprox. If the project requires consultation with a structural engineer, hourly charges range from $100 to $200 per hour. If he asks, and you dont want to pay for any of the fence I would just repeat what I have said here, and that should be the end of it! Also a small child or animal could possibly get into his yard and get in his pool. what about security/privacy?) I sent a link to a fence I had received an estimate on: This fence was panels with lattice on top from Lowes to replace the falling down fence that was not panels but simply boards but would match the rest of the shared fence. Jim, thank you for the great question. She is seriously the neighbor of nightmares and this is why people need to understand what it means to live in an HOA community. The law becomes a little unclear in instances such as yours but the major factor which is going to decide who is legally responsible is whether or not you have a fence around any part of your yard that is connected to this fence that he wants you to pay half of to replace? Without It sounds to me like your new neighbors are bullies and I wouldnt let them push you around. Do owners of homes with pools fall under a different set of rules. Ok here goes I understand your frustration with your neighbor after stating you would cover all the costs, for him to complain about a vinyl fence. It leaves me in this terrible circle. One section however that was falling down was simply wooden boards. ( However in our mind that project was 2 to 3 years away as we were already spending more on other priority projects) I noticed this work going on on the last day the contractor was finishing up. I am a single mother, this is my 1st home and I just cant afford $3500. Every state interprets use differently. California's Good Neighbor Fence Law RC Fences and Decks Dispute arising between neighbors over boundary fence? 30 years ago, the original owner of this neighboring house decided to build a 2-to-4 foot retaining wall (30-feet long) at his cost without consulting with me. This means he has direct line of sight into my entire front yard, and we can walk into each others side yards if feeling entitled. All wood retaining walls shall be constructed entirely of treated wood and conform to standard drawing LS-43. Those people moved out and a new family moved in. Our nextdoor neighbor decided to incorporate a 3 ft decorative fence, in the style of their landscaping, which had an Asian flair. We both had existing wooden fences, about 12 apart. You sound very knowledgable, friendly, and it sure looks like you build some top notch fencing. The term good neighbor just refers to the style of the fence. I just feel like Im trying to be very diplomatic about this but if the neighbor shoots me down or ignores me again my only thought process is to get a surveyor out here and give me the exact property line. However, it was brought to my attention that the retaining wall the fence is on is failing and will need to be replaced before the fence can go up. Yes, your right there is a defense one could present in court to fight the assumption that they owe half. So now HOA is advising me to serve her with the 30 days notice and if she still refuses to then take her to small claims to have the judge order her to agree to the fence replacement and payment. He did. California's Good Neighbor Fence Law RC Fences and Decks There were 3 major mistakes on his part. She insists I pay half of the new fence. Who is Legally Responsible for a Retaining Wall My question involves real estate located in the State of: CA (unincorporated Alameda County) I am the uphill homeowner, my neighbor is the downhill owner. text-align: center; 2. Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California Who is responsible for a Retaining Wall? Whatever their purpose, retaining walls come in infinite shapes, sizes and styles. If they do not want to do that then they can eat the costs as they rushed to replace it when they should have waited until they spoke with you, the new homeowner! Dividing Fences and Retaining Walls - Master Builders WA Good luck with the whole situation and please come back and let us know how everything turned out once the ordeal is over! The quotes Ive gotten for a survey are from $750 to >$6000 depending on how much work they need to do, well in excess of the cost of replacing that portion of the fence. Having said this I do not believe what your neighbor has done is in any way illegal and I must warn you should you take this stance and they go about replacing the fence according to the steps necessary in the CA good neighbor law, then you would likely lose in court. The other neighbor does not own but rents, so I contacted the rental company and informed them of my wishes to replace the fence. As an example, two tiered retaining walls each with an exposed wall height of 3 feet, and level back fill that are horizontally offset by a distance of 2 feet would be treated as a single 6 foot tall wall and as a result, a building permit would be required. They always ignored them, I eventually thought they just dont care and I made it clear Im not looking for any money if they cant afford it. He would have had to get at least 3 bids from reputable companies and presented all these to you. Can she force me to pay for the materials and she do the labor? That being said I believe if you are set on getting a vinyl fence you have two options. Retaining wall is which neighbor's responsibility in San Francisco, CA There is no splitting costs here as there is not shared structure. Spoke to the neighbor again, told him I want to move the fence to the property line, first he said fine as long as its a block wall, so we got estimates but that was too much, so then he said we could move my fence to the property line, and then yesterday changed his mind again and said do not remove original fence! Once your neighbor sees that you are suing him for considerably more than half the cost of the fence that you initially requested he will likely want to pay you the initial amount immediately. This has been on going for 3 years. The other 400ft i f that line of fence is livestock open space fencing. We are bought material and begun our construction on the 3 other sides( in progress before he approached me). Are we liable for half of what we dont want, what didnt exist, and what only benefits the other party? I figure if its on mine I have complete control although I will most likely make enemies with my neighbor. I have a neighbor that replaced my fence on one side. 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. 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. You can require or exclude terms using + and -: big +blue drop will require a match on blue while big blue -drop will exclude results that contain drop. The panel sits at about 8-9 ft off the ground. They have refused, saying that that dont want us to have free access to their property-we would literally only have to take 4-5 steps on their property to get to our our property under the stairs. First point I made was that dont want a wooden fence due to the upkeep of it. Shirley Jean. Hello, I bought a house last year and within days neighbor asked me to pay $3500 for the block wall he had built. All other retaining wall conditions such as taller walls, tiered walls, and/or walls supporting sloping backfill (or other surcharges) will generally require a building permit. My city (Fresno) does not have a code or requirement for the neighbor splitting the cost. Particularly the location of the wall relative to the boundary. They had a 5 day notice from time of the written letter to the fence being repaired. Yet, I am going to have to disagree with you that this is not a good resolution solely for the fact that there are no other options. Nat, yes you are correct. 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. What if the adjacent property is an apartment complex? Were going through a similar situation. Is Uphill Neighbor Responsible For A Retaining Wall? (Find Out Now!) Certified letter of intent Although you didnt follow the steps necessary under the CA Good Neighbor Law, if it were me I would go ahead and take him to small claims court. As the law is on your side, the case is a sure win, as long as you followed the proper procedure outlined above. Since the pandemic lumber prices have soared through the roof and while labor and material costs used to be similar, they are no longer. Hello, My neighbor installed a 6 foot rod iron fence with brick pillars which is about 3 to 4 inches on my property The fence is only about 15 feet long and was installed years ago. Retaining Wall Cost: Labor Prices and Material Estimates - Forbes What is hus responsibility and should I bear any ? While repairing is an option sometimes, although we usually do not recommend it, this article is based on the notion that your fence has fully failed, needs replacement immediately, and your neighbor refuses to pay for it. I have a fence that is in need of replacement. I disagree with you fully due to one small issue, what other way can you go about the situation should your fence need to be replaced immediately and your neighbor refuses to pay. Today I go into my yard to find our shared fence down! My fence completely encloses my back garden and is a corner lot. Seems like a stalling tactic to avoid paying for it. This is due to the fact that the fence is not connected to another fence in your neighbors yard, therefore enclosing it. We have a plant bed with a little two inch wooden retaining wall on our property to keep the soil in place. In order to do so, he has to place a retaining wall to hold the dirt in place. Today the homeowner is tearing down a portion of the fence and replacing it with no notice and said he is not replacing the whole fence as we agreed nor my gate. Then his brother who lives in the house said he would do it and never provided quotes. It just appeared one day. Then it will be for a judge to decide the matter! He does not live in the area. Who is responsible if a retaining wall on or near property lines - Avvo 2) If a retaining wall is attached to a building or if a building foundation is directly dependent upon the location and design of the retaining wall it is to be included in the building permit for the construction of the building. There hasnt been any communication at all from my neighbor It blocks NOTHING in only on their side, which is why they want it done. 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.