Rental Property Investor · TX · Member since 2019 · 236 posts · 392 votes
Anyone dealt with this? I had this fence replaced with the previous owner 6 years ago and there was nothing wrong with the fence as of this year. My tenants came home one day and all of a sudden there was a new fence where the old one had been (on the property line on one side). This neighbor replaced their entire fence on all sides without asking any of the neighboring owners and is now reaching out to property owners on each side asking for money. What are your thoughts on this? The previous fence didn't even need small repairs. This is not budgeted for this property and I am livid that they never reached out to the tenants to contact me. If they had asked ahead of time I would have said no... as there was nothing wrong with the original. Thoughts? If they sue in small claims, I am willing to fight. I told them I would pay for repairs in the future on this fence, but I would not have agreed to a new fence.
I replaced my fence back in 2018. I have 3 neighbors and we all communicated on the time frame, materials, vendor and price.
At the end only 2 of the neighbors want to go halves with me.
I think in your case, if your neighbor did not communicate the project with you, I’d try and explain that to them and find out why all of a sudden they want $$.
There got to be something deeper than this situation.
I wouldn't pay and I would send him a certified letter indicating that there was nothing wrong with the fence he removed and that you would be glad to share the repair costs for any future repairs. Do you have a recent photo of the fence he removed? That would really help. I would also touch bases with the other neighbors as well.
When we replaced a side yard fence with a lattice top to make our property look nicer, we paid for it in it's entirety, getting authorization from my neighbor ahead of time. Since it is a community fence, there are different laws state to state. Look up on Nolo.com I have paid for half on those fences that did need replacement, but I get an estimate from my fence guy and then pay half of that amount if it is lower and if they did not contact me ahead of time.
I replaced my fence back in 2018. I have 3 neighbors and we all communicated on the time frame, materials, vendor and price.
At the end only 2 of the neighbors want to go halves with me.
I think in your case, if your neighbor did not communicate the project with you, I’d try and explain that to them and find out why all of a sudden they want $$.
There got to be something deeper than this situation.
Adults with experience owning property don't do things like that without discussing it with the neighbors. I agree with @Percy Matsunaga. Find out what's really going on.
I have a new neighbor that has been doing massive work to his place. Every time he has a little project, he comes over to let me know. I don't care what he does but I do appreciate the communication.
This guy sounds like he wanted a nice new fence but doesn't want to pay the full price. If the old one was serviceable, no one would have agreed to pitch in to replace it. Knowing this, they probably figured they would have it all done and seek to recover $$ out of pity. That said, how much $ are we talking and is this person the kind of neighbor that would cause enough stress to make you wish you just paid up?
I run across this situation often. You have no obligation to pay for squat. If he threatens to sue you, he would likely have to do it in small claims court. Just rell him you will counter sue him. Or you can just tell him you don't have the money.
I’m always up for splitting the cost with neighbors for a shared fence that NEEDS replacing. But I wouldn’t split the cost of replacing a 6 year old fence that did NOT need replacing, especially when it was replaced without my knowledge/consent.
This was 100% your neighbor’s choice to replace the fence, so the burden to bear the cost in this particular case should be 100% his as well.
As for him suing you, I personally wouldn’t worry about that in the slightest. What is there to sue you for? You guys didn’t have any contract, or even a verbal agreement, to split the cost of the fence. There’s nothing to sue you for.
And yes, I know anyone can sue anyone for anything. But you can’t worry about every remote possibility out there. You’d just end up stressing yourself out.
Just say no. You have no obligation to pay for a fence even if he asked in advance. We had an adjacent AZ property owner put up a block wall and we didn't want the wall. He could build it but we had no obligation to pay for it.
Nope, you don't owe him anything, especially as it was only 6 years old. Let me guess, you now have to paint it?? Like the others said, had it needed replacing and they asked ahead of time, I'd split the cost for the shared part of the fence and I'd expect to see a bill for everything.
They never asked/inquired about it to you. Neighbor gets nothing. BTW, exactly who’s property is it on? If it on your property (or straddles the line) and if he/she pushes the issue, tell them you prefer the old fence and to please put it back. After that, you will likely never hear anything about it again.
Is the fence required by some code or HOA? If not you can just tell him he can take down your section of the fence and return it if he doesn't want to pay full price for it haha.
@Keith A. Say no. There was no agreement. If they sue, just tell them you will counterclaim that they took down your fence without your consent and sue for damages (I.e the cost of replacing the fence to as-was condition). That should shut them up.
I agree with everything said previously. Was the fence on your property, or theirs?
If it were me, and they tried to take me to small claims court or anything similar, I would probably talk with a lawyer and discuss the possibility of counter-suing them, ESPECIALLY if they try to take you to court and if the fence was on your property. I don't know what Texas law says, and again I am not a lawyer and encourage you to seek real legal advice, but it sounds like they destroyed a fence on your property. Regardless of what they replaced it with, you can't just willy-nilly destroy a neighboring physical structure.
So, as someone else said, just tell them No Thank You and then take it from there. Maybe chat with the other neighbors to get their insight as well.
Anyone dealt with this? I had this fence replaced with the previous owner 6 years ago and there was nothing wrong with the fence as of this year. My tenants came home one day and all of a sudden there was a new fence where the old one had been (on the property line on one side). This neighbor replaced their entire fence on all sides without asking any of the neighboring owners and is now reaching out to property owners on each side asking for money. What are your thoughts on this? The previous fence didn't even need small repairs. This is not budgeted for this property and I am livid that they never reached out to the tenants to contact me. If they had asked ahead of time I would have said no... as there was nothing wrong with the original. Thoughts? If they sue in small claims, I am willing to fight. I told them I would pay for repairs in the future on this fence, but I would not have agreed to a new fence.
Rules regarding property line fencing differ state to state, I do not recall the specifics for TX. In CA, the good neighbor act spells out that property line fencing is to be shared equally between neighbors for maintenance, repairs, and construction of new fencing if the fence is to be on the property line (the shared line). However, the neighbor wishing to replace a fence must first provide advanced written notice to the other neighbor describing their intent, the costs, and the details. The neighbor receiving the notice can show financial hardship or other means to not have to pay for it. I would assume that TX would have some similar law in that proper legal notice should have been given.
Since this fence was in good working condition, and the fact that no notice was given, you have nothing to worry about in a court of law. Simply tell the neighbor you did not receive legal notice from him/her and that the fence was in fine condition prior so you will not contribute any money towards it. You appear to have very good legal feet on the ground in this situation.
Disclaimer: The info above is not to be construed as legal advice and is only my opinion based on experience as I am not an attorney and am not providing legal advice.
Agree with the others. Non-issue other than trying to stay friendly with your neighbors.
But do take pictures. Just in case they do something irrational, take pictures of the new fence. Hopefully you won’t need them, and in a few months, you’ll look back at this and laugh.
In my opinion, you should contact your attorney and get a survey of the property to find out exactly where the fence is first. If it's on your property, your neighbor wrongfully destroyed your property and he should pay to replace it. If it's on his property, well, you have no obligation to pay for what he does to his property. Then wait for him to sue you, with your counter-claim being the cost of the survey and your attorney's legal fees, and any other costs your attorney advises (time of work from your job, punitive damages, etc). Don't communicate with him, but do save copies of all the communication you get from him via letters, e-mails, text messages, Facebook posts, phone messages, etc.. If you get a Demand Letter from him or his attorney that requires you to answer, forward a copy of the letter on to your attorney, and say nothing except that from that point forward, all communication should be directed to your attorney. That would be sufficient to let him know that you're not just ignoring him, and that you are prepared to take it to the next step, should he choose to go there.
As opposed to ignoring your now neighbour, try saying “thanks, I know how much work that was as i replaced it myself 6 years ago! When this one wears out I’d be happy to chip in but since the old one was still fine I’ll pass this time.”
With every annoyance comes the opportunity to escalate or de-escalate. The dude lives next door, handy to at least be somewhat “neighborly”.
There must be drastically different laws about fencing around the US. Where I live if you want a fence you put in your yard and pay for it. I guess if it was mutually beneficial the cost could be split but realistically the mutual benefit is limited since you are only covering one side. It would be one thing if it was damaged but outside of that I really don't understand asking outside of the worst thing you can do is say no so they may as well try to get some money out of you. I would just tell them that had they asked you first you would not have agreed due to there being nothing wrong with the fence but in the future if there are any issues to reach out for repair and maintenance and you will consider it. Also curious with the new fence, did they upgrade to a nicer one or is it the same type you had. I'm also failing to see the legal issue where you would need to reach out to an attorney, that just seems expensive. Either they installed a new fence on their own on their property, this is their right but not your obligation, or they trespassed in your yard and destroyed your fence to upgrade. Let that last part go if it is the case and do them a favor and don't ask for your old fence back and they are ahead again. I always put up a fence in any rental since I think it gets me more rent and attracts tenants with dogs so I get more money and deposit. I will tell the neighbor and feel out their position but would never ask for them to pay. I did ask the last one I built if he wanted his yard fenced as well since mine was the last major side and he would only have to pay to get his gates and front yard. He thanked me for it since most of the cost is getting them out but said he has no need for a fence.