Need opinion on how to tackle a failing fence.

Only looking for an opinion here. I live on a hill. There is a fence on the property line between my neighbor and me. Not sure of ownership or that it matters. They are on the downside of the hill, I'm on the top side. Slope is about 3 feet of run for every one drop in foot.

The fence is starting to fall over towards his yard in one section. If you look over the fence in his yard, there is a retaining wall about 4 feet out from the fence and it is falling over and failing.

I too have a retaining wall about 12 feet up the slope from the fence. It's in great shape and it is plumb. There is another smaller wall about 2 feet below this wall that has fallen over on the top because there was no post to support the wall on that end. I believe that wall was put in for plantings and is non functional. There are posts on the other end of that wall that are in perfect shape.

1. What caused the fence to fall over?

2. Who needs to fix the fence?

I'm thinking about having the city mediate this. But checking in here for opinions either way.

I was gonna joke about putting on a football helmet & pads, but reading your post took the wind out of my sails.

Do you not talk to your neighbor, I would think this would be the first step.
Unless he is already displayed that he is a dick

ChefRex said:

Do you not talk to your neighbor, I would think this would be the first step.
Unless he is already displayed that he is a dick

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You must read my neighbor thread in drunk ramblings.

He called me to tell me I need to fix the fence because MY retaining wall was falling down.

Heavenly said:

You must read my neighbor thread in drunk ramblings.

He called me to tell me I need to fix the fence because MY retaining wall was falling down.

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You have a link?

Likely the fence (and retaining wall) is falling becuase the soil on the slope is slowly slipping...

Who owns the fence, are the posts on one side and "prety side" on the other? If so the posts should be on the side of the fence owner.

If you are in the country - outside the jurisdiction of a city/town..... Look up your states line fence laws. They can get prety particular to address most situations

cjbalough said:

Likely the fence (and retaining wall) is falling becuase the soil on the slope is slowly slipping...

Who owns the fence, are the posts on one side and "prety side" on the other? If so the posts should be on the side of the fence owner.

If you are in the country - outside the jurisdiction of a city/town..... Look up your states line fence laws. They can get prety particular to address most situations

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I was thinking it was from soil slippage. I'd like to pin it on him because he let his retaining wall fail. I would own the fence in your situation.

Heavenly said:

You must read my neighbor thread in drunk ramblings.

He called me to tell me I need to fix the fence because MY retaining wall was falling down.

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Rebuild the fence on the other side of "your" retaining wall!

Or, if you do t need it - take it down

cjbalough said:

Or, if you do not need it - take it down

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At least temporarily, this the best solution. Then the failed retaining wall is clear for all to see. You can make other other arrangements to stabilize the soil before putting up a fence...or not.

First things first is determine who's property the fence and wall are on. You need to get a plat of survey for your property. You should have a copy in your closing documents of your house purchase. Or you can get a copy from the county for a nominal fee I would suppose.

The neighbor sounds like he thinks (or is being lazy about) the wall is your responsibility too. Best to find out exactly what the situation is before you get mad at him for not keeping his wall up, if it's actually yours.

Side story: we almost cut down our neighbors tree because our yard is a parallelogram but the house is set "square". That would have been incredibly awkward. Best to check!

Is there a rule that says you must maintain a fence in the first place, HOA, city, or otherwise? If not I'd say don't worry about it until your neighbor learns to stop being a dick and offers to pay half, he is the one bitching about it anyway.

thekraken said:

Is there a rule that says you must maintain a fence in the first place, HOA, city, or otherwise? If not I'd say don't worry about it until your neighbor learns to stop being a dick and offers to pay half, he is the one bitching about it anyway.

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I live out in the sticks in Texas. Good fences makes for good neighbors. Very common here to split the costs of a fence or repair.

Used to live in town and had to replace a fence and three neighbors who shared that fence....none would chip in. I put the fence in, paid for it, and had the posts face them...they were ticked. My money, I get the pretty side...they still got a new fence for free.

The way I understand your situation, you would need to access his property to attempt repairs. You may have to be nice to get this access.

I think he should fix it since his retaining wall failure caused it to fall over.

Maintenance and Ownership are determined by which side of the property line the fence posts are set. If the posts are on the property line it is a shared burden unless ownership can be proved otherwise. Maintenance of pickets is determined by which side is faced unless vandelism/cause of damage can be proved otherwise.

If you have a fence on a property line straddled between 2 retaining walls and both retaining walls can be proven to be failing, I'd expect the courts to require the retaining walls be repaired and the cost of the fence be shared.

I say first, determine whether or not you even need the fence. Beyond that, determine where the property line lays, and decide who owns what. I would assume the fence would be on or very close to the property line. If the retaining wall is actually on his property, tell him to stick it. If it's on yours, then you should probably effect some sort of repair to keep him from blaming you for a flooded basement or some stupid crap that I'm sure he'll eventually blame on "your" decaying wall.

Cal.Civ.Code § 841
Maintenance of boundaries, monuments, and fences; responsibilities of adjoining landowners; definitions
(a) Adjoining landowners shall share equally in the responsibility for maintaining the boundaries and monuments between them.
(b)(1) Adjoining landowners are presumed to share an equal benefit from any fence dividing their properties and, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties in a written agreement, shall be presumed to be equally responsible for the reasonable costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement of the fence.
(2) Where a landowner intends to incur costs for a fence described in paragraph (1), the landowner shall give 30 days' prior written notice to each affected adjoining landowner. The notice shall include notification of the presumption of equal responsibility for the reasonable costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement of the fence. The notice shall include a description of the nature of the problem facing the shared fence, the proposed solution for addressing the problem, the estimated construction or maintenance costs involved to address the problem, the proposed cost sharing approach, and the proposed timeline for getting the problem addressed.
(3) The presumption in paragraph (1) may be overcome by a preponderance of the evidence demonstrating that imposing equal responsibility for the reasonable costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement of the fence would be unjust. In determining whether equal responsibility for the reasonable costs would be unjust, the court shall consider all of the following:
(A) Whether the financial burden to one landowner is substantially disproportionate to the benefit conferred upon that landowner by the fence in question.
(B) Whether the cost of the fence would exceed the difference in the value of the real property before and after its installation.
(C) Whether the financial burden to one landowner would impose an undue financial hardship given that party's financial circumstances as demonstrated by reasonable proof.
(D) The reasonableness of a particular construction or maintenance project, including all of the following:
(i) The extent to which the costs of the project appear to be unnecessary or excessive.
(ii) The extent to which the costs of the project appear to be the result of the landowner's personal aesthetic, architectural, or other preferences.
(E) Any other equitable factors appropriate under the circumstances.
(4) Where a party rebuts the presumption in paragraph (1) by a preponderance of the evidence, the court shall, in its discretion, consistent with the party's circumstances, order either a contribution of less than an equal share for the costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement of the fence, or order no contribution.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Landowner” means a private person or entity that lawfully holds any possessory interest in real property, and does not include a city, county, city and county, district, public corporation, or other political subdivision, public body, or public agency.
(2) “Adjoining” means contiguous to or in contact with.

(Added by Stats.2013, c. 86 (A.B.1404), § 3.)

How long is the fence that needs repaired? What type of fence, wood or metal chain or vinyl?

Mismost said:

I put the fence in, paid for it, and had the posts face them...they were ticked. My money, I get the pretty side...they still got a new fence for free.

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In the rural area where we live where fence is for livestock, that's how you always do it. The wire/board is on the stock side of the fence. That's also how you can tell who's fence it is.