Replacing rear fence shared with a public school

nugley on 26/01/2021 - 11:14

I'm looking to replace my rear fence, which is very short, old, damaged and rusty. My aim is to install a retaining wall and fence. Nothing flash of course.

However, this rear fence is shared with the public school neighbouring my property.

I believe the best thing to do is to contact the school to express my interest and get their agreement in replacing the rear fence.

But I'm wondering whether it is appropriate to ask the school if its possible to share the cost of the new retaining wall and fence.

I know its normal for neighbours to share the cost of building and maintaining a dividing fence. But I'm wondering whether the same applies with a public school. I doubt that they would agree to sharing the costs, but thought I'd ask here in case someone else has experienced a similar thing.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • 87percent on 26/01/2021 - 11:16

    I was wondering about a similar situation the other day when I saw a fence that fell down that shared a boundary with a playground

    • Caped Baldy on 26/01/2021 - 11:46
      +1

      If it's a Council land they don't have to contribute towards the replacement/repairs and can issue orders to repair.

      • Cheapskate Paul on 26/01/2021 - 19:52
        +3

        It probably depends on the council. I built a house that backed on to a council reserve and they paid half the cost of the fence.

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 26/01/2021 - 11:27
    +4

    Approach the school in writing about this. The issue, in some states (e.g. S.A.) would then be referred to the Education Department for standards requirements, source of funding etc. Schools aren't always allowed to fund "minor works" without approval. YMMV

  • avoidfullprice on 26/01/2021 - 11:28
    +1

    I doubt that they would agree to sharing the costs

    Untested thought. No harm or embarassment to ask. For all we know, you are not the first with this school! Also, the school might even have maintenance budget just for that. :)

    • toristo on 26/01/2021 - 11:37
      +3

      Also worth considering if your other neighbours who share the fence with them are in a similar situation. The school may agree that they'd prefer to have the whole stretch done at the same time (paperwork to do a $2k spend is probably the same as a $10k spend, so just rip the bandaid off type thinking), plus a fence installer is likely to offer a better price per metre if they're doing one long straight run.

      The caveat here is that you assume your neighbours are reasonable people to deal with and won't slow you down/block it materially. If you think they'll be a pain, you might be better off just going it alone and then it's done.

  • apsilon on 26/01/2021 - 11:34
    +4

    I think they'd be OK with sharing the cost through there's probably a lengthy quote and approval process. However, you can only expect them to cover half the cost of the fence. If you want to make other changes and improvements (like a retaining wall) then that's on you. Of course it can't hurt to ask, the worst that can happen is they say no.

    • Quantumcat on 26/01/2021 - 15:42

      Half the cost of a plain wood paling fence, not the half the cost of anything more fancy

      • Euphemistic on 26/01/2021 - 19:00

        Plain paling or replace like for like. You May also find that colour one is cheaper.

      • apsilon on 26/01/2021 - 19:11
        +1

        True though few still use timber as the alternative is only about 25% more yet will easily last twice as long so is cheaper in the long run and as the school probably isn't going anywhere they'd probably be open to it.

  • pjetson on 26/01/2021 - 12:15
    +1

    Is the retaining wall an integral part of the fence? Which side of the fence has the lower land? Is there a horizontal distance between the fence and the retaining wall? Is the lower side lower because it's been excavated (or maybe the higher side has been built up)?

    • original15 on 26/01/2021 - 19:45

      Some states have rules around retaining walls too from memory, may need a permit if you’re ‘installing’/creating a new one. Pretty sure my local council has something like that, panicked for a moment as we re-did ours but realized re-doing and creating new are different

  • Sobai on 26/01/2021 - 15:31
    +1

    We back on to a catholic school and were going to replace our fence. Contacted them and they just asked for a couple of quotes and they get a quote. We didnt go through with it in the end.

    I would arrange the work to be done and ask your builder/fencer to submit a separate quote for just the fence - just make sure its reasonable enough for the school to select it. They were very clear they would replace like for like.

  • Porker on 26/01/2021 - 19:45

    If I were on the school side, as I have been with some of my properties, I'd only pay what I'm obliged to as a fence. If I were approached to pay for a retaining wall on your side that serves no benefit to me, then there's no reason for me to pay for it.

  • Willco88 on 26/01/2021 - 20:06

    You might want to raise the fence to keep the kids out/noise out

  • Robz on 27/01/2021 - 09:22

    The law is quite simple provide a fencing notice according to the act They are NOT required to pay 1/2 share for retaining. It is your choice to retain therefore putting the fence up higher Good luck it is govt bureaucracy that will be the issue here!

  • brad1-8tsi on 27/01/2021 - 09:40

    Yes, they are obliged to share the cost but if they just want a $4000 fence and you a $20,000 fence then you can't force them to pay the extra.

    Keep in mind that the DoE assets people probably have a minimum standard design for new fences.

  • dabhbl on 27/01/2021 - 13:00

    https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/building-and-energy/dividing-…

    Few things to note:

    The Dividing Fences Act 1961 combines with local government by-laws

    Meaning that the rules may be different on a council by council basis

    If you erect a dividing fence of a higher standard than a sufficient fence without first obtaining the agreement of the adjoining owner, you may only claim half the cost of erecting and maintaining a sufficient fence as defined above.

    A sufficient fence would be something like a basic colorbond fence, if you want something more fancy the other side only has to pay half of the cost of the basic fence

    The Act does not bind the Crown, so where the adjoining land is owned by the Commonwealth, State or local government and is used for public purposes, the Crown is not required to contribute to the costs of erecting or maintaining the fence.

    If it's a private school (ie privately owned land), then they have to pay half. If it's a public school, then they probably don't, but still worth contacting incase they will

    It does not apply to retaining walls

    This one may be different based on your state + council, but where I live the cost of the retaining wall is 100% paid for by the side that needs retaining (ie the lower property)

  • Brendoo on 27/01/2021 - 23:16

    I've had 4 fences built in my yard in 2 properties. Neighbours paid the full cost each time. Fences were wooden palings, very old, but still working as a fence. Neighbors wanted a higher fence and brick. We did not care about a brick fence and certainly did not want to pay, we didn't have the budget for it. So we refused to pay and that was fine under the law. Neighbours re-built the fence each time and paid in full. We got a very nice new fence each time.

    Only if the fences had fully or partly fallen down would we have to pay half, and even then it would be half the cost of an 'adequate' (cheapest) fence, not half the cost of a brick fence. And if the neighbour 'helped' the fence to fall down, then they would have to pay in full if you could prove they did that.

    Just letting you know that for awareness. I'm in NSW, not sure about other states. But it can't hurt to ask the school, you never know, they might agree to half. Worst case you are where you are now.

    • Willco88 on 27/01/2021 - 23:21

      That's fair enough if they just want to get a better looking fence and they have money to burn good for them and lucky you

  • Leo Getz on 28/01/2021 - 23:10

    Contact the Department of Education Regional Office, school should point you in the right direction or look it up, or contact Central Office in Brisbane.
    Not my area but will probably involve Infrastructure/Facilities people in RO, or will be passed on to QBuild (Dept. of Public Works).

  • payless69 on 04/02/2021 - 18:42

    qcat has forms for this

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