Heightening Fence with Neighbours

sydney1506 on 05/04/2022 - 18:46
Last edited 06/04/2022 - 10:32

Our current property is along the water and we have a Colorbond fence on either side with our neighbours. Us and both neighbours are 'new' and the fences were already in place when everyone bought and the fences are on the boundary line from what we can tell. Yes, we'll need a surveyor to confirm this but lets work on the assumption it is.

Neighbours to the right:
Fence was 1.2m tall the whole way and then towards the water it tapers and gets a bit lower. We simply put 1.8m bamboo fence panels from Bunnings along until about 5m from the water where we've got a big tree that acts as a natural break. It is secured to Colorbond fence. And they were happy with that and said we can go as high as we like.

Neighbour to the left:
Fence was 1.8m tall until half way down the property then dropped to 1.2m all the way to the water.
We've put up wood palings of 1.8m until the 5m water mark and then dropped it with an angle down to 1.5m to the water. This is also secured to our side of the fence.
She apparently is not happy and has said this to the right neighbour.

I was then talking to neighbour on the right and saying we're just going to do the same on the last section on their side and they said no we can't. Its their fence (they found a receipt from the previous owner) and it would block their view. They still have 15m direct water view in front but it means if i'm standing on my jetty I don't look onto their jetty with the palings.

Surely if its a boundary line fence and I am not going higher than 1.8m I can do this?

Obviously I'll talk to them again, but I'm trying to figure out where I stand legally.

UPDATE: So it turns out everyone's fences are all illegal :) Apparently no fences are allowed (including between neighbours) from 6m to the water meaning everyone's gardens would be open - bizarre! So we're just going to reduce the palings to the same original height of the existing fence and then put mature plants right against it :)

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Hybroid on 05/04/2022 - 18:48
    +11

    Speak to your council. There might be fencing height restrictions you need to be aware of.

    • Caped Baldy on 05/04/2022 - 20:04
      +1

      Hopping on this comment to look up your Council's development control plan

  • Euphemistic on 05/04/2022 - 19:03
    +1

    If it’s a shared boundary fence, then it’s a shared fence. You can’t just do whatever you want to it.

    Check what the council rules are, they may have special height rules regarding fences in a waterfront. Might be similar to rules at the front of everyone else’s property. There’s a lot of areas where you can’t have a full height fence all the way from the property line to the boundary it often has to slope down to a reduced maximum .

  • Seraphin7 on 05/04/2022 - 19:08
    +3

    Per above, speak with council in the first instance.

    Beyond that, is there a particular reason you want to increase the height of the fences? Obviously the tapering was done with the view of maximising the water views for everyone. I'll assume there is no fence running along the water's edge.

    Notwithstanding what you might be allowed to do, I'm not surprised people are kicking up stink over it, especially if there appears to be little practical benefit of increased fence heights.

    • sydney1506 on 05/04/2022 - 20:45
      +3

      Benefits = Privacy!
      Just because they don't value theirs, doesn't mean it isn't important to me.

  • AndyC1 on 05/04/2022 - 19:12
    +4

    You "may" be able to put a second fence up on your property that is 1.8M and in some councils in certain areas it can be 2.4M, so ask the council what the boundary fence regulations are for the council area you are in and then go from there.

  • Tee Rex Arms on 05/04/2022 - 19:21

    If you’re in QLD, have a read of The Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 or your states equivalent.

  • SF3 on 05/04/2022 - 19:50
    +4

    Grow some hedges and let it grow to the desire height. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen.

  • justgooddeals on 05/04/2022 - 20:05
    +2

    High fences make for good neighbours. Best neighbours are ones you never see or have to talk too.

    You have right to put anything on your side of the fence you want as long as complies with council.

    Look at other fences and other boundary situations in the neighbourhood as rough guide.

    Then ask council

    • haydoz on 05/04/2022 - 21:04

      This. If it's not the "boundary" fence, then you have a few more options, depending on your council area.

  • wizzy on 05/04/2022 - 20:26
    +2

    It is my understanding that you can't make any changes to a shared fence unless both parties agree - even if the change is still in accordance with council rules. This includes attaching things that increases the height of the fence.

    Even if one party paid the full cost of the fence, the fence still belongs to both parties.

    This is just my understanding based on my own experiences with neighbours and fences and I might be wrong.

  • Hardlyworkin on 05/04/2022 - 22:32
    +2

    Plant bamboo if that is an option to grow in that spot. Or hang out naked on your jetty until your neighbours want privacy too

    • [Deactivated] on 06/04/2022 - 18:15

      I wouldn't recommend bamboo. Two years ago I bought 4 multiplex clumping "non-invasive" bamboo plants.
      They grew 3m tall in 1 year and became very high maintenance with the amount of leaves they shed.
      About 6 months ago I noticed them growing like wildfire on the neighbour's side of the fence and realised that the clumps had spread under the fence.
      I have since removed them from both sides of the fence after hitting them with Roundup.
      Never again 😕

  • aragornelessar on 06/04/2022 - 00:09

    Reminds me of this guy in Sydney's west

    https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/western-sydney-man…

    • sydney1506 on 06/04/2022 - 07:35
      +1

      haha, if only. I'm talking about 30cm only but you swear I'm proposing to build this 5m fence :)

    • Ryanek on 06/04/2022 - 13:49
      +1

      Lol yeah that story is amazing. The nerve of some people eh.

  • AustriaBargain on 06/04/2022 - 02:56
    -1

    I wouldn't let you do it if I were them. It would block a lot of their view of the water.

    • sydney1506 on 06/04/2022 - 06:07
      -1

      Its 30cm higher - hardly!

    • redfox1200 on 06/04/2022 - 09:46

      if they want to look at water, just fill up the sink and put a plug in it

  • jakka on 06/04/2022 - 06:51

    For Lake Macquarie the council regulations allow a fence to be a maximum of 1.2m high within 10m of the high tide mark. I did a quick google search and can see it is the same on the Gold Coast. I suspect most councils will have similar regulations as you often see dividing fences much lower along waterfront properties.

    • sydney1506 on 06/04/2022 - 07:07

      This is from Part 9 – Specific Land Uses - Foreshore & Waterway Development:

      7.6 FENCING
      Objectives
      a. To mitigate the visual impact of fencing on views from the Lake through vegetation screening.
      b. To re-establish environmental integrity and foreshore vegetation, while also screening of foreshore
      development.
      Controls
      1 Fencing must not occur within six metres of the Deed High Water Mark.
      2 Fencing in the area between the foreshore building line and 6 metres from the Deed High Water
      Mark must not exceed 1.2 metres.
      3 Fencing must be screened with native endemic foreshore vegetation to reduce its visual impact
      and to contribute towards re-establishing a native vegetated foreshore.

      Does point 2 only refer to a fence at the rear on the waterside, rather than side fences?
      Otherwise if this applies to side fences too, that means that no one should have side fences and all our properties will be open to one another.
      Are properties are absolute waterfront and not reserve.

  • Elppa8 on 06/04/2022 - 09:16

    Seems straight forward to me. There will be no fence higher than 1.2 metres between the 6 metre high water mark and a line across the front of your house building.

  • No on 06/04/2022 - 10:23
    +1

    How committed are you to a fence? You could buy mature plants instead and stick them along the fence where you need the privacy.

    I bought a bunch of native bushes to block out a neighbour this way.

    • sydney1506 on 06/04/2022 - 10:29

      Looks like this is what we're going to do

  • sydney1506 on 06/04/2022 - 10:33

    UPDATE: So it turns out everyone's fences are all illegal :) Apparently no fences are allowed (including between neighbours) from 6m to the water meaning everyone's gardens would be open - bizarre! So we're just going to reduce the palings to the same original height of the existing fence and then put mature plants right against it :)

  • [Deactivated] on 06/04/2022 - 17:56
    +1

    We are in a 5ft fenced estate only, most have 6ft anyway, when we built 16 years ago there was no houses around us, after our pool went in I put up 6ft c/bond fences plus the 300mm extension, no one has ever said anything lol. Privacy plus.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join