Boundary fences
A fence on the boundary line between two properties is a shared responsibility in California, and there is a specific statute that says so. Most disputes we hear about would not have happened if the notice step had been done.
California Civil Code section 841 presumes that adjoining landowners share equally in the responsibility for maintaining the boundaries and monuments between them, and that they benefit equally from a boundary fence. The starting position is a 50/50 split of the cost.
Before you can rely on that presumption, the statute asks you to give your neighbour 30 days prior written notice. The notice needs to set out the problem with the existing fence, the proposed solution, the estimated cost, and how you propose to split it.
This is the step people skip, and it is the step that decides whether a disagreement stays a conversation. A neighbour who was told in writing a month ahead, with a number attached, responds very differently from one who came home to a crew in the yard.
It is a presumption rather than a rule. A neighbour can argue that an equal split would be unjust, for example where one party wants a far more expensive fence than the boundary needs. That is exactly why the written notice with a real estimate on it is worth doing properly.
We can put the estimate in a form you can hand straight to your neighbour, with the scope and the cost split set out. Ask for it when we come out.
Sources: California Civil Code section 841
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