Question:
My father lives on a corner lot. Two of his neighbors have fences on the property line that are falling over. He is propping them up with poles. How do I handle this?
Answer:
The Line Fences Act enables municipalities to appoint “fence viewers”. They could resolve a dispute and the process worked. However, presently, municipalities don’t want to become involved.
At the outset, there are some questions to be resolved:
You have to figure out the location of the boundary.
When did each of the properties move into Land Titles? Rights were grandfathered at that time.
Is the fence jointly owned?
Who paid for the fence originally?
Usually, there’s a common solution: 50/50.
However, the obligation to contribute is limited to a four foot chain link fence. So, you don’t want to build a 6 ft. Cedar fence and place it on the boundary.
Move it back just a touch and don’t give up ownership unless someone else is going to pay half for the fence.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker