A friendly chat about a new fence can turn into a real dispute faster than you would think. Fencing arguments are mostly emotion and only partly law, and they end up in tribunals more often than they should. The fix is knowing your rights and your obligations before the first post goes in. Here is how residential fencing works in New South Wales, and the plain good manners that keep you and your neighbour on speaking terms.
The Dividing Fences Act 1991
Fencing between neighbours in NSW is governed by the Dividing Fences Act 1991. It sets out who pays for what and how disputes are settled. The Act defines a dividing fence as one that separates adjoining properties, made of any material, and it treats ditches, embankments and hedges as dividing fences too.
The core rule is cost-sharing. Adjoining owners are each responsible for half the cost of building, replacing, repairing or maintaining a shared dividing fence to a reasonable standard. A few things follow from that:
- If your neighbour wants a fence and you do not, you are still liable for your half of a standard fence.
- If a fence is damaged or destroyed and needs urgent work, the cost is shared equally.
- If the damage was caused by one owner's negligence, that owner pays for the repair.
- If you want the fence built to a higher standard than reasonable, for example taller to contain a dog, you pay the extra above the standard cost.
NSW Fair Trading publishes a plain-English guide to all of this, and it is worth a read before you raise the subject with your neighbour.
How high can a residential fence be in NSW?
There is no single statewide fence-height number. Height and materials are set by your local council, usually through its Development Control Plan and the state exempt-development codes. As a common rule of thumb, front fences are held lower than side and rear boundary fences, and many councils allow a boundary fence up to around 1.8 metres without approval, taller for pool barriers and some security cases. Because it varies, contact your council to confirm what your block allows before you order. If a boundary line itself is in doubt, get a licensed surveyor rather than guessing.
What if my neighbour builds a fence without asking?
Your neighbour can do what they like inside their own boundary, including building a compliant fence entirely on their side at their own cost. What they cannot do is enter your land to carry out the work without your agreement. If they do, that is trespass, and you would have grounds to act. This is exactly why the Act sets up a formal notice process, so nobody has to guess.
Building a new boundary fence, step by step
- Check with your council first. Confirm height, materials and whether you need approval, so you are not made to take a fence down later.
- Talk to your neighbour and put it in writing. Agree on height, material, position and boundary line, colour, cost and the split, and removal of the old fence. A short signed note now prevents a long argument later.
- Serve a Notice to Fence. This is the formal proposal to build, repair or replace, and it is the document the Act runs on. Send it by registered post so you can prove it was received.
- Wait for the response. Your neighbour has 30 days from receiving the notice to reply. If they agree, you can start. If they disagree, you go back and find a middle ground.
Without a Notice to Fence, a boundary dispute falls under general contract law instead of the Dividing Fences Act, which makes it much harder to resolve. If you cannot agree, a free Community Justice Centre mediation is the next step, and if that fails within 30 days you can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal or a local court for a decision.
A few material rules to know
- Gates on a boundary should open inwards, onto your land.
- Fences on bushfire-prone land must use non-combustible materials.
- Exposed metalwork should be low-reflective, factory-coloured material.
- Electric fencing and barbed wire are not permitted on residential boundaries.
The manners, not just the law
The Act settles who pays. Good etiquette keeps the peace, and it comes down to a few habits:
- Respect the boundary. Never assume your neighbour will not mind you borrowing a few centimetres of their land. Give your fencer clear boundary instructions so nobody crosses the line, and be wary even of a verbal "that's fine", because circumstances change.
- Know the limits before you promise anything. Do not tell a curious neighbour your fencer can do something for them before you have checked it is legal and agreed. Ask your contractor first.
- Share the plan, but keep the decisions. It is courteous to show your neighbour the plan and hear any real concerns. It is a mistake to let three neighbours redesign a fence you will be the one living with and maintaining.
- Look after it once it is up. A rusted or broken fence drags down the look and perceived value of every property near it. Maintaining your fence is part of being a good neighbour.
Do your homework before you start, keep the conversation open, and a new fence stays a fence and never becomes a feud.