I have question about fencing in a new subdivision

Hi there, sorry I don’t have any advise at this stage BUT is this in The Lakes in Tauranga by any chance?

I’m sorry too, I cant offer much help but what I can say is that what ever you do, DO NOT GO TO THE MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION! They only ever have the builders best interests in mind and they will bully you into dropping it and giving up. Good luck and I’m sure there is someone on here that will be able to help you further.

Hi Polly, From what I’ve read on-line regarding the law on this, as a general rule you can take action against a neighbour who refuses to contribute half the cost of erecting a ‘reasonable’ fence on a shared boundary. But I assume that logically timing must play some part. For example if you moved into a house, and a neighbour asked for half the cost of a fence he erected 10 years ago, because he said the previous owners of your place never paid anything, I guess you might object to paying. In this case it’s possible the ‘spec builder’ didn’t own the neighbouring section when you built the fence(s), but someone must have. Why did you not approach them before erecting the fence(s), and ask them to share the cost. If they had refused you could then have taken legal action.

Have you tried getting help from the Developer? I’m assuming the requirement for sharing fencing is in the covenants? If so then the Developer might be able to help in enforcing them. If not (but the requirement is in the covenants) then if I was you I would try my luck with the Disputes Tribunal. Get both other parties to go against that Builder – it probably won’t cost too much to lodge it and with the DT its not always just about “legalities” – it is about fairness. I would definitely try that – take along the costings and ask for half for each side. Definitely worth a try. 🙂

No Jane, it is in the Canterbury area. Nevertheless, I think this can happen anywhere. I think there needs to be a change in the Fencing Act as while it may be legal, in my opinion, it is morally reprehensible.

Mel from what I have heard about The Master Builders Association, I can understand your feelings. No this is a loophole in the law that, in my opinion, is being is being exploited. I want to be careful not to slander anyone, but it just feels bloody dishonest. I could not recommend him to anyone and the rest of the homeowners in the street do not appear to be impressed with him either. What price one’s good name?

I totally agree with you Mel, Master Builders are nothing but there for the builder. We are still fighting with them after 18months and have got no where. We are talking with Fairgo to try and sort them and the bully builder out.

It is not me personally Sarah, but my neighbours. I really feel for them and your suggestion is one I have already made. The developer has already been contacted and he is not liable. I have tried to read the covenants but they are unclear in this regard.

Hi Chris, firstly this is not our fence, but a neighbours. We are in a new subdivision and new homeowners are required by council to put up fencing when they build. The sections are not sold all at the same time so automatically some fences will be adjacent to unsold sections. The developer is merely selling the sections and the fences are not his concern (he has been contacted). In our case, our building company erected the houses and fences in our part of the subdivision and helped us negotiate/share the fencing costs, so no problems with us. The spec builder has waited till the fences have gone up before he bought the section. It seems to me the failure is in the Fencing Act. Another thing, it is not ten years on as our houses were all completed within the last 15 months and the subdivision is still in process.

Hi Everyone. Can anyone please provide me with a ballpark figure to build a double garage (6m X 6m) on a relatively flat section with a Gable Roof pitch of 37 degrees. Simple Board and Batten Cladding with a Timber Garage Door. Any suggestions/guidance greatly appreciated. Thanks

The DT isn’t the best place to go to get justice as the referees are often incompetent or don’t have the depth of knowledge on the subject matter to apply the law or award fairly. Due to this, people get away with lies as the referee has little time to assess the claim based on substantiated evidence. Most of the time the referee does not even bother to read the evidence, all they want is to get the dispute over and done with and they often take the middle of the road approach so as to appease all parties. Their decisions more often not fair nor do they make any sense. In your case there is no point going to the DT. The Fencing Act does not provide for disputes on new subdivisions where fences have been built prior to new purchasers taking ownership. Moreover the fence needs to be only adequate for its intended purpose and any shared costs must be mutually agreed prior to the fence construction. The same goes for replacing damaged fences. If your neighbour damaged an existing fence and refuse to repair or replace it, after giving the required notice under the Act you have to take the dispute to the DT and this can take months. If you go ahead and replace the fence it will be entirely at your cost even if you have evidences to prove the fence was damaged by the neighbour – section 10 of the Act. Exceptions are Emergencies such as when the fence has fallen over and blocking access or safety, then section 16 may apply.

I completely agree with that too. If it says half share then it should be half share. The fact is they obviously waited until everyone else had built so that they could build between the fences and pay nothing in order to make the most money on their spec home. Thats really wrong.

Yes, Fairgo is probably the way to go. Best of luck Hadenough

If your poor neighbors can manage without it for a while, I would personally remove as much of the fence as I reasonably could myself without damaging it or digging up the supporting posts then when the plonker in the middle comes to sell, his section will look like crap and he won’t be able to market it as fully fenced! It is their fence after all, they should be able to do what they like with it and if he questions it all they need to say is “we didn’t like it and we’re in the process of replacing it but it’s a very hard decision to make so it might take a while, but if you like it I suppose we could keep it and I’m sure we could work something out” 🙂

Ah, having read this comment I hadn’t realised that the builder only bought the section after fences were erected. Unfortunately I don’t think the other owners will be able to go after him for half the cost. They erected the fences when the Developer still owned the land as as you rightly say, the Developer (in all subdivisions) never has responsibility to pay half of fencing put up if they still own the section next door. So if the builder waited deliberately to purchase until fences were up then as you say morally wrong, but legally nothing can be done. 🙁

Hi Hadenough I see we are in the same boat. Builder just digging their heals in as they don’t want to pay or be bothered with having to fix issues. They know they are responsible and should fix the issues. But are being difficult. I would like to join forces with you! As this sort of behaviour is unacceptable and destructive for everyone including the building industry. Master Builders are likely to be suffering with all these people who have had a bad experience starting to speak up. How can we get together?

Thanks for your support Jane

I like the way you think. Yes that idea has been mooted. One neighbour is all in favour, another not so sure. Yet another has not taken possession and I am not sure he even knows what is going on. No one knows who he is, so apart from leaving a message with his neighbour on the opposite side, not much we can do about that. His is a big fence too, so I should think he will be livid.

Yes Sarah I think that is likely. There had been a hold on it for quite a while, but whether it was by the same builder or another purchaser, I have no idea. If nothing else, it is a warning to others as to what can happen. I still think the Fencing Act needs to be looked at again and I am thinking of writing a letter to our local politician in this regard.

Hi, For person who wants to make a complaint about MasterBuild please contact me. Thank you.

Hi letsdotherightthing, I would very much like to talk with you, I am happy for you to email me on jandgaustin74@gmail.com It is about time the homeowners who have been ripped off by bully builders and master builders join together and fight them through the media and what ever other means that are available to us namely Fairgo. I look forward to you contacting me

Even one neighbor taking down their fence is still very bad for resale value, we’ve bought a few houses for our portfolio and we always take the fences into consideration when we make an offer. Although we do put up our own fences (we are farmers so we have all the gear) we never tell the real estate agent that and we make ALOT of noise about the stress and cost of having to replace it etc etc and see if we can bring down the price a little more. Not to mention that if one of the neighbors removed their fence, potential new buyers will ask why and if they find out there is a dispute, they wont want the hassle. Think “Neighbors at War” before you’ve even unpacked! He will have to drop his asking price a fair bit to make that scenario attractive!

Hi Barb Who are you and what is your association with Master Builders? What outcome will come out of that complaint. It seems a lot out there are not standing by their warranties, guarantees, standards nor word. Regards

Hi Barb Grant please make contact with me through email, jandgaustin74@gmail.com

Hi Hadenough I will be in touch soon. Thanks

What about going to the master build Ass. I think we are going to be in the same boat. ALIX from lower north island is the same. Not going by spec or drawings. Giving stories and lieing. We are about 60% completed and I hate the house.

Hi Barb I would like to complain about the MBA, I am currently building and MBA are not assisting with issues. I feel helpless

Ooooh that is evil … and I like it. Thank you so much :-D.

I couldn’t agree more letsdotherightthing. Must join forces!!

Keep us posted! Good Luck!