Fence between neighbor's house and my driveway (Howe: HOA, neighborhoods) - Houston - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

densan93 · 02-02-2018, 02:36 PM

We live in a subdivision managed by an HOA. Our driveway runs down left side of our property leading back to our detached garage and a neighbor on the left. There is a 71 foot fence between his house and our driveway/garage. However, the majority of the fence only fences in his yard and does not provide us with any privacy or security. The fence does begin to be 'shared' about mid garage, roughly 23 feet. The pickets towards the front of the fence were rotted and had fallen down. The HOA sent him a letter to require him to repair it. I called the HOA and a letter was NOT sent to us, I believe because that part of the fence that did not enclose our yard.

We came home this week to find the entire fence removed, without any warning. He replaced even the 'shared' portion. He is now asking us to pay for have of the entire fence, but we don't believe this is correct.
We feel it should only be half of the 23 foot section and not the entire 71 feet. Does anyone know if there are any laws or regulations for this scenario?

Ghost Town · 02-02-2018, 03:34 PM

I think he had to notify you first and discuss the project, including all the expenses and responsibilities. I would check with HOA first, however I am not sure if you really have to pay anything.

elnina · 02-02-2018, 06:41 PM

And here, again, a Fence Etiquette might come to rescue:

Fence Etiquette: Tips to Avoid Neighbor Disputes? - HAR.com

TX Fence Issues in Residential Neighborhoods | Silberman Law Firm, PLLC

hellokwhite · 02-02-2018, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

I think he had to notify you first and discuss the project, including all the expenses and responsibilities. I would check with HOA first, however I am not sure if you really have to pay anything.

I agree, check w/ HOA first on everything. The OP did that, and the neighbor should have too. I've learned this from people who were sued by their HOA for the dumbest things, but the HOA had the bylaws on their side. In any case, the neighbor should have been human enough to work out a solution with the OP, or at least try. It's a shame that some people live to be a pain in the a**.

WRM20 · 02-02-2018, 09:12 PM

Is the fence on the other owners side of the property line? If so, tell him to pound sand for payment. If it's on your side of the property line, ask the other owner to remove it, and rebuild on his side. They can't force you, as far as I know, to pay for a fence that's not on your property. You HOA rules you agreed to at closing may say something different, in which case you will need to follow those rules.

texas7 · 02-03-2018, 02:07 PM

Paying for half of the fence is the neighborly thing to do, but nobody MUST pay for half when a neighbor decides it needs to be replaced. You may not get along in good terms with your neighbor after a dispute like this but there usually isn’t a law requiring it. I replaced my fence, one neighbor gladly split it, one would if we used cheaper treated wood rather than cedar. We paid that side because we wanted the materials to be uniform. The third neighbor gladly agreed to it verbally but once the fence was up —he conveniently couldn’t afford it at this time.

seadoons · 02-03-2018, 02:50 PM

oddest part is him replacing it without talking to you first. Why would he replace and then ask you to help cover the cost? He got his sequence of events out of order on this one.

texasroots77 · 02-03-2018, 04:08 PM

seems like there must be more to the story. Who replaces something that is partially shared without discussing first and then expects the other person to pay half?

DrFood · 02-03-2018, 06:49 PM

The bottomline is....whose property was the original fence on? Your property survey will tell that. If it is on his side of the property line then it is 100% his responsibility. He can ask if you would like to pay for part of it, but the law basically says he owns the fence.

I've gone through this 2x in the past 10 years. In 1994 I had a wooden fence installed 6 inches inside the property line. I asked 1 neighbor if they wanted to split the cost, they agree. I had 0 expectation of them agreeing to pay anything. The other side was between my house and an original homeowner who LOVED the chainlink fence. He called the cops out when the fence people came to install the wooden fence because he wanted to be able to talk to me (read GOSSIP) with me.

In 2017 the fence needed to be replaced. I asked the neighbors (neither lived there in 1994) if they wanted to share the cost and both agreed. Fence installed still on my property, everyone happy.

Now I don't know about HOA's (thank goodness we only have deed restrictions), but I would think the same would apply in your situation. If the fence is/was on his property then he pays unless you agree to split. As others have stated....he can go pound sand otherwise.

Crashj007 · 02-03-2018, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by densan93

<>We came home this week to find the entire fence removed, without any warning. He replaced even the 'shared' portion. He is now asking us to pay for have of the entire fence, but we don't believe this is correct.
We feel it should only be half of the 23 foot section and not the entire 71 feet. Does anyone know if there are any laws or regulations for this scenario?

"To have or have not?"
Be a neighbor. This is your chance to not be a jerk, don't pass it up.