posted
The fence between our back yard and our neighbors is my neighbor's fence. On the back side (our side), it is starting to have problems. Nails and staples are sticking out and coud be dangerous for our children while playing in the back yard.
I want to get this fixed. What is the best way to go about it? Should I contact the landlord of the house (the neighbor house is rented) and ask him to repair it? Should I just go ahead and do it myself? Who should pay for the repairs?
Posts: 751 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Does the "nice" side of the fence face your property? Or do you get the "back" side? If you get the back side, I'd suggest putting your own fence panels on the existing poles, if that is feasible and the poles are sturdy and in good shape.
However, I don't see a problem asking the owner of the house to make needed repairs that affect you and your family. Depending on your fanancial position and diplomatic tendencies, you might offer to split the cost with him.
Good luck.
[edit to say I should have read the original post more carefully. I see you say you got the "back" side. ]
posted
I would contact the landlord first, and see if he'll fix it. If it is his fence, it is his obligation to keep it safe and in good repair. However, if he procrastinates or blows you off, I'd just fix it. I don't think it's worth causing problems over, nor worth leaving the danger to your children there.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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My neighbor has the ugly side of his fence facing me. I figure that the tradeoff is that he has to let me do whatever I want with the ugly side.
Posts: 2655 | Registered: Feb 2004
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If I'm not mistaken, those exposed nails are a liability for the homeowner. If your kids get hurt from them, you could sue hem. Therefore, I would say it really falls on hem to fix it. Offering to put your own fenceboards up on his/her posts is a generous way to fix it (on your part) but it has the added benefit of you no longer having to look at the ugly side of the fence.
The problem is that one of the cross-beams has warped so much (this is a really cheaply made fence) that one end of has warped away from the post and from the slats, leaving all of the staples used to attach the slats sticking into my yard.
Posts: 751 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Write to the landlord and request that he make repairs soonest. Set a deadline. Keep a copy. You may want to consider certified mail for proof of delivery.
If repairs are not made in a timely and safe manner, then send a copy of that letter (and the certified green card if you went that route) with a cover letter explaining the situation to date to your town's equivalent of a zoning committee for their involvement. I'm sure there are ordinances regarding appropriate fencing and maintenance of same, and I'd be willing to bed that exposed nails are a violation of that ordinance.
If that still doesn't work, consider a lawyer.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
How bad is the fencing material? Is it really loose? Is there a chance that it might collapse from even minor repair?
I guess I'm just concerned that you might get into a bit of a hard spot if the fence is in bad shape. I would think that contacting the landlord and explaining your problem would be advisable first. If nothing happens, contacting the local housing authority (in writing) with your concerns would be the next best step.
Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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Mr. Head doesn't want to violate the long-standing tradition of milestone posts at the 1k mark, so he keeps changing his name as he hits the 1k post mark under each old name.
1. Contact the owner of the neighboring house and talk with him about your concerns with the fence. If he's interesting in maintaining his property, he'll take care of it (we would for our rental property). He may not be aware of the problem. If he's not such a great steward of his property, then I suggest you either fix it yourself or:
2. Build a fence on your side of the property. This isn't as awful as it sounds. We have both sides of our yard fenced (the rear part of our yard is naturally fenced by retaining walls, as we live at the bottom of a steep hill). Our next door neighbor wanted his side of the fence to look different, so he put up a different kind of fence (ours is a good neighbor fence) that actually looks very nice. I thought it was weird at the time, but it made our neighbor happy, and it keeps their dog in their yard, which our fence wasn't doing a very good job of.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Putting up our own fence would be a big pain. The irrigation pipes run right next to the fence. We would have to completely re-run our irrigation pipes.
The vertical posts seem to be structurally sound.
It I don't think the damage is visible from our neighbor's side of the fence. I'll try contacting the landlord and see what happens.
Posts: 751 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
I would definitely try talking to him before starting anything official. Few things can chill a relationship quicker than the implied assumptions of "getting the city on your side" before even approaching the offending party. Sure there are jerks in the world, but if you have no reason to believe he is one already, you don't want to turn him into one either.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
Karl, that's why I suggested contacting the landlord first. However, the reason I suggested doing it in writing is in the (hopefully not going to happen) event that the landlord chooses to not make repairs or to make repairs that are not sufficient.
Yes I work for lawyers and it's rubbing off on me....
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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