Fences & Boundaries are often the topic of dispute for homeowners and buyers.
As of January 1, 2014, a new law went into effect that requires adjoining landowners to share equally, with certain exceptions, the responsibility for maintaining the boundaries and monuments between them.
When an owner incurs a cost for a fence, they must give 30 days’ prior written notice to each affected adjoining owner
Notice shall include the nature of the problem, solution, timeline and estimated cost to fix the problem
Affected neighbors can only overcome responsibility if the prove reasonable costs would be unjust
If neighbors cannot resolve dispute, law gives the court discretion to order contributions, in any amount
Hopefully, this law will help bay area California homeowners be able to maintain their properties better since there is now a law that may assist them to get stingy neighbors to come up with the funds to cover their share of fencing and such!