Question: We have two street-facing units with front fences needing replacing. The fences are part of the strata boundary. Should the owners of the two front units share 50% of the cost of replacement?
Answer: The cost should be shared 50/50 by the owners of the land on either side of the fence.
The Dividing Fences Act 1961 Section 7 notes that the liability of Owners of adjoining lands to a fence are liable to join in or contribute in equal proportions, which means the cost should be shared 50/50 by those that own the land either side. What you will need to do is look at your Strata Plan and ascertain who owns the land either side of the fence, if one side is strata common property and the other is a lot, then yes the cost needs to be split between the strata scheme and the lot.
When obtaining quotes it’s not as simple as the strata paying half and the two front units paying half. You will need to get a price for each section of fencing that is owned by the front lots and then that respective lot shares the cost with strata.
If one side of the land is road / verge and the other side is individual lots then those lots will need to share the costs as State Government departments are not bound by the Dividing Fences Act and hence don’t contribute to the costs.
Jamie Horner Empire Estate Agents E: JHorner@empireestateagents.com P: (08) 9262 0400