Nothing on this page is legal advice. It is general information only. A real dispute belongs with a lawyer or with your municipal offices.
The starting point is chapter 49, section 3 of the General Laws. That section says occupants of adjoining enclosed lands maintain the partition fence between them in equal shares for as long as both make use of it, unless they agree otherwise.
Does the neighbor have to pay for half?
Only in the situation the statute describes. Section 3 is about keeping up a partition fence that serves both lots. It does not hand you a right to bill the people next door for a fence they never wanted. In practice, a shared fence gets paid for because two owners shook hands on it.
My neighbor wants a 50/50 split on a fence I did not ask for. Do I have to pay for half?
Not just because you were asked. Look at whether both lots are enclosed and both of you use the fence. If you see no need for it, say so in writing. A lawyer can tell you how the statute applies to your two lots.
Who owns the fence on a boundary?
- Fence entirely inside one lot: it belongs to the owner of that lot.
- Fence on the line, used by both: treated as shared.
- Not sure: order a survey or pull the plot plan and see where the posts actually stand.
May the people next door build a fence without asking me?
If it stays on their land and follows local height and permit rules, generally they may. The limit is the spite fence law, chapter 49, section 21, which treats a fence that unnecessarily tops six feet and is maintained to annoy the people next door as a private nuisance.
The survey shows the fence sits on the wrong side of the line. What happens next?
Start with a conversation. Two outcomes are common. The fence gets relocated to the true line, or both owners sign a written agreement allowing it to remain. Which rights you each have is a legal question for an attorney. Relocating a fence to a surveyed line is ordinary fence work.
A contractor built my new fence over the boundary. Who pays to correct it?
Look at who chose the line. Where the installer guessed, or built past stakes that were plainly there, send a written request that they relocate it at no charge. Where you pointed to the spot yourself, the claim is weaker. Avoid the problem next time by having the quote state where the fence goes and who marked it.
We agreed to share the cost. How does the billing work?
Sort it out on paper before anyone digs. The note should cover five things: where the fence runs, what it is made of, how tall it is, the full price, and what each household owes. Ask the contractor to show the shared stretch and the two portions as separate lines on the quote.
The house beside mine is rented out and I cannot reach the owner. May I still build?
Yes, provided every post stands inside your boundary and the fence follows local rules. No signature from next door is needed for that. Get the boundary staked beforehand so the question never comes up.
I just bought the house, the fence has rotted, and the neighbor will not pay. May I replace it?
First find out whose fence it is. A fence on your lot is yours, and you may rebuild it at your own cost. A shared fence on the boundary is different: write to the neighbor before you take it down, and keep a copy.
Tree roots are lifting the fence. Who deals with it?
Two trades. The tree is a matter for an arborist, and the posts and panels are a matter for a fence installer. Call the arborist first, because severing a large root may weaken the tree or kill it. One fix that spares the root is a wider gap between two posts so the fence passes over it.
The business next door stacks material on my fence and it is bowing. Can it be strengthened?
To a point. Stronger posts, tension wire and a rail along the bottom all stiffen chain link. Still, no residential fence is meant to act as a retaining wall. Write to the business owner asking for the load to be moved. If nothing changes, raise it with your municipal code office.
Want a price for your own yard? The estimate is free, done on site, and the quote comes in writing. Call (508) 690-4738.