
Quoting
GreatRewards
My question involves real estate located in the State of: Washington
We moved into our house about 7 years ago. At that time, we noticed that the fence between our house and the one next door was going to need replacing someday. When we approached the neighbor about splitting the cost of materials, he told us "it's YOUR fence. You're not getting a dime out of me." He claimed that the previous owner built the fence and that it was on OUR property (though we have no proof other than his word, which is questionable). He claimed that he didn't like fences and couldn't care less if it wasn't even there.
We left it alone. A couple of months ago, 2 sections (about 8 feet each) fell over in a wind storm. Before I could do anything about it, he was out there propping it back up from his side. He essentially put it back the way it was before the storm.
Now we've received a letter from our HOA because he filed a complaint against us for not repairing the fence.
He still refuses to pay for any of the replacement costs. And although he claims the fence is "ours", he has not only enjoyed the benefit of having it in place to contain HIS dogs, but he has had hanging plants attached to "our" fence for as long as we've lived here... AND he has a small fence section w/gate connecting "our" fence to his house, thus fully enclosing his yard.
Does his ongoing use and benefit of this boundary fence (regardless of whether it is on the property line or a couple of inches on our side of it) oblige him of joint maintenance?
For someone who "hates fences", he has put an awful lot of effort into this particular one... I just want him to pay for half of a replacement.
What can I do? I know folks will say "hire a surveyor", but if we just assume that he's right about the fence being on our side of the property line, isn't he still responsible since he's USING our fence?
Thanks for your advice.