VIC Is a tennis court fence a dividing fence ?

[ahowey]

Our neighbour is subdividing his backyard which includes a tennis court. The tennis court fence was setback approximately 500mm from a retaining wall. At the ends of the tennis court there was timber fencing between the retaining wall and the tennis court fence so that we effectively had a 500mm wide rectangle on his property. I have attached a diagram of the rectangle. Our neighbor has replaced the retaining wall and now is asking us to pay for half of the costs of a new timber fence, stating that the tennis court fence was not a boundary fence. My argument is that the tennis court even though it was on his property and not on the boundary was a dividing fence and that we should not be paying for 50% of the costs for the new timber fence. Any advice would be welcome. It seems that we are in a bit of a grey area, after speaking to our local council and referencing the Fences Act.

 

[Docupedia]

So they’re wanting to build the timber fence on the actual boundary? That would appear to be a dividing fence, for which adjoining neighbours (i.e. you) are generally liable to contribute. The tennis court fence probably isn’t a dividing fence as it is not on the boundary and doesn’t appear to have been put in place to mark the boundary. It’s pretty clear that the tennis court fence is there to enclose the tennis court, and isn’t for the boundary due to its specific setback from what is otherwise the boundary - which I’m assuming is generally a straight line.