Can my neighbour force me to pay for half of a shared boundary fence in BC?

Your neighbour cannot simply demand you pay half the fence cost and force immediate payment, but under the BC Property Law Act Part 5 (Boundaries), they do have a legal mechanism to seek a court order requiring you to contribute to a boundary fence that benefits both properties. In practice, the vast majority of shared fence situations in Metro Vancouver are resolved through neighbourly negotiation rather than legal proceedings.

The BC Property Law Act establishes that both owners benefit from a boundary fence and both share an obligation to maintain it. However, the Act does not specify an automatic 50/50 split, and it does not give your neighbour the right to unilaterally build whatever fence they want and send you a bill for half. The cost-sharing obligation applies to a fence that is reasonable for the neighbourhood and serves both properties. If your neighbour wants a $15,000 custom horizontal cedar fence when a $5,000 standard privacy fence would serve the same purpose, you are not obligated to pay half the premium.

Your neighbour's legal options if you refuse to contribute. If negotiation fails and your neighbour believes you should share the cost, they can apply to the BC Supreme Court for an order under the Property Law Act. The court will consider whether a fence is necessary, what type of fence is reasonable for the neighbourhood, and what a fair cost split would be. However, court proceedings in BC cost thousands of dollars in legal fees — often $5,000-$15,000 or more — which makes this option impractical for most residential fence disputes. The legal costs frequently exceed the fence costs themselves.

The BC Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) may offer a more affordable path. The CRT handles certain property disputes with lower fees and an online process. If your neighbour's claim falls within CRT jurisdiction, this is a faster and more cost-effective way to resolve disagreements than Supreme Court. Decisions are legally binding and enforceable.

Situations where you likely share an obligation. If the existing boundary fence is falling down, rotting, or creating a safety hazard, both owners generally share responsibility for repair or replacement. If there's no fence and both properties would benefit from one (privacy, security, pet containment), the argument for shared cost is stronger. If your neighbour needs a fence to meet municipal bylaws — for example, a pool fence required by the BC Building Code — and the fence happens to sit on the boundary, you may still share responsibility for the boundary portion.

Situations where you may not need to contribute. If the existing fence is in reasonable condition and your neighbour simply wants an upgrade, you are not obligated to fund their aesthetic preferences. If your neighbour builds a fence entirely on their own property (set back from the boundary), they cannot require you to contribute — it's their fence on their land. If the fence primarily benefits one property (for example, containing your neighbour's dogs), the argument for equal cost-sharing is weaker.

The practical Metro Vancouver approach. In most neighbourhoods across Metro Vancouver — from East Vancouver to Surrey, Burnaby to North Vancouver — neighbours work out fence costs informally. Common arrangements include splitting the total cost 50/50 for a mutually agreed-upon fence, one owner paying for materials while the other pays for labour, one owner covering the full cost of an upgraded fence while the other contributes what a basic fence would have cost, or one owner building the fence now with an understanding that the other will handle maintenance or eventual replacement. A typical 6-foot cedar privacy fence in Metro Vancouver runs $40-$80 per linear foot installed, so a 60-foot shared boundary costs $2,400-$4,800 total — or $1,200-$2,400 each when split. That's a modest investment compared to the cost and stress of a legal dispute.

Protect yourself regardless of the outcome. If you do agree to share costs, put the agreement in writing — fence type, total cost, each party's share, payment timeline, and who hires the contractor. If you choose not to contribute and your neighbour builds the fence anyway, they must keep it on their property or obtain your agreement for placement on the boundary line. Document all communication in case the matter escalates.

Need help getting quotes for a shared fence project? Vancouver Fence Builders can match both you and your neighbour with fence contractors for free estimates through the Vancouver Construction Network.

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