HawthorneVillager.com

[corcoran_chris]

Hi guys, im in a newer town home that a freehold

there seems to be some misconceptions as to what is required when we do our fencing.

when purchasing- I was told that the backyards need to have access ways for all the units- that means a gate at each corner of the back yard so interior units can get lawn mores/ anything else they want to their backyard

is this true? what is the code?

Chris

[Fran and Jason]

When we bought our townhouse it said right in our agreement that there was a 4 foot easement around our home where we had to give our neighbours access to their backyard. Check your purchase agreement, it should indicate if there is an easement or not. So we put a gate in the back corner of our yard so that our neighbour could bring their bbq and patio furniture around, and let them in to cut the grass. It was a bit of a PITA sometimes, but it's either let them back to take care of the yard or they let their yard turn into a wasteland. All we asked is that they let us know before they came into our yard so that we could make sure our dog was inside.

[Burrcold]

You can build to your property line. However, many plans allow for a 2 ft easement on both yours and your back facing neighbours, to allow for a 4 ft walkway (mainly for townhouses that do not have access to the yard from the garage - also as safety code).

If you choose to build all the way to the property line (eleminating the 2 ft easement), then you are required to build a gate on both sides of the fence - left unlocked at all times so everyone can get through if/when needed.

Or you could close off your fence with a locked gate, if you adhere to the easement.

[Burrcold]

[corcoran_chris]

thats what I figured

I called mattamy and they said I can close everything in- no need for anything?


reason im asking is because both my neighbors have closed everything in and the only way people can get access to their backyards now is to walk through mine ( everything is still unfenced ) right close to my windows, not at the back portion that is allocated for everyone.

[Burrcold]

[corcoran_chris]

direct from puchase agreement

purchasers of lots are advised that access to the rear yard for interior townhouse units will be through the unit or by way of the rear/sideyard easements of adjacent lots

then more blah blah garbage

the key word of the first paragraph is OR

meaning if all houses ( which they do ) have acess to their backyard ( through the rear sliders/door) then we dont need to have access with the rear easements? I mean if someone was taken to court over this it cearly says OR in the agreement - meaning I would have to adhear to one of the two options.

right?

[Burrcold]

[Knave]

I have an interior townhouse, and my outside neighbor has demanded that I ask permission every time I go through her yard with my lawnmower.

So stressful

The problem is, I don't even know what my rights are, so I barely feel like I can demand anything. This forum has been very contradictory in this matter in the past. At times people say that the easement is voluntary and non-enforceable, other times the statements imply the exact opposite.

[RizzoLee]

As long your neighbour has access from ONE side, it meets the easement requirement. If you think about it - our homes these days (semis and detached) are being built so close together that they only allow for a gate on one side of the house.

Towns can have one gate as well - as long as you put your fence in first, you can choose to have this option.
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Amesbury 'A', HVE
Prosser Circle

[Megan & Logan]

If anyone has completed there fence to these requirement; would you please be kind to post a photo.

Pictures say a thousand words..

Thanks
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[corcoran_chris]

when you say access to one side- I think your incorrect in the situation that im in

if a block is 7 town homes total, the interior units would all need to have access all the way through

for example the first one would have ONE gate in order for the second one in to have access to their property, 2 would have another gate in order for 3 to reach their property but would have the existing gate from 1-2 - therefore having 2 gates incorporated in the fencing design.

and I figured the "through the unit" was with homes that have an access way from garage to the backyard but its not specified in the clause from the purchase agreement- if its not stated its null.

all the information I can take from it is there needs to be ONE access- which there is through their sliding doors.

regardless of opinions- if I went STRAIGHT off of what was laid out in my purchase agreement, closing my backyard off 100% and to full property line dimensions would be legally adhering to the instructions?


im not the one blocking in people by any means- I always understood the need for the access way on the easement or pass through via gates in the fence. Im just playing the devils advocate on a situation that I see becoming a problem real soon. And judging from what is written from mattamy on the sales agreement it seems you CAN block all access and build a 100% private back yard since people have access through their sliding doors.

[Burrcold]

Mattamy agreement won't mean anything if the fire department were called to take a look at a completely fenced in yard (no access at all).

[prickly_pete]

More knowlegable people reside at the Milton Town Hall. You could go and speak with them instead. 2nd floor, left counter, building permit people. They know all the codes and laws in Milton very well, and will probably give you some sort of package called "So, you're building a fence".

You could call them, but I suggest going there with a copy of your lot diagrams - you'll get your answers in 2 seconds.

Remember to stop by here after though and clarify things for us - that way the next guy can just do a search!

[Burrcold]