Who pays for a shared fence in Ohio and Pennsylvania

Read this first

Fence law is state law, and it is about who owes what to a neighbor. We are a fence contractor, not lawyers. We read the Ohio Revised Code and Ohio State University materials directly. For Pennsylvania the legislature's own pages blocked us, so what follows for that state comes from a 1955 law review article and summaries, and we keep it general. If money or a boundary is at stake, talk to a licensed attorney, your county recorder or township office, and Penn State's Center for Agricultural and Shale Law for Pennsylvania farm questions.

When the Ohio partition fence law applies

Ohio Revised Code Chapter 971 covers partition fences, the fences on a line between two owners. It does not apply to the enclosure of lots in municipal corporations, to adjoining properties laid out into lots outside municipal corporations, or to fences railroads must keep. An Ohio State University Extension fact sheet reads those exclusions the same way. In practice the law mostly matters for rural and farm parcels in townships. A typical subdivision lot in town falls outside it, although neighbors there can still agree to share a fence by contract.

The default split in Ohio

Unless a written agreement applies, each owner pays half the cost of building and maintaining a shared partition fence (Ohio Revised Code 971.071). The details depend on what is on the ground.

• An existing fence. Owners share maintenance, and share the cost of a rebuild equitably, unless they agree otherwise. If an owner removes a fence and does not replace it within one year, that owner must record an affidavit with the county recorder. An owner who rebuilds without such an affidavit on record pays the full cost.
• A brand new fence where none existed. The owner who wants it pays to build and maintain it. That owner may record cost affidavits and, if a neighbor later uses the fence to hold livestock within 30 years, may claim a proportional reimbursement, calculated as the total cost minus one thirtieth for each year since the affidavit. Skipping the affidavit forfeits the right.
• Better than the standard. An owner who builds a fence better than the preferred partition fence pays the extra cost.

What counts as the preferred fence

Where livestock are involved, Ohio defines a preferred partition fence as a woven wire fence, standard or high tensile, with one or two barbed wire strands at least 48 inches above ground, or a nonelectric high-tensile fence with at least seven strands, built to the USDA NRCS fence standard (code 382). Barbed wire, electric or live fences also count if the adjoining owners agree in writing. Livestock means horses, mules, asses, hogs, sheep, goats and cattle, plus other animals kept domestically for food, fiber or hunting. If you only need a fence to mark a line and keep a dog in, that standard is not the one doing the work. Our field and woven wire fence page shows what that fence looks like.

Written agreements

Neighbors can sign a written agreement that does something different, such as no fence, a non-preferred fence, or different duties. Under section 971.04, it must be filed with the county recorder and it runs with the land, so it binds future owners. The county recorder keeps the partition fence record, including agreements, affidavits and trustee decisions. Before you buy rural land, ask what is on file.

What township trustees do

When a neighbor will not build or maintain a share, you can sue in common pleas court or file a complaint with the township trustees. Before filing with trustees, you must receive and sign a notice explaining the court option and the possible financial consequences. The process in section 971.09 is specific.

1. ComplaintThe owner files with the township board of trustees after signing the required notice.
2. NoticeTrustees give adjoining owners at least 10 days' written notice.
3. View and record checkTrustees view the fence and check the county recorder's records.
4. DecisionAt their next regular meeting, trustees decide who must build or maintain and assign shares in writing, as a section of fence or a dollar share based on a contractor estimate.
5. CertificationFindings are certified to the county recorder.

Trustees weigh topography, water bodies, vegetation, trespasser risk, the importance of marking the boundary, and the number and type of livestock. An owner who disagrees with an equitable assignment can request binding arbitration within 30 days. The arbitrator decides within 60 days of appointment and the owners split the arbitrator's fees. Trustees do not handle reimbursement disputes under the new-fence rule, which go to court. Ohio's current statute uses the term township board of trustees, and does not use the older phrase fence viewers.

Working on the line

A person building a partition fence under the chapter, or a hired contractor, may enter the neighbor's land up to 10 feet from the boundary along the length of the fence, and staying within 10 feet protects against the criminal trespass statute. The builder is responsible for damage, including to crops. Obstructing someone lawfully building or maintaining a partition fence is prohibited, and penalties start at a third-degree misdemeanor. Digging still needs an 811 call. See our 811 page.

Keeping livestock in

Separate from who pays for a fence, Ohio law says owners of horses, mules, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, llamas, alpacas, bison or poultry may not permit them to run at large on a public road or unenclosed land, or graze them on premises they do not own or lawfully occupy (Ohio Revised Code 951.02). An owner who negligently lets livestock run at large is liable for the damage they cause on another's premises (Ohio Revised Code 971.18). Ohio State Extension adds that owners can answer a negligence claim by showing reasonable precautions, such as maintained fences and locked gates. A gate left open is a common way this goes wrong. See our gates page.

Pennsylvania in general terms

Pennsylvania's partition fence law dates back to 1842 and is sometimes called the Fence Law. As best we can tell, it asks owners of adjoining improved land to share fence costs equally, and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau summarizes it as applying to farms and ranches. A later owner who improves their land may owe a just and reasonable part, and an owner contributes only if the fence is used. FindLaw reports that courts have excused residential neighbors from sharing costs when the neighbor neither wanted nor needed the fence, though we could not verify the cases. Take that as a reason to check, not as a rule.

Pennsylvania also has a fence viewer process. Either party may call fence viewers to judge whether a fence is sufficient, and a magistrate is involved if it is not. The Farm Bureau summary also says no landowner can be required to build or repair a fence from December through March. We could not confirm current fee caps, time periods or how the process works today. On livestock, Pennsylvania follows a fence-in rule, so animal owners are expected to confine their stock or pay damages.

Practical steps before you build on the line

• Find the line. Look for corner pins, read the deed and recorded plat, and hire a licensed surveyor for a boundary survey before you build on or near it. Ohio requires boundary monuments to be marked where practicable.
• Talk to the neighbor first, and put anything you agree on in writing. In Ohio, record it with the county recorder.
• Get written quotes so any cost split rests on real numbers. Our fence cost post explains what a quote should list.
• Check local rules on height and location, as in our fence permit post.
• Keep receipts and photos of the work. They matter if a reimbursement or a trustee decision comes up later.

Solid Rock Fencing builds fence and gates in Ohio and Pennsylvania, with a 10 year workmanship warranty. To talk through a line fence, ask for a FREE estimate or call (440) 241-4312.

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