Calaveras County, CA Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

The Calaveras County Zoning Code (Title 17) regulates where and how fences may be built but does not address financial responsibility between neighbors for a shared boundary fence. That gap is filled by California Civil Code Section 841, the 'Good Neighbor Fence Law,' which applies throughout the state including unincorporated Calaveras County. Section 841 provides that adjoining landowners 'shall share equally in the responsibility for maintaining the boundaries and monuments between them' and that they 'are presumed to share an equal benefit from any fence dividing their properties and, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties in a written agreement, shall be presumed to be equally responsible for the reasonable costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement of the fence.' Before a landowner incurs costs to build or replace a shared fence, the statute requires '30 days' prior written notice to each affected adjoining landowner,' and the notice must describe the problem, the proposed solution, the estimated cost, the proposed cost-sharing approach, and the timeline. The equal-share presumption can be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence where equal cost-sharing would be unjust, for example where the financial burden is substantially disproportionate to the benefit or would impose undue hardship; a court may then order a lesser share or none. County zoning rules on height, setbacks, and intersection visibility still apply on top of these state cost-sharing rules.