Colorado Statewide Rule
Colorado Partition Fence Law: Neighbors Split the Line Fence (CRS 35-46-112)
Key Facts
- Statute
- C.R.S. 35-46-112 & 35-46-113
- Each owner builds
- One-half of line fence
- Lawful fence
- 3 barbed wires, posts ~20 ft apart
- Notice before self-help
- 30 days, written
- Enforcement
- Civil suit; lien; sheriff's sale
Summary
Colorado is a fence-out state: when two owners' agricultural or grazing lands adjoin, each must build and maintain half of the boundary line fence at joint cost. Ignore a neighbor's 30-day repair notice and they can build it and sue you for half.
Where the agriculture or grazing lands of two or more persons adjoin, whether or not such lands are farmed or grazed, it is the duty of the owner of each tract to build one-half of the line fence, such fence to be a lawful fence as described in section 35-46-101.
Full Breakdown
Under C.R.S. § 35-46-112, where the agricultural or grazing lands of two or more persons adjoin, each owner has a duty to build one-half of the line fence, built to the 'lawful fence' standard in § 35-46-101: a three-wire barbed fence with substantial posts about twenty feet apart. Section 35-46-113 splits erection and repair costs equally between the adjoining owners. If a neighbor ignores a 30-day written notice to fix their half, you may repair the whole fence and recover half the cost by civil action. That judgment becomes a lien on the neighbor's land, enforceable by sheriff's sale.
Violations & Penalties
Neglecting your half after a 30-day written notice lets the neighbor build or repair the entire fence and sue for half the cost; the judgment attaches as a lien on your land, enforceable by sheriff's sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my neighbor have to pay for half of our boundary fence in Colorado?
Is Colorado a fence-in or fence-out state?
Sources
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