Delaware Statewide Rule
Delaware Partition Fence Equal-Share Maintenance Law
Key Facts
- Statute
- 25 Del. C. § 1304
- Cost split
- Equal shares
- Neglect remedy
- Double cost after 5 days
- Deciders
- Fence-viewers; justice of the peace
- Condition
- Both must keep improving land
Summary
Delaware law makes adjoining occupants split partition-fence upkeep in equal shares as long as both parties farm or improve their land, with fence-viewers setting cost shares and a justice of the peace ordering repairs after neglect.
§ 1304. Maintenance of partition fences; liability for enclosure of another's lands. (a) The respective occupants of lands enclosed by fences shall maintain partition fences between them in equal shares, as long as both parties continue to improve the same.
Full Breakdown
Under 25 Del. C. § 1304(a), the respective occupants of lands enclosed by fences must maintain the partition fence between them in equal shares, so long as both continue to improve their land. When one owner newly encloses land adjoining a neighbor's enclosed land and an existing fence becomes a partition fence, fence-viewers determine the compensation owed. If either occupant neglects their half after 5 days' written notice, § 1305 lets a justice of the peace direct the aggrieved neighbor to repair it and recover double what the negligent party should have paid. Barbed wire is barred as a division fence in residential districts without zoning-board approval.
Violations & Penalties
Neglecting your share after 5 days' notice lets the neighbor repair it and recover double your cost through a justice of the peace, plus fence-viewer-assessed compensation for newly shared fences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pays for a fence between two Delaware neighbors?
What if my neighbor refuses to fix their half?
Can I use barbed wire on the property line?
Sources
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