Wisconsin Partition Fence Law for Neighbors

Wis. Stat. Chapter 90 imposes joint responsibility on adjoining owners of land used for farming or grazing to build and maintain partition fences. Each owner is generally responsible for half the fence. Wis. Stat. § 90.03 defines legal fences, and § 90.05 allows a neighbor to compel repair through fence viewers if the other refuses. Town fence viewers, appointed under § 90.07, resolve disputes and may assess costs. The law has been modernized by 2011 Wisconsin Act 90 to clarify applicability mainly to agricultural lands.

Failure to maintain a partition fence after notice may result in the neighbor performing repairs and recovering double the cost via fence viewers under § 90.11.