This Week's Question

July 18, 2005

By Nena Groskind

Q:   The retaining wall behind my house is badly in need of repair. The survey shows that the wall sits squarely on the property line—partly on my property and partly on my neighbor's. I've suggested that we divide the cost of the repair but my neighbor wants no part of that deal. His attitude is, if I want to repair the wall, I should pay for it. Is there any law that requires him to pay his fair share of this expense?

A:  In most situations such as this, my legal sources tell me, the wall actually sits on one side of the line or the other. And if that is the case, then the maintenance of the wall is the sole responsibility of the owner on whose property the wall rests. Alternatively, there may have been an agreement between the owners at the time the wall was constructed, acknowledging joint benefits from the wall and assigning joint responsibility for its upkeep to the owners and their successors. If such an agreement exists, it should be part of the records for your property and your neighbor's on file at the Registry of Deeds for the county in which you live.

If the wall really is in the middle of the line, and if there are no legal agreements on file, the attorneys I consulted said there is probably nothing you can do to require your neighbor to pay a portion of the repair bill. Your options would be either to leave the wall as it is, or finance the repairs yourself.