Installing a fence between neighbors - norms, rules and laws

The legislation of the Russian Federation has clearly defined rules that must be followed when installing a fence between neighbors according to the law. Often these rules are not followed, which becomes the cause of numerous lawsuits and disputes. Sanitary standards and fire safety rules are also violated. Let's understand all the nuances to ensure we avoid trouble.

Rules for installing a fence between neighbors

The task of the fence in the private sector is to determine the boundaries of the site. Protection of possessions and salvation from prying eyes is a secondary task. Therefore, when installing a fence, the interests of all parties are taken into account. The fence must run exactly along the border. The wishes and preferences of individual citizens cannot be taken into account.

Installation of reinforced concrete prefabricated structure at the dacha

Disputes regarding the position of the fence arise not only at the time of its construction. Very often the structure stands for years before the one whose right was violated begins to act to restore justice. At best, as a result of this, neighbors may quarrel, but there are also those who, through the court, will achieve a fine and demolition of the entire structure. And they will be right.

To be confident in your actions, you should adhere to the following set of rules:

• First, all documents on the site are studied, and the position of the boundary line is determined with an accuracy of a centimeter. It is best to call a team of surveyors for this so that there are no problems.

Site plan

• You should immediately coordinate this with your neighbors and make sure that they agree with the results. If controversial issues arise at this stage, it will be easiest to resolve them.

Act on approval of the boundaries of a land plot

• It is also recommended to draw up an act on the boundaries of the site in individual housing construction or SNT. If you can’t accurately determine the boundary yourself, surveyors can help you. Their services will be inexpensive, and the result will be accurate and documented. If something happens, you will have something to go to court with.
• When inspecting a site, a geodetic bureau employee will examine the area, review the documents and, based on this, issue his conclusion.

It’s a lightweight structure, but even this needs to be coordinated with the relevant authorities.
Even before construction begins, you need to coordinate the construction of the fence with the department of urban planning and architecture on the territory of your locality. There are usually no obstacles from these authorities, except in situations where electrification and water supply systems are affected.

What kind of fence can you put around your property?

No one can dictate the choice of material for a fence to the owner. His interests are already important here. The structure must cope with all types of loads that may be placed on it.

The appearance must correspond to the appearance of the entire site; the owner himself determines the height, shape and equipment of the structure in order to reliably protect his site from uninvited guests.

The best materials for fences between neighbors

It often happens that neighbors build each of their own fences themselves, but common structures are also common, as this helps to reduce considerable construction costs. In this case, the type of structure and materials for its construction are discussed together with the neighbors. Now among the materials in demand are:

Rules and regulations for SNT and ONT in 2021

SNT is a gardening non-profit partnership, ONT is also a partnership, but a gardening partnership. People who are members of them, when constructing a fence, must be guided by the recommendations set out in SNiP 30-02-97. The latest changes to this document were made in 2021. GOST has not been developed for this issue.

For SNT, it contains the following recommendations. We emphasize that these are recommendations. The main document is the rules of the partnership.

Typical site in SNT

• The maximum height of the fence between neighbors in SNT on a summer cottage in 2021 should not exceed 2 meters.
• A blind fence may only be installed on the side of the roadway, street or ravine.
• The fence separating neighboring areas must be translucent (transparent or in the form of a mesh or lattice). This requirement protects the soil from shading, which can be detrimental to many cultivated plants.
• There is a situation when a blind fence can only be installed on a boundary line by mutual consent of the neighbors.

For summer cottages, a chain-link mesh would be an excellent fencing option. It is difficult to climb over it at the specified height, and it will not spoil the microclimate on the site.

It is also allowed to coordinate the height of the fence with neighbors. If there are no opponents, then this parameter can be increased to the agreed value.

Attention! When agreeing on all design parameters that may become potentially controversial, it is required that the neighbors sign the act in duplicate. If something happens, this document can be presented in court as proof of innocence.

Code of rules 53.13330.2011 is also a document according to which it is worth placing objects on a site in SNT, including fences. Here we can find the recommended indents of various objects from each other. All the necessary information is shown in the photo below.

Development of the territory in accordance with the standards for SNT

Take your time with the guidelines issued by your local government. They may differ significantly from region to region.

Despite the agreement between neighbors on the installation of a light-tight fence and its height, if the recommended values ​​are exceeded, it is necessary to contact the local government for approval.

When the height of the structure is planned to be more than 2 m, an architect is additionally contacted - without his approval, construction will be illegal, even by agreement of the parties. The opinion of this expert is also required when erecting a fence on a corner plot.

Fire safety rules

The norms and recommendations of SNiP, as well as local government regulations, may be subject to discussion and even challenge by residents, but fire safety rules will have to be tolerated under any conditions.

Fire in SNT - the fire will easily spread to neighboring buildings

If you look at these rules, you will find that they do not regulate the distance between buildings on the same site and the distance between fences. But there are clear requirements for distances from the house to the neighbor’s buildings.

• The minimum possible distance from the house to the neighbors’ fence is 3 meters – this does not apply to outbuildings (the requirements are lower there).
• If both houses are built of concrete, brick, stone and other fireproof materials, an indentation of 6 m is made.

Projects of such houses can be found on our website:

1. Design of brick houses.
2. Projects of houses made of concrete.
3. Construction of a private house from natural stone.

• If the house is wooden, the distance increases to 10 m.
• If mixed - up to 8.

Distances between houses according to the fire resistance class of the materials from which they are built
Attention! If your neighbor has already built a house at the required 3 meters from the fence, and you want to start building a wooden frame structure, for example, you will have to retreat the remaining 7 meters from the fence. And nothing can be done about it. The neighbor did not violate any laws; no preliminary agreements were drawn up.

Sanitary standards for installing a fence between neighbors

In addition to the main building, there are also additional buildings on the plots. Each of them should be located at a distance from the fence.

• A toilet on the property, no matter how clean and well-groomed it may be, is a source of unpleasant odors (you can look at country toilet projects on our website). It also attracts a lot of insects, which can be a nuisance to your neighbors. Therefore, you can place it no closer than 1 meter to the fence.

A toilet with a fence behind it

• The utility block is located at exactly the same distance from the fence (in general, this distance is the minimum possible). It is important that the slope of its roof is directed into the site, and not towards the neighbors, since flowing water can wash away the fence and plantings.
• A greenhouse can be located at the same distance (you can find projects of greenhouses for summer cottages at the link).
• All structures that can disturb the ecology of the neighboring site have large indentations from the fence.

Sanitary and fire safety standards

• The poultry house should not reach 4 meters from it. The same applies to buildings for keeping livestock. The position of the septic tank or cesspool is more influenced by the location of the wells on your and neighboring plots - the minimum permissible distance is 25 m. It is not always possible to maintain it if the plots have a small area.
• There are also instructions regarding vegetation on the site. Tall trees cannot be located closer than 3 m from the fence, medium-sized trees - 2 m, and shrubs can be planted at a distance of 1 m. There are no recommendations for grass, flowers and other small landscaping.

Fire and sanitary standards should not be neglected. At a minimum, this threatens with large fines, or even in court you may be required to demolish the building at your own expense.

The legislative framework

In the Russian Federation there is no separate law that would fully describe the standards for installing fences on the lands of individual housing construction and SNT. The installation procedure for the building envelope is regulated by a large number of regulations:

• SNiP 30-02-97 - on proper planning of the territory, the distance between buildings and plantings on the site, and standards for construction on a garden plot;
• SNiP 3.01.01-85 – on the stages of construction production;
• SP 11-106-97 – on the rules for the development of design and technical documents;
• TKP 45-3.01-117-2008 – on permissible fence sizes;
• Federal Law No. 66 – on the general provisions of SNT;
• GOST 12.4.059-89 SSBT - on safety standards when installing a fence;
• GOST 12.4.059 - on how to build temporary fences;
• statutory documentation of SNT with the requirements existing in a particular gardening partnership;
• Charter of the cottage community (if a plot was purchased with a contract) on the requirements for the external design of the house and fence;
• Article 71 of the Land Code – on land supervision;
• Art. 304 of the Civil Code on the protection of the rights of the property owner;
• SP 30-102-99 – on low-rise construction;
• Rules of land use and development (LZZ) – on zoning in urban planning;
• regional legislative acts.

Requirements for fences in individual housing construction

SNiP does not require the owner to erect a fence around the area, but everyone does this to protect the house from the entry of strangers and their privacy from nosy neighbors.

• How tall can the fence be? According to the standards, the height of the fence for individual housing construction between neighbors in the village and city is not determined. The owner has the right to erect a structure of any height. The transparency of the structure has also not been established, however, in the upper part it is recommended to make voids of various shapes, filled with metal gratings, to ensure normal ventilation of the area.
• Owners of individual housing construction are not prohibited from putting up a solid fence between neighbors, but keep in mind that if the structure displaces your neighbor in any way, he will have the right to demand that the reasons be eliminated.

In individual housing construction, it is possible to close the site with solid fences

• If we talk about two-apartment houses built on the same or adjacent plots, then they can be fenced with a solid fence (you can look at the designs of two-family houses on our website).
• Townhouses are considered both urban and rural buildings (you can see townhouse projects by clicking on the link). The owners' houses are located close to each other, which is an inconvenience for many. All fencing of the territory between neighbors is carried out strictly according to the plan issued during the design of the structure. The fence should not differ in appearance, so everything is done by the residents together or is provided immediately by the developer at the stage of construction and landscaping of the territory

There are no fences installed between neighbors in the private sector - townhouse.
The norms for the setbacks of the main objects on the site from fences are exactly the same as for SNT. We won't repeat ourselves.

How and who should build a fence on the boundary

In SNT and individual housing construction, any neighbor can build a fence. Everyone can put up their own fence without entering their neighbor's territory.

Installation of a blind fence - a corrugated sheet will be mounted inside

• To begin with, the building will only need to obtain the verbal consent of the neighbor. As you understand, this requirement is formal.
• If there is a street, environmental or sanitary zone behind the fence, then the owner makes the decision to erect the fence independently. In this case, it is worth focusing on local standards for indentation.
• The back side of the fence always faces the yard of the person building it, unless otherwise agreed upon in advance with the neighbors.
• The fencing installation method is selected individually, depending on the type of materials, soil density and other technical factors.

Fence transparency parameter

According to clause 6.2 of the current joint venture, it is recommended to erect a mesh fence along the perimeter of garden and dacha plots. The construction of a blind fence is possible with permission from the owner of the neighboring plot, drawn up in writing and certified by signature. The manufacturing material can be any building material used for these purposes: corrugated board, picket fence, stone, brick, etc.

The drawn up agreement between neighbors must be documented with the board of the dacha or garden cooperative.

Insolation requirements

The development scheme approved by the SES continues to operate in 2020. It provides for compliance with insolation standards, namely:

1. The fence should not obscure the windows of living rooms.
2. They should also not block the view from the window.
3. It is not allowed to block air access and disrupt the ventilation of the area.

Territory insolation plan
If you think that these requirements are far-fetched, go to construction forums and read what users write. Many people complain that their neighbors block the air supply with a large fence, which is why little light gets in, and the room cannot be properly ventilated.

In such a situation, a person has the right to file a lawsuit, after which bailiffs go to the site and determine whether the fence meets the mentioned requirements. At the request of the court, the high fence can be demolished.

What liability is provided for illegal occupation of land?

Upon your application, state inspectors for the use and protection of land will conduct an inspection and, if a violation is confirmed, they will issue an order to the violator to eliminate it, and will also draw up a protocol on the administrative violation.

According to Russian legislation, administrative liability in the form of a fine is provided for unauthorized occupation of someone else's land. For citizens, such a fine is assessed in the amount of 1 to 1.5 percent of the cadastral value of the occupied part of the land plot, but not less than 5 thousand rubles. If the cadastral value of the plot is not determined, the amount of the administrative fine will be from 5 to 10 thousand rubles.

How to resolve controversial situations

If it has already happened that things have reached a point of dispute, then you need to act approximately according to the following scheme.

It's better not to bring the matter to court

The most common dispute between neighbors is determining the boundaries of a property. The seizure of someone else's territory can happen by accident or due to malicious intent - many, thus, try to increase the area of ​​​​their plot. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to coordinate everything with your neighbors before installing the fence and, if anything happens, contact the competent authorities to resolve the situation. Such an agreement will provide the following benefits.

• Immediately identify all controversial points.
• Stipulate all the terms of the agreement - such a document will have full legal force and can act as evidence in court.
• Indicate all measures that can be taken for non-compliance with the terms of the concluded agreement.

Attention! If a neighbor for some reason refuses to sign the agreement, then it is better not to risk it - who knows what is on the person’s mind. In this case, when building a fence, be guided by the standards described in this article.

If the situation has already reached the point of dispute, the fence has been installed, and one of the parties considers itself to be disadvantaged, then it has the right to go to court with a demand to resolve the situation. Such matters are usually not simple. The litigation may drag on for some time - you still need to prove your case, and if experienced lawyers are involved in the case, then factors that are not prescribed in the laws, of which there are also plenty, may come into play.