The Fence On The Line
RCW 16.60.020 — a neighbor who encloses against your fence pays half its value
In Washington, when a fence has been built on the boundary line and the adjoining owner makes an enclosure so that the fence also serves to enclose their ground, the adjoining owner pays the fence's owner one-half of the value of the part that serves as a partition fence.
Hog fencing. The adjoining owner does not pay the extra cost of hog fencing over a lawful fence, unless they use it to make a hog enclosure of their own land.
Building a new partition fence. Where neighbors share land enclosed by one fence and a partition fence becomes necessary to protect one of them, the other, when notified, erects one-half of it, on or as near as practicable to the line.
Where the line actually runs is a boundary question this page does not answer. Whether a particular fence must be shared, and what either neighbor can recover, are questions for a licensed Washington attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- RCW 16.60.020 — Partition fence; reimbursement
- RCW 16.60.030 — Partition fence; erection; notice
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Washington attorney.