Landlords & property managers · Orange 2800

Fencing a rental in Orange: who pays, and how fast.

The owner pays. A dividing fence, a gate and a pool barrier are part of the premises, so under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 the landlord keeps them in a reasonable state of repair, not the tenant, unless the tenant, their pets or their visitors caused the damage. If the failure leaves the property unsafe or insecure, or breaches a pool barrier, it is an urgent repair and has to be done as soon as practicable, not at the next inspection. A tenant who cannot reach you or the agent can arrange the urgent repair and be reimbursed, currently capped at $1,000. Budget $250 to $550 for a make-safe and $90 to $130 per metre for a Colorbond rebuild.

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Who is on the hook

Obligations table: situation, responsibility, timeframe, cost

Written for both sides of the relationship. Property managers can send this straight to an owner who is arguing about a bill, and owners can use it to sanity-check what an agent is asking for. Costs are realistic 2026 Orange district figures.

Situation	Who is responsible	Timeframe	Typical 2026 cost
Storm drops the back fence, dog can now get out	Owner. Serious storm damage and an insecure yard both sit on the urgent repairs list.	As soon as practicable. Tenant may arrange it and be reimbursed within 14 days, capped at $1,000, if you cannot be reached.	$250 to $550 make-safe, then $90 to $130 per metre to rebuild.
Pool gate will not self-close or latch	Owner. A leased property with a pool needs a valid certificate of compliance under the Swimming Pools Act 1992.	Immediate. The barrier must work at all times, and the certificate lasts 3 years.	$180 to $420 hardware, $450 to $900 for a compliant gate, plus the inspection fee.
Side gate latch broken, yard not secure	Owner, unless the tenant broke it.	Urgent: an insecure property qualifies.	$150 to $320 to re-hang and refit hardware.
Tenant’s dog has chewed or pushed out palings	Tenant, if the ingoing condition report and photos support it.	Raise it in writing when you find it, not at the vacate inspection.	$30 to $60 per metre to re-fix or replace palings on a sound frame.
25 year old fence leaning, nothing unsafe yet	Owner. Fair wear and tear, not a bond claim.	Non-urgent: within a reasonable time. A tenant can apply to NCAT if it drags on.	$4,000 to $5,200 for a typical 40m Colorbond boundary.
Shared boundary with the neighbour needs replacing	Both owners under the NSW Dividing Fences Act 1991. Never the tenant.	Serve a Fencing Notice, then allow 30 days for the neighbour to respond before proceeding.	Half of $90 to $130 per metre for a fence of a standard suitable to the properties.
Getting our crew on site	Owner or agent gives the notice.	2 days written notice for repairs, 7 days for a routine inspection, no notice in an emergency.	Nil, but a locked gate or a dog on site turns a one-visit job into two.

General guidance for NSW, not legal advice. NSW Fair Trading and NCAT are the authorities on tenancy disputes. Full rates on the pricing page.

Urgent versus non-urgent, and why the label matters

NSW tenancy law splits repairs into urgent and everything else. The urgent list covers serious storm or fire damage and any fault or damage that makes the premises unsafe or insecure, which is exactly where a collapsed boundary fence, a broken side gate or a breached pool barrier lands. The consequence of that label is practical: an urgent repair has to be attended to as soon as practicable, and if the tenant genuinely cannot reach the landlord or the agent, they are entitled to organise it themselves and be reimbursed, currently up to $1,000, within 14 days of giving you the receipts. Check the current cap with NSW Fair Trading, because it does get reviewed.

A leaning 25 year old fence with nothing unsafe about it is not urgent. It is still your job to fix within a reasonable time, and a tenant can ask NCAT to order it, but you can schedule it sensibly. The practical trap is the middle ground: a fence that is only half down. Once a dog can get out onto a road, or a child can reach a pool, the same fence has moved from the second category to the first.

The pool barrier rule that catches out new investors

A property with a pool cannot be leased in NSW without a valid certificate of compliance, and the pool has to be on the NSW Swimming Pool Register. The certificate lasts 3 years, so it expires quietly in the middle of a tenancy. Diary it. Common failures we see in Orange are a gate that no longer self-closes from any position, a climbable object inside the non-climbable zone, and a boundary fence acting as part of the barrier that has dropped below the required height as the ground settled. See pool fencing and compliance for the detail.

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Itemised quotes addressed to the owner, tenant liaison for access, invoices coded for the owner statement.

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Access, vacate inspections and the bond

Give 2 days written notice for repairs and maintenance and 7 days for a routine inspection, with a maximum of 4 inspections in any 12 months. In practice, agreeing a time with the tenant beats serving notice, because a fencing crew needs side access, a clear 2 metre working strip along the line, and no dog in the yard. Removing an old fence and setting new posts is a two-visit job in many cases: posts go in and concrete cures, then panels go on a day or two later.

At the vacate inspection, the only fence damage you can claim from the bond is damage beyond fair wear and tear, and only if the ingoing condition report and photographs support it. Four chewed palings at $30 to $60 a metre is a legitimate tenant cost. A run that has reached the end of its life is not, no matter how bad it looks: read how long a fence lasts in Orange and compare that to the age of the fence before you argue it. Photograph fence lines at every ingoing and outgoing inspection, not just the interior, because that is the evidence that decides it.

Repair or capital improvement, for tax

Fixing part of an existing fence is generally an immediately deductible repair. Replacing the whole fence is generally a capital works improvement, written off at 2.5 per cent a year over 40 years, so a $5,000 Colorbond replacement is roughly $125 a year rather than a $5,000 deduction. Repairs to problems that already existed when you bought the property are treated as capital too. That is general information, not tax advice, and your accountant decides how it applies to your situation. Ask us to itemise repairs and replacement separately on the invoice so the distinction is easy to make later.

When we tell an owner to spend nothing

If the boundary is shared and the neighbour is also unhappy with it, do not pay for the whole thing. A Fencing Notice under the NSW Dividing Fences Act 1991 costs nothing to serve and can halve a $4,600 job, and we write quotes in a form you can attach to one. If a fence is 20 years old and structurally fine but grey and tired, and the tenant has not complained, replacing it does not increase the rent in Orange and is better timed for when you sell, which we cover on the pre-sale page. And if the tenant simply wants a taller fence for a new dog, that is a negotiation, not an obligation.

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Send the address, the metres and whether it is urgent, and we come back within 1 business day with an itemised quote you can forward straight to the owner.

Landlord and property manager questions

Who pays for fence repairs at a rental property in NSW?

The owner, in almost every case. A dividing fence, a gate and a pool barrier are part of the premises, so the landlord obligation to keep the property in a reasonable state of repair covers them. The tenant only pays where they, their pets or their visitors caused the damage, and that has to be shown against the ingoing condition report. Budget 250 to 550 dollars for a make-safe and 90 to 130 dollars per metre for a 1.8m Colorbond rebuild.

Is a fallen fence an urgent repair under NSW tenancy law?

It is if it leaves the premises unsafe or insecure, or if it breaches a pool barrier, and serious storm damage sits on the urgent repairs list in its own right. Urgent repairs have to be done as soon as practicable rather than at the next inspection. If the tenant cannot reach the landlord or the agent, they can arrange the urgent repair themselves and be reimbursed within 14 days, currently capped at 1,000 dollars.

Can I lease out a house in Orange with a non-compliant pool fence?

No. Under the NSW Swimming Pools Act 1992 a property with a pool cannot be leased unless a valid certificate of compliance is in place, and that certificate lasts 3 years. The pool also has to be on the NSW Swimming Pool Register. Getting a barrier back to compliance is usually 180 to 420 dollars for hinges and a magnetic latch, or 450 to 900 dollars for a new compliant gate, plus the inspection fee.

How much notice do I have to give a tenant to get fencing done?

For repairs and maintenance the tenant gets 2 days written notice, and for a routine inspection it is 7 days, with a maximum of 4 inspections in any 12 months. No notice is needed in a genuine emergency. In practice, agreeing a day with the tenant is quicker: fencing crews need side access and a clear 2 metre working strip, and a dog in the yard stops the job dead.

Is a new fence a tax deduction or a capital improvement?

Repairing part of an existing fence is generally an immediately deductible repair, while replacing the whole fence is generally a capital works improvement written off at 2.5 per cent a year over 40 years. Repairs to damage that already existed when you bought the property are treated as capital, not repairs. This is general information only and your accountant decides how it applies to you.

Can I claim fence damage from the bond at the end of a tenancy?

Only for damage beyond fair wear and tear, and only if the ingoing condition report and photographs support it. A dog that has chewed through 4 palings is a tenant cost of roughly 30 to 60 dollars a metre to put right. A 22 year old timber fence that finally leaned over is fair wear and tear and comes out of your pocket, not the bond.