Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Shared Fence

There are two statutes dealing with fences. One is a modern law about spite fences and doesn't apply here. The other is an old statute regarding shared costs when neighbors each decide to enclose their adjoining lands. Although it doesn't necessarily apply strictly, most courts would apply it by logical extension to division of costs in your situation and require each neighbor to bear half the cost of repairs.

No statewide statute that I know of governs the choice of fence design, either from the esthetic or engineering standards point of view. If one neighbor wants a design that is rugged and the other objects because it is ugly, I think most courts would allow the neighbor who has to look at the thing control the choice, provided that choice was at least reasonable from the standpoint of serviceability.

It's a kind of dispute judges hate to have brought to them, and sometimes there are HOA rules, CC&Rs or local ordinances that control or assist in resolving the dispute. If I were mediating this dispute, I'd recommend hiring a good fence contractor to propose, design and install the most durable fence that meets the objecting neighbor's appearance standards, and split the cost.