Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland
Privacy Fence
My fiance just purchased our first home. In the contract, it is stated that there is a privacy fence constructed in the back yard of the property. Thus being one of the reasons for us to purchase throught this company, considering we own a dog. The fencing that was installed a month after we moved into the home is only an 8ft. section bordering either side of the property. There is no length specifications in the contract and when we asked, we were told that we would only have to finish across the back of the fence to enclose the property. When the builders were questioned about only having installed an 8ft section,we were told that the 8ft section is all that is required to be installed by them. Our question is what exactly is a "privacy fence" and should they be required to finish running the fencing down the length of the property line (which is only 32ft.)
Thank you in advance for any help you may provide us.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Privacy Fence
It's difficult to give you a definitive answer without seeing the contract documents, since their wording would be crucial to the outcome of this dispute. If the contract and specifications only used the term generally without specifying that the builder would only be building two sections, you may well be entitled to require it to complete the entire fence to enclose your yard.
If a contract is ambiguous, the law says the ambiguity must be resolved in favor of the party who did not write the contract--you, in this case.
It sounds like the sections that were built were designed to go between your house and your neighbors'--thus the "privacy" factor. This is the builder's justification for only erecting the side sections, I suspect (assuming there is no neighbor to the rear). However, I think the builder had a duty to spell out the extent of the fence before you signed the contract, and if he didn't, you have a good argument for requiring it to connect the existing sections at its expense. Perhaps they will compromise and agree to share the cost of the additional fence, which is probably a less expensive option than a court battle. Good luck!
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