What Are the Fence Laws in Hawaii?

What Are the Fence Laws in Hawaii?

Everywhere has different laws in regard to fences. Hawaii is no exception. If you are getting ready to enclose a property with a fence, you will need to know all about these laws so you can be sure you’re in full compliance.

If you’re ready to find fencing contractors Hawaii has some excellent ones. They can give you the best price and provide you with the workers and materials you need.

Before you start looking at the best fencing companies to hire, though, let’s talk about the fence laws in Hawaii that you should know. 

The Legal Fence in Hawaii

Hawaii defines a “legal fence” as one that is at least four feet high. It must also be made of stone, posts and wire, posts and boards, posts and rails, or any other suitable material. There’s some room for interpretation there, but most reasonable people can agree on what does and doesn’t constitute suitable material.

Boundary Fence Responsibilities

If you’re putting up a fence in Hawaii along a boundary line that you share with your neighbor, you should also know that you and the neighbor will both have a say in its erection. If you put up that fence right along the property line, you must have the neighbor’s permission in writing.

You also cannot alter the fence in any significant way afterward without getting the approval of the neighbor first. This is also true for trees growing right on the property’s boundary line. You can’t make any alterations to that tree without first checking with the neighbor.

You can get around this rule in regard to the fence, though. In order to do so, you would simply erect the fence within the property line on your side. That way, your neighbor can have no legal say in its construction.

Fences that Encroach on a Neighbor’s Property

In Hawaii, you might also have a situation sometimes where a fence that you have erected or that the previous property owner erected encroaches on the property of your neighbor. The reason that sometimes happens is that in Hawaii, some of the older neighborhoods had survey maps at certain points that were based on inaccurate land surveys.

If your neighbor resurveys their land and finds out that part of your fence is encroaching on their property, they can legally tear it down if they wish. However, only in cases where neighbors are actively hostile toward each other will this probably take place.

Usually, if a neighbor does a new land survey and finds the property line is in a different place than what was once assumed, and part of your fence is on their property, they will just ask you to alter the fence accordingly. To maintain a good relationship with your neighbor, you’ll presumably want to do that.

As long as you keep these fence rules in mind, you should be able to erect and maintain a fence around your property in Hawaii with no issues. That should increase the property’s value