Demolition and Your Neighbours in Monash: Boundaries, Fences and Protection Works

Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley and Wheelers Hill were laid out on generous blocks, but sixty years on, most of those blocks are hemmed in by fences, garages and gardens that sit right on the boundary, and the neighbours are close enough to hear a conversation over the fence. When a house comes down, the people next door are affected whether anyone talks to them or not. The demolitions that go smoothly in Monash are the ones where that is dealt with early.

Here is what a demolition means for your neighbours, what the law requires, and what simply good practice looks like.

Shared fences

The side and rear fences on a Monash block are usually shared with the neighbour, which under Victoria's fencing law means both owners have an interest in them. Demolition does not automatically mean the fence comes down, and often it does not need to. But fences get damaged by machinery, they get in the way of access on a narrow block, and on a knockdown-rebuild the new house often calls for a new fence anyway.

If a shared fence is coming down or being replaced as part of the project, the neighbour needs to be told and, if they are being asked to contribute to a new fence, the proper notice process applies. If the fence is being removed purely for access and reinstated afterwards, that is simpler, but the neighbour should still know what is happening and when, and the fence should go back in at least as good a condition as it was.

Where a fence is staying, we protect it. Machinery working close to a paling fence will damage it, and temporary barriers or careful sequencing avoid a repair bill and an argument.

Garages and walls on the boundary

A lot of older Monash homes have a garage or carport built hard against the boundary, sometimes with a wall that effectively serves as the fence for the neighbour as well. Removing that wall leaves the neighbour with an open boundary and, occasionally, a structure of their own that was leaning on it.

This needs to be identified at the site visit and agreed with the neighbour before demolition day. Sometimes the answer is to leave the boundary wall standing and demolish around it. Sometimes it is a temporary fence and an agreement about the permanent one. Either way, discovering the problem when the wall is half down is the worst outcome, and it is avoidable.

Protection works

Under Victoria's building law, if building work, and that includes demolition and excavation, could affect an adjoining property, the owner carrying out the work may be required to serve a protection work notice on the adjoining owner. This sets out what is proposed and what will be done to protect the neighbour's property, and the neighbour has a right to respond. The relevant building surveyor decides whether protection works are required.

On a typical single-storey Monash knockdown with reasonable clearance to the neighbours, protection works are often not required. They become more likely where excavation goes near a boundary, where a structure is close to or on the boundary, or where the neighbour has a building that could be affected by vibration or loss of support. If they apply, they take time and they must be sorted before work starts. It is a question to ask early, and it is part of what we cover in our permits and Section 29A consent work.

Dust, noise and hours

Demolition is noisy and dusty for a few days, and there is no way to make it silent. What can be done is to keep it within reasonable hours, to wet down the site so dust does not travel, and to let the neighbours know the dates in advance so they can plan around it. Monash Council has expectations about construction noise hours and dust control, and we work within them. A neighbour who was told on Friday that Monday and Tuesday will be loud is a very different neighbour from one who found out when the excavator started.

Trees along the boundary

A tree on or near the boundary complicates things. It may be protected under council tree controls, it may belong to the neighbour, and its roots may run under the house being demolished. Machinery near the root zone can damage or kill a tree, and killing a neighbour's tree is a fast way to a dispute. Where a tree matters we set up protection around it and plan the machine access to avoid it. Where roots run under the slab, that is a conversation with an arborist before the slab comes out.

Access across the neighbour's land

On a tight Monash block, sometimes the only sensible machine access is over the neighbour's driveway or through their side yard. That is entirely a matter of agreement, and it should be in writing, with a clear understanding of what will be reinstated afterwards. We do not assume access and we do not ask for it on the day.

Their services and yours

It is rare but not unheard of for a service, a stormwater drain or a sewer connection, to cross from one block to another, especially where blocks were subdivided decades ago. Disconnecting your services must not disconnect theirs. Service abolishment is part of the planning, and if there is any suggestion of a shared or crossing service, it gets traced before anything is cut.

The simple version

Tell the neighbours what is happening and when. Identify anything on or near the boundary before you sign a demolition contract. Ask whether protection works apply. Protect the fences and trees you are not removing. Keep the hours and the dust reasonable. None of that is complicated, and all of it is cheaper than a dispute.

We demolish across Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, Wheelers Hill, Mulgrave and Clayton, and every site visit includes a walk along the boundaries to see what the neighbours are going to notice. If you are planning a knockdown-rebuild and want to know how it will affect the people next door, that is a question we are glad to answer before the quote.