Editing Fence (section)

==Legal issues==
[[Image:DFRFence.jpg|thumb|A typical urban fence]]

In most developed areas the use of fencing is regulated, variously in commercial, residential, and agricultural areas. Height, material, [[setback (land use)|setback]], and aesthetic issues are among the considerations subject to regulation.

===Required use===
[[Image:2008-07-30 Fence along Commerce Blvd at RDU.jpg|thumb|Typical chain link [[perimeter fence]] with barbed wire on top]]
The following types of areas or facilities often are required by law to be fenced in, for safety and security reasons:

* Facilities with open high-voltage equipment (transformer stations, [[mast radiator]]s). Transformer stations are usually surrounded with barbed-wire fences. Around mast radiators, wooden fences are used to avoid the problem of [[eddy current]]s.
* Railway lines (in the United Kingdom)
*fixed machinery with dangerous mobile parts (for example at merry go rounds on entertainment parks)
* Explosive factories and quarry stores
* Most industrial plants
* Airfields and airports
* Military areas
* Prisons
* Construction sites
* Zoos and wildlife parks
* Pastures containing male breeding animals, notably [[bull]]s and [[stallion]]s.
* Open-air areas that charge an entry fee
* Amusement equipment which may pose danger for passers-by
* Swimming pools and spas

=== History ===
[[File:Concretefence.JPG|thumb|Mass concrete fence in [[Russia]]]]
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2012}}

Servitudes<ref>{{cite dictionary| url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/servitude| title= =\Servitude| dictionary= Merriam-Webster| access-date= 2012-06-15| url-status= live| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120524145033/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/servitude| archive-date= 2012-05-24}}</ref> are legal arrangements of land use arising out of private agreements. Under the [[feudal]] system, most land in England was cultivated in common fields, where [[peasants]] were allocated strips of [[arable land]] that were used to support the needs of the local village or [[manoralism|manor]]. By the sixteenth century the growth of population and prosperity provided incentives for landowners to use their land in more profitable ways, dispossessing the peasantry. Common fields were aggregated and enclosed by large and enterprising farmers—either through negotiation among one another or by lease from the landlord—to maximize the productivity of the available land and contain livestock. Fences redefined the means by which land is used, resulting in the modern law of servitudes.<ref>Jesse Dukeminer et al., Property, pp. 668-70 (6th ed. 2006)</ref>

[[File:Bolivar Heights Battlefield, fence on Bakerton Road.jpg|thumb|[[Buck-and-rail fence|Buck-and-rail fencing]] such as this in West Virginia was ubiquitous in the Eastern Theater of the [[American Civil War]], as it was easily made as long as there was plenty of timber readily available. Soldiers from both sides of the war made use of wood from these fences for their camp fires.]]
[[File:Zagroda z Rożnowic (Rozenberg, 1858).JPG|thumb|A [[Wattle (construction)|wattle]] fence at [[Muzeum Budownictwa Ludowego w Sanoku|Sanok-Skansen]] outdoor museum in [[Poland]]]]

In the United States, the earliest settlers claimed land by simply fencing it in. Later, as the American government formed, unsettled land became technically owned by the government and programs to register land ownership developed, usually making raw land available for low prices or for free, if the owner improved the property, including the construction of fences. However, the remaining vast tracts of unsettled land were often used as a commons, or, in the [[American West]], "[[open range]]" as degradation of [[habitat]] developed due to [[overgrazing]] and a [[tragedy of the commons]] situation arose, common areas began to either be allocated to individual landowners via mechanisms such as the [[Homestead Act]] and [[Desert Land Act]] and fenced in, or, if kept in public hands, leased to individual users for limited purposes, with fences built to separate tracts of public and private land.

===United Kingdom===
====Generally====
Ownership of a fence on a boundary varies. The last relevant original title [[deed]](s)<ref>In registered land scanned in and stored at the Land Registry</ref> and a completed seller's property information form may document which side has to put up and has installed any fence respectively; the first using "T" marks/symbols (the side with the "T" denotes the owner); the latter by a ticked box to the best of the last owner's belief with no duty, as the conventionally agreed conveyancing process stresses, to make any detailed, protracted enquiry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who owns the fence? |url=https://www.higgsllp.co.uk/articles/who-owns-the-fence |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=www.higgsllp.co.uk |language=en-gb}}</ref> Commonly the mesh or panelling is in mid-position. Otherwise it tends to be on non-owner's side so the fence owner might access the posts when repairs are needed but this is not a legal requirement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-registry-plans-boundaries/land-registry-plans-boundaries-practice-guide-40-supplement-3|title=Land Registry plans: boundaries (practice guide 40, supplement 3) - GOV.UK|website=www.gov.uk|language=en|access-date=2017-02-17|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218063737/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-registry-plans-boundaries/land-registry-plans-boundaries-practice-guide-40-supplement-3|archive-date=2017-02-18}}</ref> Where estate planners wish to entrench privacy a close-boarded fence or equivalent well-maintained hedge of a minimum height may be stipulated by deed. Beyond a standard height planning permission is necessary.

====The hedge and ditch ownership presumption====
Where a rural fence or hedge has (or in some cases had) an adjacent ditch, the ditch is normally in the same ownership as the hedge or fence, with the ownership boundary being the edge of the ditch furthest from the fence or hedge.<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199899/ldjudgmt/jd990429/alan.htm Lawrence J. in ''Vowles v. Miller'' (1810) 3 Taunt. 137, 138, quoted in ''Alan Wibberley Building Limited v. Insley'', House of Lords Judgement (1999)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708225623/https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199899/ldjudgmt/jd990429/alan.htm |date=2017-07-08 }}</ref> The principle of this rule is that an owner digging a boundary ditch will normally dig it up to the very edge of their land, and must then pile the spoil on their own side of the ditch to avoid [[trespass]]ing on their neighbour. They may then erect a fence or hedge on the spoil, leaving the ditch on its far side. Exceptions exist in law, for example where a plot of land derives from subdivision of a larger one along the centre line of a previously existing ditch or other feature, particularly where reinforced by historic parcel numbers with acreages beneath which were used to tally up a total for administrative units not to confirm the actual size of holdings, a rare instance where Ordnance Survey maps often provide more than circumstantial evidence namely as to which feature is to be considered the boundary.

====Fencing of livestock====
On private land in the [[United Kingdom]], it is the landowner's responsibility to fence their [[livestock]] in. Conversely, for [[common land]], it is the surrounding landowners' duty to fence the common's livestock out such as in large parts of the [[New Forest]]. Large commons with livestock roaming have been greatly reduced by 18th and 19th century Acts for enclosure of commons covering most local units, with most remaining such land in the UK's National Parks.

====Fencing of railways====
A 19th-century law requires railways to be fenced to keep people and livestock out.<ref>https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/5-6/55/section/X/enacted {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> It is also illegal to trespass on railways, incurring a fine of up to £1000.

===United States===
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2012}}

Distinctly different land ownership and fencing patterns arose in the eastern and western United States. Original fence laws on the east coast were based on the British [[common law]] system, and rapidly increasing population quickly resulted in laws requiring livestock to be fenced in. In the west, land ownership patterns and policies reflected a strong influence of [[Spain|Spanish]] law and tradition, plus the vast land area involved made extensive fencing impractical until mandated by a growing population and conflicts between landowners. The "open range" tradition of requiring landowners to fence out unwanted livestock was dominant in most of the rural west until very late in the 20th century, and even today, a few isolated regions of the west still have open range statutes on the books. More recently, fences are generally constructed on the surveyed property line as precisely as possible. Today, across the nation, each state is free to develop its own laws regarding fences. In many cases for both rural and urban property owners, the laws were designed to require adjacent landowners to share the responsibility for maintaining a common boundary fenceline. Today, however, only 22 states have retained that provision.

Some U.S. states, including [[Texas]], [[Illinois]], [[Missouri]], and [[North Carolina]], have enacted laws establishing that [[purple]] paint markings on fences (or trees) are the legal equivalent of "[[Trespass|No Trespassing]]" signs. The laws are meant to spare [[landowners]], particularly in [[rural]] areas, from having to continually replace printed signs that often end up being stolen or obliterated by the elements.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 Sep 2016 |author=Dan Evon |website=Snopes |title='Purple Paint' Trespass Warning |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/purple-paint-no-trespassing/}}</ref>