Short answer
Under Pennsylvania's Fence Law of 1905 (amended 1955), owners of improved, occupied farm or ranch land share the line fence between them equally. The state Supreme Court, in Fogle v. Malvern Courts, limited the law to farms and ranches, so it doesn't cover house lots. The law also says no one can be required to build or repair a line fence from December through March. This is general information, not legal advice.
What the Fence Law says
The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau's guide to boundary and fencing laws summarizes the 1905 statute this way: where neighboring land is improved and occupied for farming or ranching, the owners share the line fence equally. The law was amended in 1955. It also sets a season: nobody can be made to build or repair a line fence from December through March.
The state Supreme Court narrowed it in Fogle v. Malvern Courts, holding that the act applies to farms and ranches. A homeowner in a subdivision can't use it to make the neighbor pay half of a backyard privacy fence.
Does it apply to your line?
| Situation | Fence Law cost sharing? |
|---|---|
| Two working farms, both improved and occupied | This is the case the law was written for |
| Two house lots in a development | No, per Fogle v. Malvern Courts |
| A farm next to a house lot or a small hobby farm | Unclear from our sources; ask an attorney |
| Farmland next to unimproved woods or an empty parcel | The summary speaks of improved, occupied land; ask an attorney |
Based on the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau summary. Facts matter, and we don't give legal opinions.
The gray areas are common in our service area. Farmettes and new houses sit beside working farms all through Oley, Hereford and Washington Township. Whether an acre with two horses counts as "improved, occupied farm land" is a legal question, and a Pennsylvania real-estate or agricultural attorney is the right person to answer it.
Why it comes up so often in Berks County
Berks County had preserved 70,031 acres on 709 farms by April 2016, more than any other county in the state's farmland preservation program. The whole of Oley Township is a National Register historic district, listed in 1983, with more than 150 farm complexes. Many of those farm lines have been fenced, hedged or walled for generations, so when an old woven-wire fence finally falls down, two owners have to work out a replacement.
The December-to-March rule lines up with the ground
The winter exemption makes practical sense here. Penn State's Housing Research Center gives Berks County an Air Freezing Index of 2,000, colder than Montgomery and Chester counties, and frozen ground makes setting posts slow and expensive. Spring through fall is the practical window for farm-line work in Berks anyway.
Before you split a bill: put it in writing
- Agree on where the line is. If the deed is an old metes-and-bounds description, a survey settles it. See is the old hedgerow my property line?
- Agree on the fence. Type (woven wire, high-tensile, board), height, gates, and whether either side wants electric.
- Agree on the split. Who pays for what, and who maintains which stretch afterward.
- Check local rules. Several townships here restrict barbed wire to farm use and electric fence to containing farm animals. Preserved farms may also have easement terms; see fencing preserved farmland.
- Call before digging. PA One Call needs three business days' notice, and a hired contractor places the request.
This page explains what the Fence Law says as summarized by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. It isn't legal advice. For a dispute over a line fence, talk to a Pennsylvania attorney who handles agricultural or real-estate law.
If you and the farm next door have agreed on a fence, we can walk the line with both of you and write one quote you can divide however you've agreed. Split rail runs about $22 to $35 per foot; woven-wire and high-tensile farm fence is priced after we see the terrain.
Common questions
Can my farm neighbor make me rebuild the line fence in January?
Under the Fence Law as summarized by the Farm Bureau, no one can be required to build or repair a line fence from December through March.
Does the Fence Law apply to my house in a Limerick or Royersford development?
No. Fogle v. Malvern Courts limited it to farms and ranches. Neighbors in a development can still agree to share a fence voluntarily.