Find the one that matches your problem
Neighbour disputes in New South Wales are not governed by one law. A fence, a tree and a noise complaint each run under a different Act and are decided by a different body. Start with the one that matches what is actually happening.
General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.
Which page you need decides more than the wording: it decides whether your matter belongs at NCAT, in the Local Court or in the Land and Environment Court, what you have to do before you can start, and whether there is a form the other side must be given first.
Two problems that look alike often part company here. A branch dropping leaves and a branch that has damaged a roof are different claims; a fence and a retaining wall holding back soil are different again.
The boundary itself
Where the line runs, what stands on it, and who pays for it.
Dividing fences
The fencing notice, what a sufficient dividing fence is, and why the cost is generally shared equally whoever wants the work done.
Boundaries and encroachment
Where a structure crosses the line, or nobody is certain where the line is. Surveys, and what a court can order about an encroachment.
Retaining walls
Not a fence, and usually not covered by the Dividing Fences Act. Who is responsible for a wall holding back soil, and what changes if it was built to support one side’s excavation.
Easements and access
Rights of way, drainage and services over someone else’s land. What is on the title, and what a court can create where nothing is.
What comes over the fence
Trees and branches
The Trees Act: Part 2 where a tree has caused damage or risks injury, Part 2A where a hedge blocks sunlight or a view. Both decided by the Land and Environment Court.
Noise and nuisance
What the law means by nuisance, which is narrower than everyday use of the word, and where noise is a council or police matter rather than a civil one.
Animals next door
Barking, roaming and menacing dogs under the Companion Animals Act, which the local council enforces rather than a court.
When the neighbour is in the same building
Strata neighbours
Noise, smoke, pets, parking and common property. Mediation is compulsory for most strata disputes before NCAT will hear them.
Free mediation has changed
Not sure which one it is?
Describe what is happening rather than what to call it. Which Act applies is the first thing to work out, and it is usually not obvious.