Most of the New York Law dealing with fences envisions that landowners will voluntarily assume responsibility for erecting and maintaining fences where they are needed, for it is in the landowner's interest to assume that his animals do not stray, and that other individuals recognize the boundaries of the property over which he exercises dominion and control. The State provides mechanisms for resolving disputes when they arise and for insuring that the needed fences are built and repaired even when the party responsible for the work fails to perform. This summary of the New York statutes dealing with fences should alert owners and lessees of real property in the State as to their rights and liabilities in this area. These are general guidelines

complicated legal questions should be referred to an attorney who can give advice based on the specific facts in a, given situation.