POINT 01
Boundary line
Walk the fence line from a start point you can find again, such as a gate or corner.
A timber panel fence runs along a site boundary from a corner gate.
Form library · Facilities and maintenance
Fence damage inspection checklist
A walk of a fence line or site boundary to find fence damage before it lets people in or animals out. Record why the boundary is there, whether it is a construction site perimeter and whether a public right of way crosses it, then add each section with its type and length and check posts, panels, gaps, anything that helps people climb over and barbed wire. Record the result, how a breach was made safe and photos. The form totals the length walked, counts sections needing repair and breaches, checks each gate's hinges, latch and lock, and ends with an optional Walk Cam route and actions. Every question is listed below, and you can fill the live form in on this page.
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What should a fence inspection check?
Walk the line from a start point you can find again and check each section: posts upright and firm, panels, rails or mesh intact, no gaps under or through, nothing next to it that helps people climb over, and any barbed or razor wire. Check each gate closes, latches and locks. Under section 2 of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957, an occupier must take reasonable care to see that visitors will be reasonably safe, and must be prepared for children to be less careful than adults.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 17 October 2026 against section 2 of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 (common duty of care), section 1 of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 (duty to people other than visitors), HSE: protecting the public from construction work and Leeds City Council: landowner responsibilities for public rights of way.
Try the fence inspection form live
Answer a few questions and watch it adapt. Your answers are not saved, and any photos you add are deleted within the hour.
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Open the completed example to see fictional readings, notes, photos and calculations. Choose Blank form to try entering your own answers.
Want to see one filled in? See a completed fence inspection report (PDF), made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit.
Walk Cam route · four guided clips
Record the fence inspection on video
Walk the boundary from a fixed start point and stop on leaning posts, broken panels, gaps and gates that do not close.
Record the site, boundary section, start point and date. Keep the next posts in frame so lean is easy to see. The four AI-generated clips illustrate one route, not a real site.
POINT 02
Leaning or broken posts
Stop on any post that leans, rocks or is broken, keeping the next posts in frame for comparison.
One fence post leans noticeably compared with its neighbours.
POINT 03
Damaged panels and gaps
Film broken panels, gaps under the fence and anything that would let people or animals through.
A broken fence panel leaves a gap at ground level.
POINT 04
Gate and latch
Show the gate, hinges and latch, and whether it closes and stays shut.
A timber gate hangs on its hinges with the latch in view.
See the footage in a report
A fictional six-page example with the four points, twelve stills from the clips, observations, follow-up actions and the limits of a visual record.
View the visual evidence (PDF) ↗ · Download the full sample report
Video records visible condition. It cannot confirm a boundary keeps people or animals out, show post rot below ground or settle who owns the fence. Example footage was generated in Google Flow and the observations are scripted; no real site is shown. Walk Cam works inside any form in the app. How Walk Cam works · All visual inspections
Every question in the fence inspection template
A fence and boundary inspection: what the boundary is for, each section with its type, posts, panels, gaps and climbing aids, gates with hinges, latches and locks, breaches made safe, photos and repair actions. 3 sections and 61 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Client: the project's customer
- Site: the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
- Site address: the site address, from the space or the project
Site
- ProjectShort answerFills in from the project name
- ClientShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Site*Short answerFills in from the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
- Site addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Inspection date*Date
- TimeTime
- Inspector*Short answer
- Reason for the inspectionChoose one
- Routine
- After a storm
- After a report of damage or a break-in
- What the boundary is forTick all that apply
- Security
- Keeping the public or children out
- Keeping animals in
- Privacy
- Marking the legal boundary
- Is this a construction site perimeter?Yes or No
- GuidanceHSE: construction sites need measures to manage access across defined boundaries and steps to exclude unauthorised people. Plan the perimeter, provide the fencing and maintain it. HSE says that in populated areas this will typically mean a two-metre high small mesh fence or hoarding.Shown when “Is this a construction site perimeter?” is Yes
- Does a public right of way cross or run alongside the boundary?Yes or No
- GuidanceLeeds City Council's guidance for landowners: gates and stiles on rights of way are the landowner's to maintain, barbed wire must not be strung across a right of way, and the council's consent is needed before an electric fence is put across one. Check your own council's rules.Shown when “Does a public right of way cross or run alongside the boundary?” is Yes
- GuidanceUnder section 2 of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957, an occupier must take such care as is reasonable to see that visitors will be reasonably safe, and must be prepared for children to be less careful than adults. A dated record shows what was checked and done.
- Weather captureAnswer
Record estimated current conditions and add what you observe on site.
Boundary
- Start point (a gate or corner you can find again)Short answer
- Height the fence needs to be (m)Number
Optional. From the site plan, the client's specification or your security risk assessment. The form compares each section with it.
- Fence sectionsRepeat for each section. Each one asks:
- Section (from, to)*Short answer
- TypeChoose one
- Timber panel
- Close board
- Post and rail
- Chain link
- Weldmesh or palisade
- Temporary mesh panels
- Hoarding
- Wall
- Hedge
- Start and end of the section (GPS)Short answer
Optional. Mark both ends, so the repair team finds the section.
- Length (m)Number
By tape, pacing or the site plan.
- Height (m)Number
Optional. Use a tape, or measure from a photo taken square on with something of known size in the same plane, such as a standard 1.83 m (6 ft) panel width.
- Against the height neededWorked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Posts upright and firmChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Panels, rails or mesh intactChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- No gaps under or throughChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Nothing next to it that helps people climb overChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Barbed or razor wireChoose one
- None fitted
- OK
- Damaged or loose
- Result*Choose one
- OK
- Repair needed
- Breach: made safe
- What is wrong?Short answerShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- How the breach was made safeShort answerShown when “Result” is “Breach: made safe”
- PhotosPhotos
- is_lowWorked out by the form
- len_badWorked out by the form
- Total length walked (m)Worked out by the form
- SectionsWorked out by the form
- Length needing repair or breached (m)Worked out by the form
- Share of the length walked (%)Worked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Sections needing repairWorked out by the form
- BreachesWorked out by the form
- Sections lower than neededWorked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- CheckA breach was made safe temporarily. Set the permanent repair as an action with an owner and a date, and recheck the temporary fix until it is done.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Are there gates on this boundary?Yes or No
- GatesRepeat for each gate. Each one asks:Shown when “Are there gates on this boundary?” is Yes
- Gate*Short answer
- Hinges and postsChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Closes and stays shutChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Lock or padlockChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- None fitted
- What is wrong?Short answerShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- PhotosPhotos
- g_badWorked out by the form
- Gates checkedWorked out by the formShown when “Are there gates on this boundary?” is Yes
- Gates with a defectWorked out by the formShown when “Are there gates on this boundary?” is Yes
- Walk Cam: fence and boundary inspectionWalk Cam video with voice-to-text
Optional. Film the four guided points on the SiteSurvey app; each clip keeps its spoken note.
Actions and sign-off
- Are further actions needed?Yes or No
- Further actionsRepeat for each action. Each one asks:Shown when “Are further actions needed?” is Yes
- What needs doing?*Notes
- PriorityChoose one
- Urgent
- High
- Medium
- Low
- Who will do it?Short answer
- Due dateDate
- StatusChoose one
- Open
- In progress
- Completed
- Actions open or in progressWorked out by the formShown when “Are further actions needed?” is Yes
- Next inspection dueDate
Set by the owner's own inspection regime. Also inspect after storms and reports of damage.
- Days until the next inspectionWorked out by the formShown when “Inspection date” is answered and “Next inspection due” is answered
- CheckCheck the date. The next date is before the date of this visit.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Inspector name*Short answer
- Position or companyShort answer
- Inspector signatureSignature
- CheckSigning records what was found on the day. It does not make unsafe equipment safe or replace a thorough examination, design check or service by a competent person.
Scope and responsibility
A condition record of a fence or boundary. It is not a legal boundary survey, a structural check of a wall or a security risk assessment.
What a useful entry looks like
Damage found and how a breach was made safe
Name the section by fixed points, say what is damaged and how a breach was made safe on the day. Set the permanent repair as an action.
Post 14 leaning after the storm and the panel beside it broken with a gap at ground level. Temporary mesh clipped across and the post propped.
Fictional example of record wording. Use the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job; this is not a completed report or an instruction to carry out the work.
See it filled in
A completed fence inspection report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Fence inspection FAQs
What does HSE expect on a construction site?
HSE says construction sites need measures to manage access across defined boundaries and steps to exclude unauthorised people, and that you should plan the perimeter, provide the fencing and maintain it. In populated areas, HSE says this will typically mean a two-metre high small mesh fence or hoarding.
What about a right of way?
Leeds City Council's guidance for landowners says gates and stiles on rights of way are the landowner's to maintain, barbed wire must not be strung across a right of way, and the council's consent is needed before an electric fence is put across one. Check your own council's rules.
Do we owe a duty to trespassers?
Section 1 of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 can give an occupier a duty to people other than visitors, where the occupier knows of a danger, has reason to believe someone may come near it and could reasonably be expected to offer some protection. A boundary record shows what was checked and done.
What if the fence is breached?
Make it safe straight away, for example with temporary mesh panels, record how, and set a repair action with an owner and date. The form counts breaches separately from repairs.
What is the Walk Cam route?
An optional step on the SiteSurvey app: four short guided clips of the boundary line, leaning or broken posts, damaged panels and gaps, and the gate and latch, each with a spoken note.
Who uses this?
Facilities and estates teams, depot and site managers, schools, housing associations, landowners and site security contractors.
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