What to Do if Someone Builds a Fence on Your Property

Yous may accept heard the phrase "Good fences make good neighbors" (according to poet Robert Frost), but what happens when these otherwise good neighbors build a fence on your belongings? What should you do? Here in Atlanta, where houses tin exist within close proximity to each other, purlieus disputes are pretty common. However, homeowners do have a couple of options for addressing the problem.

Know Your Property Borders

Before you attempt to address the issue with your neighbor, make certain that you know exactly where the boundaries of your property are. You can detect parcel maps at your local or county municipalities. Your HOA might also take a re-create of the customs program and packet size. Withal, these maps typically provide a general idea of your property lines. For more than specific measurements, you should hire a professional surveyor.

Try Talking to Your Neighbor

When a dispute arises, talking things over can exist one of the quickest and easiest solutions. Once you know where your exact property boundaries are, attempt taking a friendly approach with your neighbor. You might want to ask them (politely) if they were aware that the fence was on your property, and if they would exist willing to either remove it or re-locate it inside the boundaries of their property. Yous could also (once more, politely) allow them know that it is less time-consuming and will cost less coin if you ii accost the consequence at present, rather than pursue a lawsuit or other legal options.

Ask Your HOA to Get Involved

Home Owner Associations (HOA) oft have rules in place concerning the construction, advent, and maintenance of fences within the community. For example, the HOA may have specific policies about the color, height, or placement of the contend. If yous believe that your neighbor's argue violates your HOA rules, y'all might want to inquire the HOA board to get involved with the dispute. The board members may be able to speak with your neighbor, or the organization may accept legal recourse nearly the construction of the fence.

How the Courts Tin Assistance

A landowner has the legal right to have possession of their holding and block others from their belongings – as long as they do so without breaching the peace. If your neighbour is unwilling to remove or re-locate a fence they built on your g, it may exist fourth dimension to have legal activeness. Even a small encroachment onto your land tin can accept future negative consequences for yous.

The state of Georgia, unfortunately, does not have any specific laws in place almost boundary fencing disputes. You may have better luck with your city or county ordinances. If your neighbour's contend violates a local ordinance, yous can warning the city of the violation. The metropolis volition send written notification to the neighbor, asking them to either adapt to the local fence ordinances or face up fines and potentially a compliance lawsuit.

On the state level, fence disputes typically autumn nether Georgia laws on easements, trespass, nuisance, or property harm. A holding easement is a right to use or enter the belongings of another, without actually possessing that property. Information technology gives one person legal permission to apply another person's land. In Georgia, if a person uses some other person'due south land for a specified length of time, they could eventually gain a legal correct to utilise that state or fifty-fifty become the possessor of that section of property. If you practice not address the outcome, you could lose access or even buying to your own property.

If two adjoining neighbors are in dispute over their property lines or an easement (such as a fence constructed outside of the belongings lines), Georgia courts may gild a compulsory purchase and sale of the country in which the easement is claimed. In this situation, a jury would decide how much compensation the easement holder (the person who constructed and uses the fence) should pay to the homeowner (the person who owns the land upon which the fence was congenital).

A Note on "Spite Fences"

Fence disputes are so common that there is a legal phrase that addresses those eye-sore, taller-than-necessary fences synthetic simply to badger the other neighbor: Spite Fences. This can include a manmade debate or a tall row of bushes or trees. Either way, a disgruntled neighbor tin can file a lawsuit over a spite argue. He or she would need to prove to the Georgia court that the neighbor constructed the fence with malicious intent and purposes, and that the fence or plantings are a nuisance that prevents the property owner from enjoying the light and air on their own holding.

Have Additional Questions? Contact the Real Estate Team at Brian M. Douglas & Associates

Your home is a major investment, both financially and emotionally. If a property dispute arises, it can be a fragile matter. If yous take additional questions near a argue upshot betwixt y'all and your neighbor, or if y'all want to talk over your legal options, please contact us at (770) 933-9009. Our experienced real estate team would exist happy to speak with you lot.

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Source: https://www.atlantagaestateplanning.com/blog/2020/08/07/what-should-you-do-if-your-neighbor-builds-a-fence-on-your-property/

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