Fence dispute with developer at the property next door

You have no recourse. The neighbor wants their slide of property back. I'm dealing with the same thing except I'm the one who lost 12 inches on a long side of the property. Save your money for the building the new fence needed. One thing you could do that would probably cost nothing is to ask for a copy of the survey and discuss it with a surveyor to ask: how correct should I assume this is? I betcha they will say: this is fairly straightforward process and the fence is in the wrong place. 

For the following survey I paid $4400 in 2019, below. You'd probably need only items 1a and 1b.  

Scope of Services: Survey and mapping for new construction.

1a) Boundary Survey Preliminary research for survey monuments and existing maps of record. Field survey to locate existing survey monuments necessary to establish property lines of subject property.

1b) Boundary Calculations Office calculations using existing maps, found monuments and field measurements to determine property boundaries of subject parcel. We will also review locations of existing fence lines.

1c) Topographic survey Locate existing structures, visible utilities, fences/lines of occupation, trees, landscape areas and all hardscape in the area of the existing home including driveway. The adjacent portion of Acroft Court will also be surveyed. Additional ground elevations will be surveyed for the entire property.

1d) Topographic map Prepare a topographic map showing the above surveyed items overlaid on calculated property boundary. Surveyor will review map following drafting.

We also had an unpleasant experience with a neighbor about a fence on our property line. Ultimately, the legal property line will be the decider in your case. This is why it is important to have a survey done when one buys a home and to truly understand where fences, landscaping, etc. exceed the property line. Some neighbors don't mind a few inches going to their neighbors, but some do. I've been in my house for 22 years, and have seen fence and/or garden changes made by some neighbors who wanted their true property line confirmed. In your case, I would not leave it up to the survey provided by the other property owner. It is expensive, but you should have your own survey done. (It's been a couple years, so I can't quite remember how much, maybe $2000?) If your survey shows your fence isn't on the true property line, I don't think you have many options.

Also, I don't think the new property owner has any obligation to do anything about the portion of the fence that does not border his property. So he would only have to build the new fence to connect at the existing fence where his property ends. Of course, this could bring up a can of worms with the other adjacent neighbor who may want to assert their property rights for those 10 inches if that's what the survey says.

Good luck to you!

First of all, if he’s offering to pay for the whole thing I’d strongly consider just letting them do it - your half of the cost could be very high (new fence costs usually split between neighbors; since he initiated it, you’ll get the “ugly” side but still have to pay half).  

About the fence line - the only way to determine where it actually lies is to hire a surveyor to come out and figure it out - they can cost $500 - $600 but it’s the only way to definitely tell. 

I’m not sure he would have to replace the whole thing if the shared fence only goes partway around your yard, I don’t know this but I’d assume he does not.

And check out the Nolo Press book on Neighbor Law, they have info on issues between neighbors such as fence disputes etc.

Good luck!

Hi, we had a similar issue about 20 years ago when the empty lot behind us was purchased and the new owner wanted to build a house.  The owner said that the chainlink fence that was up was not on the property line and we had some of his property.  The fence was already there when we bought the house, which was built in 1957.  We purchased in 1994. I didn't question him as the fence was positioned in a weird, offset way.  Also, our backyard is huge and I figured there would be less yardwork and weeding for me to do.  We allowed the guy to move the fence at his cost. 

Fast forward about 15 years later, I decided to get a survey done between my property and "another" nextdoor neighbor as this neighbor kept claiming an oak tree was on our property.  I spoke to the neighbor about getting a survey done as there is no fence between our 2 properties, and it was difficult to tell where I should garden and where I shouldn't. She refused to go in halfway on the survey.  

The survey cost us about $1500 about 5-6 years ago. And this was only on the east side of our house. I had the surveyor put down 3 markers so if ever wanted to put up a fence a builder would know where the property line was.  The surveyor had the survey registered/filed with Contra Costa County and told me that it is a legal document.  So, from what I can remember, if the neighbor questioned the survey and the marked property line, she would have to do her own survey to contest mine. (BTW, the oak tree is on my neighbor's property.).

But then, I also discovered that the neighbor that moved the fence on the other side of our property actually took about 2 feet of our property on the NE corner of our backyard.  This came to light from the survey I commissioned.  The surveyor asked me if I had seen the survey of that owner (I did not) and he was wondering if they had markers in the ground which mark the property line.  We couldn't see any looking from my yard.  The surveyor told me these markers are not to be removed and can be a misdemeanor if they are removed intentionally.  

So, from all I've been through, I would suggest you ask the developer to see their survey and ask if they filed it with the County where your house is located. If it is legal, then you might have to hire your own surveyor to contest the developers.  Also ask to see the surveyor markers in the ground.  And if a fence is up, it doesn't necessarily mean it is on the property line. My surveyor told me if I want to install a fence and the nextdoor neighbor doesn't want to go in on half the cost, he would suggest I put it at least 2" on my side of the property line. 

As far as the neighbor who has my property, he moved and sold the house. I never told the new neighbors about it.  I guess, if and, when we sell the house we will probably have to disclose this and possibly do another survey. Right now I'm not stressing about it. The area in question is not useable.  It's on a slope and gophers have a field day up there. Less for me to weed anyway. 

Good luck. Hope my experience helps you. 

Ugh - I'm so sorry this is happening. If it were me, I would DEFINITELY get a survey done as well on my own. As for cost, we had this done many years ago for around $1500, not sure of the going rate. He only has to replace the portion that is shared (so not the whole fence if only half is his). It's unfortunate he is not willing to be amicable about it Good luck!

First thing to do, ask for a copy of his survey and check whether his surveyor is a reliable company (online reviews, etc). In reality, there's not much wiggle room in surveys, so if he went with a reliable company, he is pretty much right. If you still have doubts and you don't want to pay for a full survey, you can have a surveyor come over and do a property marking; basically put down little stakes on the property line. This will confirm to you whether the developer is right. This should cost up to a couple of thousand for one line of the property (depending on how big it is, hard to tell without data). If the fence is over the property line, it is his right to remove it. I can't imagine that it matters a whole lot whether the fence was there before you bought the house. He is under no obligation to redo the fence, I'm guessing he's only doing it because it will help him resell. That's my understanding, based on conversations with neighbors. 

Please consult with a lawyer.  There are many facts that need to be known to give you a complete answer about what your rights are.  This is not one to crowdsource.

The going rate for surveys is around $5000 and there might be a wait time. If his survey is accurate there isn't much you can do. I would ask for a copy. 

We had a survey done in 2020 by Moran and it was $4000. It's probably more now. If there is already a survey done by a licensed surveyor I wouldn't pay for another one since it's very unlikely you'll get a different outcome on a second survey.