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When I moved into my old home, I found a chain link fence that the previous tenant had put up quickly for his dog. It was a makeshift solution, with the corners snug against the house. Since I didn’t have a dog, the fence didn’t matter much to me.
AITA for Removing My Fence to Get Back at Difficult Neighbors?
On my very first day there, my young neighbor came over with a request. She ran a daycare from her home another story entirely and wanted to extend her fence by attaching it to mine. Her idea was to save money by sharing my fence for part of her property.
I knew right away that if they connected their fence to mine, they’d eventually end up claiming part of my land. The area was small, just about 15 feet between our houses, but it included important spaces like around my air conditioner. I told her firmly that they couldn’t attach to my fence and explained why.
I told my realtor about the request, and she had faced the same issue with the neighbor and had also said no.
This wasn’t a one-time thing; the neighbor kept asking over the years, and I kept refusing. Even her husband tried to convince me, possibly hoping to pressure a single woman, but I stood my ground.
To avoid any confusion, I did my homework and got an official property line map to show exactly where the boundaries were.
One day, I saw they had a lot of chain link fencing but not enough to finish the job. Despite my clear refusals, they seemed determined to connect to my fence. That night, I took down the entire fence, rolled it up, and removed all the posts.
Without the fence, my neighbor had to stay home to keep an eye on the kids she was supposed to care for, as they could now easily get out. It also delayed their efforts to get more fencing materials.
When I sold the house, I gave the new owner a single man a care package that included the property line map and a note to keep a watchful eye on the neighbors. My realtor, who knew the whole story, also filled him in on the details.
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Upon moving into her new home, the homeowner inherited a chain link fence that had been quickly installed by the previous tenant for his dog. The fence was a makeshift solution, positioned right at the edge of the house. Since she didn’t own a dog, the fence was of little importance to her.
On her very first day in the house, her young neighbor, who ran a daycare from her home, approached with a request. She wanted to extend her fence by attaching it to the homeowner’s existing fence, hoping to save money by not having to fence an entire side of her property.
The homeowner immediately recognized the issue: if the neighbor connected her fence to the existing one, she would end up claiming part of the homeowner’s land. The area in question, though small at about 15 feet between their houses, included important spaces such as around the air conditioner unit. She firmly declined the request and explained the potential problems.
She informed her realtor about the neighbor’s proposal, who had faced similar requests and had also refused them.
The neighbor’s requests didn’t stop; she asked repeatedly over the years, and even her husband tried to convince the homeowner, possibly to intimidate her. Despite their persistence, her response remained unchanged.
To ensure clarity, the homeowner conducted thorough research and obtained an official property line map.
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One day, she noticed the neighbor had bought a lot of chain link fencing but didn’t have enough to finish the project. Undeterred by the homeowner’s repeated refusals, the neighbor appeared determined to connect their fence anyway. That evening, the homeowner dismantled her entire fence, rolled it up, and removed all the posts.
Without the fence, the neighbor had to stay home to supervise the children she cared for, as they now had more ways to escape. The removal also delayed their efforts to acquire more fencing materials.
When it was time to sell the house, the homeowner provided the new owner—a single man—with a care package that included the property line map and a note advising him to watch the neighbors closely. The realtor, fully aware of the situation, also provided a thorough briefing on the matter.
Let’s swiftly assess a handful of the top comments: AITA for Removing My Fence to Get Back at Difficult Neighbors?
LD50_irony Writes:
My neighbor’s house is partly on my land and when it has been up for sale (twice) I post a notice on the fence informing possible buyers that the fence is not an indication of the property line and I maintain full legal rights to my land.
The last round included a real estate agent who kept taking it down until I told them I would literally spray paint the notice on the fence facing the house they were trying to sell if they did it again.
In that last sale, I think because the new owners saw my sign, we hammered out a proper easement agreement that lays out when I will be able to reclaim the full property, etc.
naranghim Writes:
Yes, you can and my sister and BIL did with their neighbor after the survey discovered a large chunk of his newly expanded driveway, privacy fence and half the bay of his new two-car garage was on their property (he didn’t get a survey before he started building). It’s called a “permissive use” easement and the terms of my sister’s and BIL’s is that the easement can be cancelled at any time for any reason, and it is non-transferrable. Basically, if the neighbor sells his house the new owners have to negotiate a new easement with my sister and BIL, if they fail, everything has to be removed from their property and the land restored to its original condition. Neighbor took the agreement to his lawyer to see if he could fight it and was told by his lawyer he’d be a dumbass if he didn’t sign it. He signed it and goes out of his way to avoid conflict with my sister and BIL.
JustAnotherSlug Writes:
Also can confirm, about 30 years of my career was also fueled, driven and guided by spite. Hey, it worked and helped me develop a shiny backbone or perhaps that was just a vertical store of spite located between my shoulder blades lol.
lol this reminded me of my grandmother! Wasn’t necessarily passive, just would wait back to watch things play out a bit until the off chance she needed to bring that Oklahoman Southern Baptist heat and step in. She only became directly involved in something, anything, involving absolutely anyone regardless of knowing them or not as a last resort. But whenever she waited & saw someone else do the right thing, stand up for someone, or display behavior she approved of, she would immediately go right up to that person afterwards and give them a fistful of hard candies & a wink of approval.
Material_Solid_7747 Writes:
My neighbor on the other side of me loved it too when I saw her the next weekend. She cackled when I said “well they can’t keep bugging me to tie in a fence if there’s no fence can they?” I got free, fresh from the vine tomatoes from her garden at my back door after that.
