Quote:
Originally Posted by Tombstone RJ
He may be able to tear it down, but he may not be able to put up a new one on the actual property line.
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Yeah, I'm not really sure. He will only get a sure answer by doing some code research and consulting an attorney about it.
There certainly is a lot of merit to your claim about how long the fence has been there. Over 10 years is normal to establish a boundary.
I'm not sure if he would have any testimony from the previous owners over who maintained the 5 feet of property on the other side of the fence for all of the years he didn't own it. If he's been there 14 years and hasn't ever maintained it but instead allowed the adjacent owners to maintain it, then he's most likely going to lose a property line dispute should it arise.
The big thing is, do the neighbors know the property line exists on the other side of the fence; do they try to claim that 5 feet as their own; and do they have any problem with removal of the fence or maintenance of his 5 feet of property on the other side?
I'd certainly try the avenue of saying to them "hey, I'm going to go on the other side of the fence here and maintain my 5 feet of property because the growth is getting out of hand and I can't trim it from this side, can you make sure you don't have anything like a garden hose lying close to the line that i'd hit with my trimmer?" See how that flows... If they say "hey that's my property..." well you'll know the position they are taking.