The short answer is…Sometimes. Fences do a nice job of visually delineating property lines, keeping dogs separated, and corralling young children. However, if a fence is installed in an incorrect location, it can cause a great deal of neighbor strife. Whether you are installing a new fence or replacing an existing fence your first call should be to a surveyor to have the property line staked so that the property line is abundantly clear to the fence installer and to confirm that any existing fence is actually on your property and owned by you.

There are no good options if your fence is in the wrong location:

• If your fence is on your neighbor’s land, it becomes your neighbor’s property unless you meet the requirements to allege adverse possession and are prepared to argue the point in Court.
• If the fence is exactly on the property line it is a boundary line fence and you and your neighbor jointly own the fence and have to make joint decisions about the maintenance of the fence.
• If the fence is too far inside your property line you risk giving up property on the other side of the fence that your neighbor can eventually claim via adverse possession.

It is also worth noting that a fence along the front of your property adjacent to the paved road or sidewalk is not necessarily on your property. If your home is located on a public road, the roadway owned by your local municipality is generally significantly wider than the paved road. Even if you maintain the land all the way to the edge of the asphalt, you may not own (and cannot obtain via adverse possession) the land adjacent to the road within the town’s easement. If you install a fence on property owned by the Town, the Town has the right to demand that you remove and/or relocate your fence. The fact that a fence may have been on the town’s property for years is irrelevant, the Town still has the right to ask you to remove the fence and is likely to do so if, for example, the road needs to be widened or a tree on town property needs to be trimmed or removed.

If you are thinking about building a fence, get a survey done first to be certain the fence is built just inside your property line. This will save you from potential boundary issues in the future and maintain your good relations with your neighbor.

Amy S. Zabetakis is one of the founding members of Rucci Law Group, LLC. She practices primarily in the areas of real estate, zoning, and land use. Amy can be reached at 203-202-9686 or at azabetakis@ruccilawgroup.com.