Neigbours fence with gate onto my property

[dirtmover]

Previous neighbour at the back of my property put up a fence about 8' on his side of the property line to account for an existing easement. He also installed a gate so that he could maintain his property between his fence and the property line.

New neighbour moved in and one of the first things he did was tore down the fence and put up an new one on the property line (actually just in his side). The thing is he has also installed another gate but now directly onto my property:-0 While it doesn't bother me too much it seems kind of strange for him to install this gate when there is really no good reason that he should be on my side of his fence.

What do you guys think?

[time space]

Put a lock on your side.

[dirtmover]

LOL, unfortunately it's entirely on his side or else I would.

What I have done is planted a couple of lilac bushes on my side to block the gate. A couple of years should see it unusable;)

[dmyvr]

Dig a nice hole in front of the gate, cover with brances and leaves. Optional, fill with water and alligators. :razz:

[GTT1]

The obvious question is did you ask him why he put in a gate

Is it normal for so many people to not talk to their neighbors? It seems a lot of posts give me this impression.

[bargainista!]

Who is the easement for?

If it's for you, perhaps he put in the gate to give you access?

[Busybuyer888]

Did OP talk to the neighbour?

Perhaps he did it because he thought he needed to because the old fence had a gate?

[dirtmover]

The obvious question is did you ask him why he put in a gate

No, I haven't asked him because it's a bit late now that it's there. We did, however, speak before he put up the fence but unfortunately I forgot to ask him "Are you going to put in a gate so that you can access my property?" Really, it's the last thing I expected him to do.

[brunes]

No, I haven't asked him because it's a bit late now that it's there. We did, however, speak before he put up the fence but unfortunately I forgot to ask him "Are you going to put in a gate so that you can access my property?" Really, it's the last thing I expected him to do.

Maybe he expects you to be good neighbours and friendly with each other? Or maybe he hopes you move out and someone more neighbourly will move in who will not care about such a gate?

Honestly I don't know what the world is coming to nowadays. When I grew up, my parents were friendly with all our neighbours, they would just walk over to our yard all the time, we had BBQs, etc etc. The idea of having some impassable barrier of a fence is totally foreign to me. I don't have any neighbours close to the sides of my house, but if I did there is no way I would put up some monstrosity of a fence between my house and theirs.... and if I did for some reason put up such a fence, then OF COURSE it would have a gate, so that when I went to visit my neighbour I did not have to walk all the way around it!

[Frankie3s]

Put a lock on your side.

+1. Problem solved.

[ChzPlz]

Put a fence on your side of the property line. Without a gate. :)

[Homerhomer]

Don't ever ask the neighbour why he did that, however you should post the same question on other forums so you get the responses from strangers since they don't anything about this particular situation, your neighbourhood, you or the neighbour.

I think he did it so he can easier peep on you while you are in your underwear.

:D

[fakishan]

Do you have a hot wife? Perhaps he intends to visit your house regularly when you're away?

[dirtmover]

Maybe he expects you to be good neighbours and friendly with each other? Or maybe he hopes you move out and someone more neighbourly will move in who will not care about such a gate?

Honestly I don't know what the world is coming to nowadays. When I grew up, my parents were friendly with all our neighbours, they would just walk over to our yard all the time, we had BBQs, etc etc. The idea of having some impassable barrier of a fence is totally foreign to me. I don't have any neighbours close to the sides of my house, but if I did there is no way I would put up some monstrosity of a fence between my house and theirs.... and if I did for some reason put up such a fence, then OF COURSE it would have a gate, so that when I went to visit my neighbour I did not have to walk all the way around it!

I'm not interested in being friends with him as he's a bit of a jerk. I don't really care about the gate and, in fact, I couldn't care less about the fence either but it just seemed kind of odd that he would go to the expense and effort of putting up a fence and install a gate leading directly onto someone elses property. He's been through a few times to to inspect his property from my side of his fence but I've got the feeling that if I decided to do the same we'd end up with a lock on the gate.

[Gunnerheadboy]

What if he put the gate just in case there was an emergency and he had to escape from the back (fire?).

[Wiseman]

I'm not interested in being friends with him as he's a bit of a jerk. I don't really care about the gate and, in fact, I couldn't care less about the fence either but it just seemed kind of odd that he would go to the expense and effort of putting up a fence and install a gate leading directly onto someone elses property. He's been through a few times to to inspect his property from my side of his fence but I've got the feeling that if I decided to do the same we'd end up with a lock on the gate.

Question is.. does he have a gate on the other neighbour's side as well? I'm with you, i wouldn't want a gate opening onto my property.. Plant some bushes right in front of it like you said.. :cheesygri

[Kingmoo]

Maybe he expects you to be good neighbours and friendly with each other? Or maybe he hopes you move out and someone more neighbourly will move in who will not care about such a gate?

Honestly I don't know what the world is coming to nowadays. When I grew up, my parents were friendly with all our neighbours, they would just walk over to our yard all the time, we had BBQs, etc etc. The idea of having some impassable barrier of a fence is totally foreign to me. I don't have any neighbours close to the sides of my house, but if I did there is no way I would put up some monstrosity of a fence between my house and theirs.... and if I did for some reason put up such a fence, then OF COURSE it would have a gate, so that when I went to visit my neighbour I did not have to walk all the way around it!

I know a couple that were best friends with their neighbours and would frequent each other's yard for BBQs and such. They went as far to remove a few fence planks for easier access. They were so friendly that their neighbours allowed them to use their hot tub even if they weren't using it with them. This friendship went sour and now they are enemies. Hence why smart people build big beautiful fences and choose not to have any sort of meaningful relationship with their neighbours.

OP: In your situation I believe your neighbour built the gate solely due to it having existed there in the first place. Regardless, it should never be opened unless you're talking to each other.

[Zamboni]

I put a gate on the back of my fence to allow my sons friends access to our backyard rink in the winter. Its amazing how many people will attempt to use such a gate to walk through your property if it will save them time :-0 Not just kids, full grown adults we didn't know would attempt to walk through our backyard in the summer as it would save the 10 minutes-we back on a court and there is no walk way for people on the court to exit in our direction.

[Kevinck]

You mention an easement? now that he's fenced in that easement is the gate somehow for the benefit of the people who were supposed to use that easement?

[TotallyKiller]

What if he put the gate just in case there was an emergency and he had to escape from the back (fire?).

I can't imagine having a yard that I'd be 'trapped' in. You shouldn't have to plan a forest-fire escape from your own back yard. I like the lilac bush idea, or would put up some lattice there for immediate blocking. Easy and cheap.

[flashy_mcflash]

He's been through a few times to to inspect his property from my side of his fence but I've got the feeling that if I decided to do the same we'd end up with a lock on the gate.

Problem solved. Go over there and inspect the hell out of your property from his side. Presto, locked gate.

[thelefteyeguy]

Do you have a hot wife? Perhaps he intends to visit your house regularly when you're away?

access from the backdoor :lol:

[Qbit]

Maybe he expects you to be good neighbours and friendly with each other? Or maybe he hopes you move out and someone more neighbourly will move in who will not care about such a gate?

Honestly I don't know what the world is coming to nowadays. When I grew up, my parents were friendly with all our neighbours, they would just walk over to our yard all the time, we had BBQs, etc etc. The idea of having some impassable barrier of a fence is totally foreign to me. I don't have any neighbours close to the sides of my house, but if I did there is no way I would put up some monstrosity of a fence between my house and theirs.... and if I did for some reason put up such a fence, then OF COURSE it would have a gate, so that when I went to visit my neighbour I did not have to walk all the way around it!

Are you friends with every single person at work? At school? On your softball team? At the PTA? Or even everyone in your extended family?

Maybe the OP isn't a gregarious extrovert and doesn't want to deal with the stress of having to deal with someone that he or she is simply not interested in? Maybe the neighbour turns out to be a nosy busybody? Someone with strange OCD?

My neighbours put up a fence and I couldn't care less. That's not to say I'm hostile when I talk to them (and vice versa) but hey it's their choice. But thumbing my nose at them and ranting about how they should open up and be friends with me otherwise it's just a sign of them changing the world for the worse? lol

[InTheNavy]

Next time you see your neighbour why don't you just ask about it? Maybe he/she has a good explanation.

[dirtmover]

What if he put the gate just in case there was an emergency and he had to escape from the back (fire?).

Fire escape is not an issue. The lot is big enough that he could watch his house burn down without being in any danger.


Question is.. does he have a gate on the other neighbour's side as well? I'm with you, i wouldn't want a gate opening onto my property.. Plant some bushes right in front of it like you said.. :cheesygri

I should maybe think myself privileged that he chose to put a gate onto my property and not the two neighbours either side of him.


I know a couple that were best friends with their neighbours and would frequent each other's yard for BBQs and such. They went as far to remove a few fence planks for easier access. They were so friendly that their neighbours allowed them to use their hot tub even if they weren't using it with them. This friendship went sour and now they are enemies. Hence why smart people build big beautiful fences and choose not to have any sort of meaningful relationship with their neighbours.

Agreed, we've been round the block a few times and have learned to limit relationships with neighbours as they rarely work out over the long term.


OP: In your situation I believe your neighbour built the gate solely due to it having existed there in the first place. Regardless, it should never be opened unless you're talking to each other.

I suspect this is probably the case. It's a pretty long piece fence and he chose to put the gate at the exact same location.


I put a gate on the back of my fence to allow my sons friends access to our backyard rink in the winter. Its amazing how many people will attempt to use such a gate to walk through your property if it will save them time :-0 Not just kids, full grown adults we didn't know would attempt to walk through our backyard in the summer as it would save the 10 minutes-we back on a court and there is no walk way for people on the court to exit in our direction.

The lots are big and mainly unfenced unless a pool is involved which was the reason the original owner had a fence but the pool is long since gone. I don't have a problem with shortcutting but putting up a fence tells me "keep off my property" while installing the gate tells me "but it's OK for me to come onto your property". It just gives me a bad vibe.


You mention an easement? now that he's fenced in that easement is the gate somehow for the benefit of the people who were supposed to use that easement?

The easement is for utilities. It's not however used for this purpose and likely never will be but I think it was standard practice to include it just in case it's needed in future.