Should I remove chain link fence?

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Jun 22nd, 2017 6:59 pm

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May 28th, 2017 8:24 pm

hierophant [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Feb 4, 2010; 7904 posts; 8226 upvotes

May 28th, 2017 8:24 pm

Should I remove chain link fence?

Edited original post to get more accurate response in light of new information.

The back of my property has a chain link fence and on the other side of the fence are bunch of trees in a 5-6ft space which is my property (there's chicken wire on the other side of trees denoting the property line). Not sure why the previous owners did this but I have no way accessing that part of my property without entering through my neighbour's property (or I could climb the fence). My inclination is to take it down for a couple of reasons a) I want to be able to access my property b) I want to clean it out. However, if there are any downsides to doing this that I may not be aware of. I'd also like to understand what is involved with taking the fence (hoping it's a DIY). I'm sure I could sell the fence on Kijiji as it's in excellent shape so if I take it down I want to preserve it.

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Last edited by hierophant on May 28th, 2017 8:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.

19 replies

May 28th, 2017 9:20 pm

jm1: Deal Fanatic; Jan 5, 2003; 5198 posts; 5196 upvotes; Toronto

May 28th, 2017 9:20 pm

Jazmina wrote: ↑...my neighbour informed it goes to the barb wire and that I could lose that 5-6ft space - something about a grandfather clause and that I should move the chain link fence back to the barb wire. Could I lose that space simply because the previous owners put up a chain link fence 6ft shy of the property line even though the property line is sectioned off by the barb wire?

Your neighbour is referring to adverse possession, a.k.a. "squatters' rights", but it doesn't always apply and it's complicated. Look it up yourself, but don't assume that it automatically applies.

First thing, though, is you need a survey. Do you have one from when you bought the house? Otherwise, you're just relying on your neighbour's word. Does your neighbour's yard go back to the equivalent of the barbed wire?

May 28th, 2017 9:50 pm

hierophant [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Feb 4, 2010; 7904 posts; 8226 upvotes

May 28th, 2017 9:50 pm

He mentioned there are survey stakes that are in the ground that I should be able to see and yes according to him his property goes to equivalent spot as does the neighbours to the other side of him - but they also have a chain link fence similar to mine.

Perhaps I'll just leave well enough alone - I just wanted to clean up.

May 29th, 2017 9:10 am

Shaner: Deal Expert; Jul 5, 2004; 27647 posts; 7048 upvotes

May 29th, 2017 9:10 am

Squatters rights is almost a thing of the past. Once upon a time your neighbours could claim a chunk of your land and if you didn't dispute it, they would own it after X number of years. That isn't the case anymore (assuming you're in Ontario, I don't know about other provinces). It doesn't matter what you do or don't do, that land is yours and always will be. I wouldn't bother moving the fence, especially if that chunk of land isn't usable. Just leave the fence until it comes time to replace it, then you can look at building the new one on the property line

May 29th, 2017 10:13 am

Jerico: Deal Guru; Jan 25, 2007; 12851 posts; 8088 upvotes; Paris

May 29th, 2017 10:13 am

Shaner wrote: ↑ Squatters rights is almost a thing of the past. Once upon a time your neighbours could claim a chunk of your land and if you didn't dispute it, they would own it after X number of years. That isn't the case anymore (assuming you're in Ontario, I don't know about other provinces). It doesn't matter what you do or don't do, that land is yours and always will be. I wouldn't bother moving the fence, especially if that chunk of land isn't usable. Just leave the fence until it comes time to replace it, then you can look at building the new one on the property line

Squatters rights barely apply in Ontario anymore. Just look at the issues people have with shared driveways in Toronto going back 80 years and suddenly being denied access.

May 29th, 2017 12:31 pm

jm1: Deal Fanatic; Jan 5, 2003; 5198 posts; 5196 upvotes; Toronto

May 29th, 2017 12:31 pm

Shaner wrote: ↑ Squatters rights is almost a thing of the past. Once upon a time your neighbours could claim a chunk of your land and if you didn't dispute it, they would own it after X number of years. That isn't the case anymore (assuming you're in Ontario, I don't know about other provinces). It doesn't matter what you do or don't do, that land is yours and always will be. I wouldn't bother moving the fence, especially if that chunk of land isn't usable. Just leave the fence until it comes time to replace it, then you can look at building the new one on the property line

Yeah, like I said, it's complicated, but people like OP's neighbour probably read something about in the past and assume it applies and guard their property lines religiously. Even if adverse possession could apply, if the moving company or anyone else isn't using it (and are prevented from doing so by the barbed wire), then it's still the original owner's and not the moving company's. Where it potentially gets tricky, if adverse possession applies, is when someone else (the "squatter") is using it, but you're not...

May 31st, 2017 9:11 pm

hierophant [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Feb 4, 2010; 7904 posts; 8226 upvotes

May 31st, 2017 9:11 pm

So the property is indeed mine but I have no way of accessing it other than going to through my neighbour's property. Instead of moving the fence to the property line, what about putting in a gate/door by cutting the fence and adding a post? I'm not in a rush to do anything about it - just looking at options. I'm also not worried about squatter rights, etc. - that's not applicable in my situation .

Jun 9th, 2017 11:00 am

hierophant [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Feb 4, 2010; 7904 posts; 8226 upvotes

Jun 9th, 2017 11:00 am

I updated the original post - hoping to get some input if it's a good idea to take down the fence altogether. Thanks in advance.

Jun 9th, 2017 11:28 am

CNeufeld: Deal Guru; Mar 23, 2008; 13006 posts; 10019 upvotes; Edmonton

Jun 9th, 2017 11:28 am

The previous owners might have put it up because that was the "best" (i.e. easiest) place to put up a fence in a straight line, without trying to work around trees and stuff. I think that's what the previous owners of our property did. For us, removing a fence wouldn't be an option, because we have dogs. People with dogs and kids would rather have the chain link fence rather than be faced with a barbed wire fence.

In your case, I'd just leave it. If you really want to get back there and clean it up, hop over the fence and get it done. Put down a tarp on the lawn side, toss everything over on to that... Then if you want to make changes, I'd take down the chain link fence, and replace the barbed wire fence with the chain link. I can't see where the barbed wire fence is in your pics.

C

Jun 9th, 2017 12:51 pm

hierophant [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Feb 4, 2010; 7904 posts; 8226 upvotes

Jun 9th, 2017 12:51 pm

CNeufeld wrote: ↑ The previous owners might have put it up because that was the "best" (i.e. easiest) place to put up a fence in a straight line, without trying to work around trees and stuff. I think that's what the previous owners of our property did. For us, removing a fence wouldn't be an option, because we have dogs. People with dogs and kids would rather have the chain link fence rather than be faced with a barbed wire fence.

In your case, I'd just leave it. If you really want to get back there and clean it up, hop over the fence and get it done. Put down a tarp on the lawn side, toss everything over on to that... Then if you want to make changes, I'd take down the chain link fence, and replace the barbed wire fence with the chain link. I can't see where the barbed wire fence is in your pics.

C

Just to clarify - it's not barb wire it's chicken wire, which is located on the other side of the trees so there no danger of coming across it (or even seeing it). With that being said would you still recommend to leave the chainlink fence? My neighbours' have a similar setup in their backyard but without the chain link fence - no need to work around trees. I think the previous neigbours' were just lazy because they threw all sort of garbage and debris on the other side of the fence rather than disposing of it properly

Jun 9th, 2017 12:57 pm

CNeufeld: Deal Guru; Mar 23, 2008; 13006 posts; 10019 upvotes; Edmonton

Jun 9th, 2017 12:57 pm

I would probably just want one fence, so that would be the one at the end of your property line. Where the chicken wire is. But chain link > chicken wire, so if you want to do it right...

Depends on your situation and needs, I guess...

C

Jun 9th, 2017 1:08 pm

hierophant [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Feb 4, 2010; 7904 posts; 8226 upvotes

Jun 9th, 2017 1:08 pm

I agree about having one fence and that chain link is better than chicken wire, but I see line of trees as better than any fence. Moving the chain link fence to the property line is (behind the trees in place of the chicken wire) is going to more complex and expensive, which is why I kind of dropped it as an option as it doesn't add any additional benefit. There's no concerns from my end about privacy or trespassing - 3 of my neighbours have the same setup where the trees divide the property line (there are also survey stakes to denote property line), but no chain link fence in front of the tree. Just want to see if there's any benefit to keeping the chain link fence.

Jun 9th, 2017 5:10 pm

jm1: Deal Fanatic; Jan 5, 2003; 5198 posts; 5196 upvotes; Toronto

Jun 9th, 2017 5:10 pm

From the photos, the fence looks decent for chain link. No rust, black instead of standard galvanized coloured, etc. If it was me, I have tons of other household jobs on my to do list that would take priority over removing the fence, especially if the space behind isn't really usable. I would hop over it, bag up any obvious trash, then hop back and leave it. Your neighbour's old tires are more of an eyesore than any old branches, etc. behind the fence.

+1

Jun 9th, 2017 6:24 pm

don242: Deal Fanatic; Nov 19, 2004; 9458 posts; 2293 upvotes; Cambridge, ON

Jun 9th, 2017 6:24 pm

If you don't care about having the fence then you may as well just take it down. Like you said, easier to access and be able to clean up the mess.

If you want to keep the fence, you could put a gate in so you can get back there easier.

+1

Jun 9th, 2017 7:23 pm

COMCRUISE: Member; May 28, 2017; 204 posts; 65 upvotes

Jun 9th, 2017 7:23 pm

You should rent a metal detector and see if you can find the bars in the ground.

Jun 21st, 2017 10:42 pm

jeztash: Member; Sep 14, 2014; 400 posts; 306 upvotes; Barrie, ON

Jun 21st, 2017 10:42 pm

Shaner wrote: ↑ Squatters rights is almost a thing of the past. Once upon a time your neighbours could claim a chunk of your land and if you didn't dispute it, they would own it after X number of years. That isn't the case anymore (assuming you're in Ontario, I don't know about other provinces). It doesn't matter what you do or don't do, that land is yours and always will be. I wouldn't bother moving the fence, especially if that chunk of land isn't usable. Just leave the fence until it comes time to replace it, then you can look at building the new one on the property line

Just to add on to this - it still happens, you're looking at the 11th case in Ontario since the land registry was updated. We just got out of court last spring. Our neighbours behind were number 12. So I wouldn't discount this entirely until you've confirmed with your survey/lawyer.
It shouldn't be happening at all anymore. And it is pure hell.
Welcome to Ontario.

Jun 22nd, 2017 9:20 am

hierophant [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Feb 4, 2010; 7904 posts; 8226 upvotes

Jun 22nd, 2017 9:20 am

Thanks folks however, as mentioned previously THE PROPERTY IS MINE so I don't need advice on squatting rights - that's not an issue. I was simply looking for opinions on if I should take the fence down or put a gate in to access the property and no I do not want to hop over it

Also not looking for advice for where else I could spend my time/money instead of this project...that wasn't the question

Jun 22nd, 2017 12:30 pm

ChubChub: Deal Addict; Oct 9, 2010; 3153 posts; 1339 upvotes; Windsor

Jun 22nd, 2017 12:30 pm

Take out the fence and top post, leave the posts. The top-post comes off easy, as does the chain link, and you can access your yard. If you want to put the fence back, reverse the process. $0, and not much labour.

They're black, so you can't see them anyways, and they're plenty far enough apart that you can get between them with whatever you want (wheelbarrows, lawnmower, garden cart, etc).

One who is offended by truth, has no place among those who seek wisdom.

+1

Jun 22nd, 2017 3:48 pm

luckystrike1: Deal Addict; Nov 16, 2011; 1544 posts; 1267 upvotes; Hamilton

Jun 22nd, 2017 3:48 pm

Do it the easy way and just put in a gate. You then have access to do what you wish and minimal cost involved. Really, don't even have to put the gate in but just remove 1 section of the chain link between the posts.

+1

Jun 22nd, 2017 6:59 pm

hierophant [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Feb 4, 2010; 7904 posts; 8226 upvotes

Jun 22nd, 2017 6:59 pm

luckystrike1 wrote: ↑ Do it the easy way and just put in a gate. You then have access to do what you wish and minimal cost involved. Really, don't even have to put the gate in but just remove 1 section of the chain link between the posts.

Good point! I didn't even think of that...I could even do that on my own.

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