Fence set how many feet from property line

[Bicoastal]

How many feet do you recommend I set the fence inside my property line? I abhor shared fences, so there has to be some set back. One section of existing fence is two feet set back from one neighbor. That stretch has become their backyard that they maintain, as I have no room to access it.

This long stretch in question of 1,000 feet is a blank canvas. Three properties are in front of it. I am in decision paralysis.

Neighbors have taken wide liberties of mowing 6’+ into my property. I believe they have no accurate concept of where the property line is legally. Until the fence goes up.

Current mower has a 4’ deck. New mowers seem to have 5’ decks. In the future, I wish to plant privacy trees or shrubs outside of the fence. 5 feet wide times 1,000 linear feet seems like a lot of lost real estate on a small farm. But 4 or 5 feet is probably prudent. What do oh wise COTHers say?

[mommy_peanut]

You’d need to check your local ordinances as what your legal setback requirements are.

As for allowing the neighbors to care for the bordering strip of land, be careful.
Check what your state/local laws are on that.
There are a lot of stories in which said neighbor ended up with legal rights to that little strip of property after caring for it for so long.
I personally know a few people that had this happen to them, not all in the same state.

[Marla_100]

When I bought this farm, all perimeter fences were almost ON the property lines. According to previous owner who put all the fences up.
Neighbors all had animals and used MY fences as theirs. I decided to add new fences exactly
8 ft. inside on my property because I didn’t want long necked horses to interact.
The one side I didn’t fence 8 ft. off the property line because at the time there were no animals there. Fast forward to new owners who have intermittently allowed horses there so naturally I have to keep my horses out of that pasture when they’re in there. Otherwise the horses all engage over the fence even with electric wire.
So my answer is 8 ft. Each neck/head can reach 4 ft., I measured.

[JB]

@Bicoastal

This long stretch in question of 1,000 feet is a blank canvas. Three properties are in front of it. I am in decision paralysis.

This is almost exactly us - around 1000’ of back fenceline, with 4 back yards on the other side (looooong back yards, houses are probably 500’ away). We set the fence line in as far as needed for us to be able to mow back there with the riding mower. Occasionally a few of the neighbors will mow along our fenceline, but mostly they don’t, since hubby is pretty regular on “yard mowing” and that’s part of what he does (I’m pasture mowing).

Definitely check regulations on where you have to, or can’t, set fence lines.

Planting trees/bushes is the other thing, as you have to be carefuly how far onto their properties the branches reach, even if the trunks are totally on your side, so that’s also something to check into

I would 100% pay for a new survey to accurately mark your property line. You can let the neighbors know, stating you want to know where you can put your fence and if it’s going to be set inside the line, also “and so I can accurately know how much I need to be mowing outside the fence”, rather than saying “Hey, stay off my property” since like you said, they may not truly know where the line is.

[ejm]

Strongly suggest that wherever you put the fence, you establish some kind of well-marked and/or physical boundary along your property line. This will save you a lot of grief and potential legal issues with current or future neighbors.

If a neighbor starts using your property they may eventually be able to prove adverse possession at some point.

We had an issue with a former neighbor in a house that is very close to our property line. He started mowing a little more, and a little more… We eventually had to put up a fence (amid threats of a lawsuit) to re-establish the legal boundary.

[EssexFells]

Read up on your state/county’s fence laws-- it may not be entirely up to you where the fence goes.
A partition fence on the property line is the best way to avoid adverse possession* headaches and just to be a good neighbor (even if the other neighbor is a jerk). Because what if they also have horses, or dogs, or whatever— now they have to put up a fence on their side of the line too? This creates what’s called a devil’s lane, and most states have rules to discourage this.

No matter what, get the property line surveyed and have the surveyors mark it durably with something like this every 50 ft.

Share the survey with your neighbors so they know what the new ground markings are-- don’t wait for them to get all upset and suspicious, and definitely don’t just throw a fence up without telling them first. Even if they’re jerks, why go shopping for unnecessary conflict. Just send a simple note that says Hi Neighbor! we have a fencing project coming up and wanted to be 100% sure of the boundaries. We hired a surveyor who marked the property line with ground markers. The actual fence will bet set xxx feet back from the property line to keep our horses from reaching over the fence into any one else’s property and vice versa. Rest assured, we’ll continue to mow and maintain our grounds all the way up to the property line."

Have a gate or other means to access the space between your fence and the property line, and mow that strip regularly. Do not allow neighbor to use, store stuff on, plant things in, or graze their animals on your strip of land without a written agreement.

• Where you set your fence can become the new legal property line, unless you are diligent about maintaining the strip outside your fence AND you prevent neighbors from using that strip. Letting neighbors mow & use your land can allow them to claim that land. It’s called adverse possession. Even if you don’t care about that 2ft area outside your fence, an adverse possession claim is a blemish on your property’s title and a legal PITA. State laws vary but adverse possession generally arises if you allow someone to openly use your land as if it’s theirs over a long period of time (usually 10yrs). Here’s Iowa’s fence law on this topic: "Common law has long provided that if parties acquiesce or “mutually recognize” for a period of at least 10 years that a fence is the boundary line between them, it becomes the boundary line. The courts have determined that acquiescence can be inferred from the “silence or inaction of one party who knows of the boundary line claimed by the other and fails to dispute it for a ten-year period”

[Bicoastal]

The ordinance I have found thus far for animal fencing in my county is:

(a) The boundary line of each lot or tract of land or any stream in the county shall be a lawful fence as to any horses, mules, cattle, hogs, sheep or goats.

So far everything else I am finding is for residential fence.

Had no idea the county stipulated this! Thanks for letting me know! I am working with a NRCS spin off, so I am disappointed they have not mentioned it…

[Libby2563]

@Bicoastal

Current mower has a 4’ deck. New mowers seem to have 5’ decks. In the future, I wish to plant privacy trees or shrubs outside of the fence. 5 feet wide times 1,000 linear feet seems like a lot of lost real estate on a small farm. But 4 or 5 feet is probably prudent. What do oh wise COTHers say?

Seems like if you want to plant trees/shrubs but still be able to mow, you would need at least 4-5’ on each side of the trees/shrubs at mature height, correct? You don’t want to create a situation where you can’t get past a tree to maintain the rest of your strip. I think I would plant the trees on the inside of the fence rather than the outside, so you don’t have to make the strip so wide. Then 5’+ should be okay, as long as you have gates for access (preferably multiple gates) and you mark the actual property line in a nice visible way.

I was contemplating the same question recently and was thinking I’d only have a 1-2’ setback and I would maintain the small strip by spraying RoundUp through the fence (not a solid privacy fence), to preserve the fence and make it clear that I am not ceding the property to the (jerk) neighbors. There are large trees along my side of the property line so I can either do a 1-2’ setback or a 20’+ setback. Even with 20’+ I would need gates between each pair of trees to be able to maintain the space in between them! Is a very small setback a terrible idea?

[EssexFells]

@Libby2563

I was contemplating the same question recently and was thinking I’d only have a 1-2’ setback and I would maintain the small strip by spraying RoundUp through the fence

What is the purpose of having the 1-2ft setback? Is it to keep the jerk neighbors from relying on your fence for their own animals?

[FitToBeTied]

We always did a 4’ set back and in the past neighbors have always had a setback as well. It made it easy to maintain the fence and grounds. Then new people bought property that is adjacent and they fenced right on the property lines. So there are place we can’t get a mower in now then they complain that the weeds are climbing on their fences. They also cut trees down along the fence lines in the woods and created a wind tunnel effect. That’s lead to tree falling on their fences. They tried to bill us for their fencing when a tree from our property landed on their fence. I cut the tree up and patched the wire (they run cows and use barb wire). I told them if they had cleared the trees along the fence lines the trees would have come down and, either way, falls under the category of act of God.

[Scribbler]

Hmm. In our suburbs and exurbs land is scarce and valuable. I’ve never seen anyone not run a fence on the actual property line, whatever they have inside for paddocks etc. No matter where you put your fence, if your neighbor doesn’t have a fence on the property line you will have the shared fence issue. If you want a true setback you need a property line fence, and say a 4 or 5 foot wide track and then your paddock fence.

[Texarkana]

@EssexFells

@Libby2563

I was contemplating the same question recently and was thinking I’d only have a 1-2’ setback and I would maintain the small strip by spraying RoundUp through the fence

What is the purpose of having the 1-2ft setback? Is it to keep the jerk neighbors from relying on your fence for their own animals?

I know in a lot of places, a fence on the property line automatically becomes a shared fence in which the neighbor gains rights to, regardless of who placed it. You are then supposed to share the cost of maintenance and have to have permission of both parties to make any changes to it.

[EssexFells]

@Texarkana

You are then supposed to share the cost of maintenance and have to have permission of both parties to make any changes to it.

Yup. In Iowa (and many other places), it’s called the Right Hand Rule. You and neighbor meet at the mid-point of a shared fenceline, and anything to your right is yours to maintain/replace, and anything to his right is his to maintain/replace. This is true even if you don’t have any livestock-- you still have to pay for half the fence to keep his livestock contained. Each county has fence trustees who preside over fencing disputes.

[trubandloki]

We put our fence about 12’ inside the property line. It gives us enough room to easily drive the tractor anywhere along the fence line. It is easy to mow. I can ride there.

[bdj]

I have my fence set 8’ from the property line. Mower deck is 5’, so 2 passes will let me mow it, with a bit of overlap.

I could use it to ride on, if I wanted to, but more often I use it as a running path around the perimeter of my property.

Neighbor leases her property to a local farmer who grows corn and soybeans (alternating years) so the worst problem I have is if he blows the cornstalk debris into my fence line at harvest. He does occasionally use my mowed edge to drive on when he checks the crops. It doesn’t interfere with me and doesn’t happen often (maybe once or twice a year), so I don’t worry about it.

[lorilu]

@JB

Planting trees/bushes is the other thing, as you have to be carefuly how far onto their properties the branches reach, even if the trunks are totally on your side, so that’s also something to check into

If the branches are on their side of the boundary, they can trim them, TO the property line, no further. Otherwise, what problems do you mean/ (I believe this is the same all over, but yes, DO check local laws)

[lorilu]

@EssexFells

What is the purpose of having the 1-2ft setback? Is it to keep the jerk neighbors from relying on your fence for their own animals?

in my case, yes. The original property line fence was barbed wire and cattle fence. My fence is no-climb, about a foot on my side of the line. The neighbor permits their dogs to push noses through the cattle fence, and they get all cut up by the barbed wire. I keep suggesting they build their own fence (Florida is a fence-in state), but they havn’t. I feel sorry for their pitty dogs… but I won’t get the county involved, because they are assholes, and I have dogs and horses… No problem with adverse posession, because the original property line fence exists, but is not secure.

[Libby2563]

@Texarkana

@EssexFells

@Libby2563

I was contemplating the same question recently and was thinking I’d only have a 1-2’ setback and I would maintain the small strip by spraying RoundUp through the fence

What is the purpose of having the 1-2ft setback? Is it to keep the jerk neighbors from relying on your fence for their own animals?

I know in a lot of places, a fence on the property line automatically becomes a shared fence in which the neighbor gains rights to, regardless of who placed it. You are then supposed to share the cost of maintenance and have to have permission of both parties to make any changes to it.

Yes, this. I have zero interest in trying to coordinate maintenance with the jerk neighbors. I know they will be “using” any fence we build, in the sense that the whole reason we need to build one after 9 years on the property is to keep their aggressive, horse-chasing dogs out. But they literally won’t speak to us since we had them cited by Animal Control (after months of asking them directly to contain the dogs), so coordinating fence maintenance would be difficult.

[TheJenners]

I’ll try to find it and post it, but you should read my loooong thread about this very issue. What it came down to was two years later I was VERY glad I had not fenced to my property line.

[TheJenners]

How many of you didn't fence to your property line? FOR SALE!!

But instead left an eight-10’ gap, esp if your neighbor also has horses? Concerns over germs and fence fighting? Or did you not want to lose the grazing (it adds up!), but rigged something to eliminate any cross fence shenanigans? The reason I ask is my new neighbors, who bought the farmette next to my land (I’m building on raw land, they bought the adjoining property that was turn key, we have the same seller) gave me a weird vibe. They are very young, like 21 and 24, and the fence between us …