Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
My neighbor put up a fence thats seperates my property from his. The only thing is he built it off the property line and actualy about 10ft into his property. In other words he extended my property about 10 ft x 125 ft. So now I have this extra land thats not really mine but if I want my area to look nice I have to maintain that strip he left. If I maintain it and improve on it will it become mine by default. My neighbor is a real jerk. He says Im trespassing if I go onto that area but it needs to be cleaned and mowed. We live in a country setting although it's not rual country we just have about 1 1/2 acres each. What should I do? It is becoming an eye sore to my landscape and I don't want to be cited for tresspassind if I clean it up. The fence he put up is a solid redwood fence with no access to it from his side. Thank you for your time and help.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You are making a huge erroneous assumption that has flawed your entire way of thinking. When your neighbor built a fence ten feet off of the property line, he simply built a fence 10 feet off of the property line. He did not change the boundaries of the property, or give you a 10 foot by 125 foot strip. That property is still his. In fact, if you step on it, without his permission, it is a trespass. He has the responsibiliy for cleaning and maintaining it.
Your neighbor has no obligation to maintain his property your your standards. You should speak to the county code enforcement to find out what your neighbor's obligation is to maintain his property (the 10' strip). However, your best option is likely to put up your own fence on your property line.
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