Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Remove a fence on property line?

There is an old legal principle called "agreed boundary" that says that when the location of a property line is uncertain and can't be determined otherwise, the traditional understandings of the neighbors could be given considerable weight by the court in fixing the legal boundary. The historical agreement as to the location of the boundary could be shown by written evidence, such as leases, easements, written agreements other than deeds, and the like, or by where the owners and their precursors had put fences, hedges, roads and buildings.

The agreed boundary rule is seldom if ever applied in modern urban settings. Instead, courts rely on the precise descriptions of parcels contained in formal deeds and recorded parcel maps, and their interpretation in the field by careful surveys with modern instruments.

Therefore, I'd say you have little or no risk in building a fence to your specifications a few inches inside your property line.

There would remain a slight risk that the neighbor would remove the old fence, start using the three-inch strip, and later claim a prescriptive easement. If he romoves the fence, just send him a certified letter saying he's welcome to use the strip but your permission to do so is revocable at any time. Permissive use does not ripen into an easement; it remains a revocable license.

By the way, are you sure the old fence is accurately right on the property line, or just guessing?

Re: Remove a fence on property line?

You need to check with Code Enforcement to make sure it is legal for you to put the type of fence up you propose, as most cities have ordinances pertaining to types of fences allowed.