Distance for fence from property line? (neighborhood, contractors, inspector)

[yoda911]

Is there a law or piece of legal information that defines how far a fence should be to not be considered on the property line? For example, what if the fence is one millimeter from the property line (silly I know) but what about 6 inches, 12 inches, 24 inches etc. Is this defined anywhere or in property disputes does a judge just decide on a case by case basis depending on his mood and the weather, one time 1 inch and one time 24 inches?

[BirdieBelle]

What city do you live in? Do you live in a neighborhood that has an HOA?

Call the city codes department. They will advise you. You need a building permit for a fence where I live, and if you live in a flood plain you probably won't be able to build one.

There are LOTS of questions to ask when building a fence. Or are you saying you already have one that may be illegally built?

[yoda911]

Nashville, Davidson County, no HOA. I am not wanting to build a fence but wanting to find out who has to maintain a fence line that is near or on the property line. My original question is what is Tennessee's definition of "on the property line"? For example if the law says 6 inches away or greater is not on the property line but the fence is 3 inches away then legally I would have to maintain it.

[BirdieBelle]

The state doesn't have a definition. Each individual municipality decides.

So you need to check with Metro codes.

[yoda911]

Thanks, I'll check with them. So it is a clearly defined number and not something that a someone makes up depending on their mood that day? Maybe someone will already know the answer before Monday rolls around.

[BirdieBelle]

Well, SOME people guess, and build 6 inches inside where they THINK the property line is, only to find out later that where their neighbor cuts the grass is NOT the actual property line.

Of course you need to confirm with Metro, but there is no fence setback. Call a couple of fence contractors and let them tell you how they usually do it.

You also can do a keyword search on the main Nashville page here and read the recent threads about fences.

[yoda911]

Unacceptable TN law clearly defines that a person can build a fence on the property line. No consent of the other owner has to be received. Once the fence is up our amazing state says that BOTH property owners are responsible for the fence. This applies not only to maintaining the fence line but also repairs! How it is possible that you can build a fence and make someone else maintain it is beyond my comprehension.

All I was looking for was information from anyone experienced in such things as to what Nashville considers "on the property line". Monday I'll contact the city but I bet getting an answer to that isn't as simple as a phone call.

Searching for fence on here didn't return any posts that helped.

[bigcitymike]

Originally Posted by yoda911

Unacceptable TN law clearly defines that a person can build a fence on the property line. No consent of the other owner has to be received. Once the fence is up our amazing state says that BOTH property owners are responsible for the fence. This applies not only to maintaining the fence line but also repairs! How it is possible that you can build a fence and make someone else maintain it is beyond my comprehension.

All I was looking for was information from anyone experienced in such things as to what Nashville considers "on the property line". Monday I'll contact the city but I bet getting an answer to that isn't as simple as a phone call.

Searching for fence on here didn't return any posts that helped.

Let me google that for you

Seems like this board has quite the wealth of information about fences:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/nashv...nashville.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/nashv...tick-them.html

[yoda911]

Lol, neither of those posts are helpful what-so-ever to my original question. I did look at both of them before posting.

Contacted the city today and they said that there is no definition of what constitutes on the property line. Each situation is handled on a case by case basis and I guess the distance is determined by the mood of the city inspector. I specifically asked could one inspector say that 3 inches means the fence is on the property line where another inspector might say that it is not on the property line and the answer is yes. Way to go Tennessee?

[BirdieBelle]

I don't remember Yoda having this much of an attitude.

Well anyway, I'll add 2 more cents and then stop checking this thread because it sounds like you have an axe to grind and won't be satisfied with ANY answer. But here it is.

There IS such a thing as a property line that is easily determined with a survey. The same survey can easily determine if a fence is on a property line.

But there is no law that determines a standard of how far from a property line a fence should be built.

You never actually revealed what your main concern is, though it sounds like you are worried that your neighbor wants to build a fence and you may have to mow behind it or take care of it or something.

If that's the case, your best bet is to be on speaking terms with your neighbor and not snarky like you've been here. Because in that case you will be able to discuss maintenance with them and make sure they know you don't want to be responsible for it.