Raising land in the back yard issue (fence, legal)

[Jersey25]

My neighbor is building a pool and the soil he excavated was moved, spread, and leveled to another part of the yard that is adjacent to my property. There is a 6 foot fence between our properties and he raised the land by 3 feet on his side of the fence. So now, on my side of the fence from the ground to the top of the fence is 6 feet and on his side from the ground to the top of the fence is 3 feet.

I am concerned that this can cause water runoff and flooding of my basement in the future and it also affects my privacy. Is this legal? What can I do about this? I never had flooding but if I do get flooding in the basement can I pursue legal action since he altered the land?

[AnesthesiaMD]

Originally Posted by Jersey25

My neighbor is building a pool and the soil he excavated was moved, spread, and leveled to another part of the yard that is adjacent to my property. There is a 6 foot fence between our properties and he raised the land by 3 feet on his side of the fence. So now, on my side of the fence from the ground to the top of the fence is 6 feet and on his side from the ground to the top of the fence is 3 feet.

I am concerned that this can cause water runoff and flooding of my basement in the future and it also affects my privacy. Is this legal? What can I do about this? I never had flooding but if I do get flooding in the basement can I pursue legal action since he altered the land?

Check with your town. In my town you need approvals to alter the grade of your property, and the town won't approve anything that will negatively impact your neighbors. It doesn't matter so much that his side of the fence is 3 feet higher than your side of the fence. What matters is which direction the slope is from the property line. If the slope is toward your property, it doesn't matter if he is 3 feet higher or 1 inch higher, you are getting the water either way. If it is graded away from your property, you won't get his runoff. He may have created a swail that will divert water away from both properties. But like I said, check with the town.

[sonofagunk]

Is it your fence or his fence (ugly side points towards the owner). I would think they he would not be allowed to pile 3 t of dirt on your fence

[AnesthesiaMD]

Originally Posted by sonofagunk

Is it your fence or his fence (ugly side points towards the owner). I would think they he would not be allowed to pile 3 t of dirt on your fence

There is that too. Most towns require a fence to be a foot in from the property line. If it is your fence, his dirt might actually be on your property.