A Neighbor’s Fence Just Cost Me Thousands: Do I Have Any Legal Options?

location: Oregon

Last month I hired a local contractor to redo part of my backyard. The plan was simple: clear out an overgrown patch of blackberries, level the ground, and put in a small patio. When the crew started clearing the brush, they discovered something I hadn’t noticed in the three years I’ve lived here. My neighbor’s wooden fence isn’t actually on the property line. It’s almost three feet into my yard.

At first I didn’t think it was a huge deal. The fence had been there when I bought the house, and I assumed it was in the right place. But when the contractor sent me the updated estimate, I realized the problem was bigger than I expected. Because the fence is sitting on my property, the crew had to work around it. This meant extra equipment, extra labor, and extra time. My bill is now more than three thousand dollars higher than the original estimate.

I talked to my neighbor about it. He’s lived here for over twenty years and claims the fence was there when he moved in. He said he never put it up and has no idea who did. He also said he doesn’t want to move it because it would cost him money, and he doesn’t think he should have to pay for something he didn’t build. He suggested that since it’s been there for so long, it’s basically the boundary now. He wasn’t rude about it, but he made it clear he isn’t going to help.

I checked the property line on the county’s GIS map, and it confirms that the fence is definitely on my side. I haven’t hired a surveyor yet, but the contractor measured from the markers and said it lines up with the county map.

I’m frustrated and worried that if I don’t do something, the fence will eventually be treated as the legal boundary. I’m also stuck with a bigger bill because the crew had to accommodate an obstruction that shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

My legal question is whether I have any right to require my neighbor to move the fence onto his own property, and whether I can recover the extra cost I’ve been charged because the fence is encroaching onto my land.