Homeowner tears down fence neighbour built and rebuilds it along property line
When a neighbour built a fence through a homeowner’s garden, effectively stealing their land, they went to extreme lengths to get it back.
A homeowner has resorted to taking matters into their own hands after their neighbour built a fence breaching their property lines.
The homeowner, known on TikTok as @unbewreathable and thought to be in the US, documented their ordeal as they tore down the fence plank by plank after their neighbour allegedly refused to “correct” their fence.
In the video viewed by over 12.7 million people, two men can be seen dismantling a wooden fence bisecting a plot of land between the two homes.
“My neighbour’s fence is on our property … we’ve asked them to partner with us to correct it … they refused … so here we are,” they said in the video caption.
The homeowner has since rebuilt the fence along the original property lines.
“Fence Installed! No drama at all! We love it,” they said.
“Sometimes boundaries have to be established.”
An image posted to their TikTok account shows just how much land their neighbour had attempted to refence.
While some understood the homeowner’s decision to rebuild the fence, others wondered what the big deal was.
“Free fence, I would have thanked them for saving me 5k,” one commenter said.
“Am I the only one who literally would not care if it’s a little over the line? Let the next buyers deal with it,” another critical user said.
However, given the homeowner is thought to be based in the US, that makes reinstating the proper boundary legally important.
Under US law, shifting or ambiguous land boundaries may mean that land can be acquired through “adverse possession”, also known as “squatter’s rights”, which permits a person to claim land as theirs if they meet certain conditions and have used the land long enough.
“If their fence stays there, they gain that property,” one commenter said.
“Y’all don’t understand, if they allow the neighbours to fence that property, it becomes their property. The one taking it down loses equity if it stays where it’s at. Don’t let people move your property line.”
Another said: “Normalise not allowing your neighbours to run over you for easing tension. If their fence stays there, they gain that property.”
The homeowner hit back at critical commenters who said they should have been grateful for the “free fence”.
“Those saying ‘oh I would’ve taken a free fence’ – would you also take depreciation on your property?” they asked in a follow-up video.
“Get the survey. Hire a lawyer. It’s worth every dime.
“It doesn’t matter how long the fence was up – once we purchased this property it became our due diligence to legally acquire our property per the judge.”