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neighbor law

Ohio farm and rural road
By: Peggy Kirk Hall, Friday, February 17th, 2023

It’s the time of year when farmers are cleaning up fence rows and boundary lines to prepare fields for planting season.  Tree law questions pop up a lot during this time.  Here are answers to the most commonly asked questions we receive about trees along boundary lines in Ohio’s rural areas.  Note that there can be different laws addressing trees within a city or village.

Who owns a tree that’s on the property line?

When a tree is on the boundary line between two properties, both neighbors have ownership interests in the tree.  However, if only the branches or roots of a tree extend past the property line and into a neighbor’s property, the branches and roots do not give that neighbor an ownership interest in the tree. 

Can I cut down a tree on the boundary line?

No, not if your neighbor doesn’t agree to the removal.  Because both you and your neighbor jointly own the tree, you must both agree to cutting down the tree.  If you remove the tree without the neighbor’s approval, you could be liable to the neighbor or the neighbor’s share of the value of the tree, or for three times the value of the tree if you behaved “recklessly,” explained further on.

Can I trim the branches of the neighbor’s tree that hang over my property?

Yes, even if the tree isn’t on the boundary line and you don’t have an ownership interest in it, you still have the legal right to trim branches that hang over your property. However, you must take “reasonable care” in trimming the branches.  Failing to act with reasonable care and causing harm such as disease or death of the tree could result in liability.

How does the law determine liability for harming or cutting down a tree?

Ohio Revised Code 901.51 addresses injury to vines, bushes, trees, or crops on land of another, referred to as the “reckless destruction of vegetation law."  The law states that a person shall notrecklessly cut down, destroy, girdle, or otherwise injure a vine, bush, shrub, sapling, tree, or crop standing or growing on the land of another or upon public land.”  The word “recklessly” means the action occurred with complete disregard to the rights of the landowner.  Violations of the reckless destruction law can result in criminal misdemeanor charges or a civil negligence lawsuit by the tree owner.  The law provides potential punitive “treble damages” that make the violator liable for three times the value of the damaged tree, crop, or vegetation.

If my neighbor’s tree falls onto my property, is the neighbor liable for the damage?

Possibly, if the neighbor had knowledge that the tree was diseased, weak, or “patently dangerous.”  If the tree was not in a weakened or damaged condition or the neighbor had no knowledge of its condition, the law would not likely create liability for the damage. You'd have to take action against the neighbor to establish liability, however.  If there is harm to a structure, your insurance provider might be involved and take the lead on establishing responsibility under the neighbor's insurance coverage.   Even so, there is no law that creates an affirmative duty for the neighbor to clean up the tree.  Landowners are expected to use the remedy of “self-help,” i.e., to clean up natural and ordinary tree debris on their property, even if from a neighbor’s tree.  Likewise, the neighbor is expected to clean up debris from your trees that fall onto the neighbor’s property.

Can I keep the timber or firewood from the neighbor’s tree or a boundary tree that fell on my property?

Ohio law doesn’t address this issue.  The “self-help” remedy for tree debris that falls on the property suggests that you are responsible for removing the debris, which could logically allow you to do as you wish with the debris.  But if the tree is valuable or was a jointly owned boundary tree—might the neighbor have rights to the tree or its value?  Because Ohio law doesn’t clearly answer this question, it’s wise to talk with the neighbor and provide a reasonable amount of time for the neighbor to claim ownership and remove their share of the tree.  Document the notice given to the neighbor as well as the timber or firewood resulting from the tree in case the neighbor fails to respond until after tree removal and claims an ownership interest at that time.

Combine harvesting in a field of soybeans
By: Peggy Kirk Hall, Thursday, October 13th, 2022

Fall harvest is a time of year when we hear complaints from neighbors and community residents about what we do in agriculture.  Dust, grain bin dryers, equipment taking up the road, working late into the night or early in the morning ... these are the inconveniences of living in an agricultural area.  But when do these activities become legally problematic as a “nuisance” to neighbors and others?  Not often, due to Ohio’s Right to Farm Law.  Even so, the Right to Farm Law expects us to conduct our agricultural activities according to regulations and practices that may reduce the nuisance impacts of farming, and it gives us nuisance protection when we do so.

Enacted in 1982, Ohio’s Right to Farm Law offers a nuisance defense for farming activities under certain conditions.  Ohio was one of many states that passed a Right to Farm Law in the 1980s after the highly publicized Arizona case of Spur Industries v. Del E. Webb.  In that case, the developer of a retirement community in Arizona sought to shut down a cattle feedlot that it claimed was a nuisance to its community residents.  But the Arizona Supreme Court noted that the developer “came to the nuisance,” making the previously existing feedlot activities a nuisance only because the developer chose to locate residences near the feedlot, in an agricultural area. 

Ohio adopted this “coming to the nuisance” approach in its Right to Farm Law soon after the Spur Industries case.  The law’s intent is to protect agricultural landowners from nuisance claims made by those who move into an existing agricultural area and later complain about the agricultural activities occurring in the area.  If faced with a nuisance complaint by someone who “came to the nuisance,” an agricultural landowner can use the Right to Farm Law as a defense against the complaint.

How the Right to Farm Law works

The Right to Farm Law has three requirements a landowner must meet to use the law as a defense against a nuisance claim.

  1. The agricultural activities that are the source of the nuisance complaint must be on qualifying land, which includes:
    1. Land enrolled with the county auditor as “agricultural district land,” (which is not a zoning designation) or
    2. Land “devoted exclusively to agricultural use” under Ohio’s Current Agricultural Use Valuation law.

Both of these provisions establish the same criteria for the land:  it must be either ten acres or more of land devoted to commercial agricultural production, or if less than ten acres and devoted to commercial agricultural production, it must generate a gross average annual income of $2500.  Certain land devoted to bioenergy, biomass, methane, or electric or heat energy production also qualifies, if contiguous to other qualifying land, as can land under government conservation and land retirement programs. 

Early versions of the Right to Farm Law required that the land be enrolled in the “agricultural district program” with the county auditor, not to be confused with having a zoning designation of agricultural district.  But changes to the law removed the enrollment requirement, allowing nuisance protection even if the landowner has not enrolled land in that program. 

  1. The agricultural activities were established prior to the plaintiff's activities or interest on which the action is based.

This is the “coming to the nuisance” timing element.  The agricultural activities must have been in the area first, before the person complaining of a nuisance came to the area.

  1. The agricultural activities were not in conflict with federal, state, and local laws and rules relating to the alleged nuisance or were conducted in accordance with generally accepted agriculture practices.

The intent of the law is to protect “good operators” who follow legal requirements or generally accepted agricultural practices for the agricultural activity that is the source of the complaint.  An operator who disregards law, regulations, and acceptable practices that apply to the agricultural activity loses the nuisance protection.

What are “agricultural activities”?

We often receive questions about the kinds of activities the law covers, or whether the protection applies if a farmer changes or expands an operation.  The Right to Farm Law answers these questions with the following:

"Agricultural activities" means common agricultural practices, including all of the following:

(1) The cultivation of crops or changing crop rotation;

(2) Raising of livestock or changing the species of livestock raised;

(3) Entering into and operating under a livestock contract;

(4) The storage and application of commercial fertilizer;

(5) The storage and application of manure;

(6) The storage and application of pesticides and other chemicals commonly used in agriculture;

(7) A change in corporate structure or ownership;

(8) An expansion, contraction, or change in operations;

(9) Any agricultural practice that is acceptable by local custom.

What if a farmer is threatened with a nuisance claim?

A few steps can help a farmer deal with a threatened nuisance claim.

  • Document the activity or area that is the source of the complaint with pictures, videos, notes, weather conditions, etc.
  • Review the situation to determine if there are additional management practices that could reduce any future nuisance impacts of the activity.
  • If the person takes legal action, notify your property insurance provider.  Your insurer will need to be aware of potential litigation because if the issue is one that relates to your insured activities, your insurer will defend you in a lawsuit.
  • Consider educating the person about your farming practices and the Right to Farm law.  Share articles like this one, or have an agricultural attorney draft a letter explaining the law. A person might not pursue a claim after understanding the activities or realizing that the Right to Farm Law would likely dismiss the claim.

Don't forget the good neighbor part

Although Ohio farmers have the Right to Farm Law as a defense against nuisance claims, it’s still good practice to be aware of how our farming activities affect neighbors.  While the law recognizes that we can’t remove all of the dust, noise, road use, and odors of farming, it does expect us to be “good operators.”  Being a good operator and instituting practices that can reduce nuisance impacts is the first line of defense against the potential of a neighbor nuisance claim.

Read the Ohio Right to Farm Law's "defense to a civil action for nuisance" at Ohio Revised Code Section 929.04.

Ohio farm and rural road
By: Peggy Kirk Hall, Tuesday, September 20th, 2022

Did you know yellow grove bamboo is on Ohio’s “noxious weeds” list?  We’ve seen an increase in legal questions about bamboo, a plant that can cross property boundaries pretty quickly and create a neighbor dispute.  Weeds often cause neighbor issues, which is why Ohio has a set of noxious weed laws.  The laws aim to resolve problems around yellow grove bamboo and other species designated as “noxious weeds.”

The noxious weeds list

The Ohio legislature designated shatter cane and Russian thistle as noxious weeds years ago, then granted the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) the authority to determine other noxious weeds that could be prohibited in Ohio.  Since that time, the noxious weed list has grown to include 31 weed species.   Two of the species, yellow grove bamboo and grapevines, are noxious weeds only if not managed in a certain way.  The list includes the following:

  • Shatter Cane
  • Kudzu
  • Russian Thistle
  • Japanese knotweed
  • Johnsongrass
  • Field bindweed
  • Wild parsnip
  • Heart-podded hoary cress
  • Canada thistle
  • Hairy whitetop or ballcress
  • Poison hemlock
  • Perennial sowthistle
  • Cressleaf groundsel
  • Russian knapweed
  • Musk thistle
  • Leafy spurge
  • Purple loosestrife
  • Hedge bindweed
  • Mile-A-Minute Weed
  • Serrated tussock
  • Giant Hogweed
  • Columbus grass
  • Apple of Peru
  • Musk thistle
  • Marestail
  • Forage Kochia
  • Kochia
  • Water Hemp
  • Palmer amaranth
  • Yellow Grove Bamboo, when spread from its original premise of planting and not being maintained
  • Grapevines: when growing in groups of 100 or more and not pruned, sprayed, cultivated, or otherwise maintained for 2 consecutive years

Talking about noxious weeds

Since noxious weeds can be harmful to all, the hope is that all landowners will manage noxious weeds effectively and reduce the possibility that the weeds will invade a neighbor’s property.  But for many reasons, that isn’t always the case.  When it appears that noxious weeds on a neighbor’s property are getting out of hand, first try to address the issue through neighbor communications.  A “friendly” discussion about the weeds might reveal helpful information that can reduce the neighbor conflict.  Maybe the neighbor has recently sprayed the weeds or isn’t aware of the weeds. Maybe the neighbor’s tenant is responsible for managing the land. Or, as is sometimes the case, maybe the suspected plants aren’t actually noxious weeds.  Good communication between the neighbors could bring a quick resolution to the situation.

Agronomic help with noxious weeds

Knowledge and management might be the solution to a noxious weeds problem between neighbors. For assistance identifying and managing noxious weeds, check out OSU’s guide on Identifying Noxious Weeds of Ohio at https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/ohionoxiousweeds/ and refer to helpful articles posted on OSU’s Agronomic Crops Network at https://agcrops.osu.edu.

Help with noxious weeds

Knowledge and management might be the solution to a noxious weeds problem between neighbors. For assistance identifying and managing noxious weeds, check out OSU’s guide on Identifying Noxious Weeds of Ohio at https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/ohionoxiousweeds/ and refer to helpful articles posted on OSU’s Agronomic Crops Network at https://agcrops.osu.edu.

Legal procedures might be necessary

If communication isn’t helpful or possible, the laws establish procedures for dealing with noxious weeds. Different procedures in the law apply for different weed locations.

  • If the weeds are in the fence row between two properties, a landowner has a right to ask the neighbor to clear the row of weeds within four feet of the line fence.  If the neighbor doesn’t do so within 10 days, the landowner may notify the board of township trustees.  Once notified, the trustees must visit the property and determine whether the fence row should be cleared.  If so, the trustees must hire someone to clean up the fence row.  The costs of the clearing are then assessed on the neighbor’s property taxes.
  • If the weeds are on private land beyond the fence row, a landowner can send written notice of the noxious weeds to the township trustees.  A letter describing the type and location of the weeds, for instance, would serve as written notice.  Once the trustees receive a written notice, they must notify the neighbor to cut or destroy the weeds or alternatively, to show why there is no need for such action.  If the neighbor doesn’t respond to the trustees and take action within 5 days of the notice being given, the trustees must order the weeds to be cut or destroyed.  The cost of destroying the weeds is then assessed on the neighbor’s property taxes.
  • If the neighbor is a railroad, the railroad must cut or destroy noxious weeds along the railway between June 1 and 20, August 1 and 20, and if necessary, September 1 and 20.  If a railroad fails to do so and the township trustees are aware of the problem, the trustees may remove the weeds and recover costs in a civil action against the railroad.  While the law doesn’t state it, a landowner may have to document whether the railroad follows the required cutting schedule and notify the trustees if it does not.
  • If the neighbor is the Ohio Department of Natural Resources or a park owned by the state or a political subdivision, the landowner must provide information about the noxious weeds to the township trustees.  The trustees then notify the county Extension educator, who must meet with a park authority and a representative of the soil and water conservation district within five days to consider ways to deal with the problem.  The Extension educator must report findings and recommendations back to the township trustees, but the law doesn’t require the trustees to take action on the report.  Apparently, the hope is that the problem would be resolved after considering ways to deal with it.

What if the neighbor leases the land?

We mentioned that sometimes a neighbor might not be tending to noxious weeds because it’s actually the responsibility of the neighbor’s tenant under a leasing arrangement, such as a farmland lease or a solar lease.  These types of leases should state which party is responsible for noxious weeds.  Note that the law recognizes the possibility of a leasing situation by requiring the trustee to notify the “owner, lessee, agent, or tenant having charge of the land” when the weeds are on private land and the “owner or tenant” when the weeds are in the fence row.  The “or” in these provisions can be problematic though, as that doesn’t require the township to notify both the neighbor and tenant.  A landowner might need to ask the trustees to communicate with both the neighbor and its tenant so that the parties are both aware and can resolve which is responsible for managing the noxious weeds according to the leasing arrangement. 

For more information about noxious weeds, refer to our law bulletins in the property law library on https://farmoffice.osu.edu.  For assistance identifying and managing noxious weeds, check out OSU’s guide on Identifying Noxious Weeds of Ohio at https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/ohionoxiousweeds/ and refer to helpful articles posted on OSU’s Agronomic Crops Network at https://agcrops.osu.edu.

Posted In: Crop Issues, Property
Tags: noxious weeds, Property, neighbor law
Comments: 0
Ohio farm and rural road
By: Peggy Kirk Hall, Wednesday, September 07th, 2022

Farm neighbor laws have been around nearly as long as there have been farm neighbors.  From trees to fences to drainage, farmers can impact and be impacted by their neighbors.  In the spirit of managing these impacts and helping everyone get along, our courts and legislatures have established a body of laws over the years that allocate rights and responsibilities among farm neighbors.  Explaining these laws is the goal of our new series on farm neighbor laws. 

Here’s a timely farm neighbor problem that we’ve heard before: Farmer’s soybeans are looking good and Farmer is anxious for harvest.  But some neighbors drive their ATV into the field and flatten a big section of Farmer’s beans.  What can Farmer do about the harm? 

Ohio’s “reckless destruction of vegetation law” might be the solution. The law, Ohio Revised Code Section 901.51, states that “no person, without privilege to do so, shall recklessly cut down, destroy, girdle, or otherwise injure a vine, bush, shrub, sapling, tree, or crop standing or growing on the land of another or upon public land.” This law could provide a remedy if its three components fit Farmer’s situation:

  1. Recklessness
  2. Destruction or injury to a vine, bush, shrub, sapling, tree, or crop on the land of another
  3. No privilege

A key requirement of the law is “recklessness.”  Under Ohio law, a person is “reckless” if the person acts with heedless indifference to the consequences or disregards the risk that the person's conduct is likely to cause a certain result.  For example, if the neighbors were out driving the ATV at night and simply didn’t care where they were and that their actions could be harming Farmer’s property, that behavior is likely to rise to the level of “recklessness.”  Alternatively, if another driver ran the neighbors off the road and the neighbors tried but could not avoid going into the bean field, their behavior isn’t likely to be deemed “reckless.”

A second requirement is destruction or injury to vegetation on another’s land.  In the unlikely event that Farmer’s soybeans aren’t actually injured or destroyed, the law wouldn’t apply.  Note that the law doesn’t just apply to a crop like soybeans, but also includes other vegetation such as vines, bushes, shrubs, and trees, recognizing that all of these types of vegetation have value for a landowner.

The final requirement is “without privilege to do so.”  Privilege in the context of this law means “permission.”  As long as Farmer didn’t tell the neighbors they could drive their ATV through his field, Farmer could prove that the neighbors did not have privilege or permission to cause the destruction and injuries to Farmer’s beans.

So what?  The law clearly prohibits the neighbors from recklessly destroying Farmer’s beans, but what happens if they do?  The law also addresses this question by stating that a violator of the law is liable “in treble damages.” Attorneys always take notice of treble damages language because it requires the damages award to be tripled after a judge or jury determines the amount of the actual harm. This tripling of damages is intended to punish the person for their “recklessness.”  So, if a jury decided that the value of Farmer’s lost beans is $1,000, the treble damages would result in a $3,000 award against the neighbors due to their reckless destruction of Farmer’s crop.

There is also a criminal element to the law.  The law states that a violator is also guilty of a fourth-degree misdemeanor. That would require a criminal proceeding by the local law enforcement, and the result could be no more than 30 days in jail and up to $250 in fines.

If the reckless destruction law doesn’t apply, Farmer would need to look to other mechanisms for resolving the harm.  If the neighbors were trespassing, trespass laws could provide a remedy but wouldn’t award treble damages.  Or the Farmer’s property insurance might address the harm. But if the neighbors destroyed Farmer’s beans by behaving recklessly, the reckless destruction of vegetation law can help resolve this farm neighbor issue.

Find the “reckless destruction of vegetation” law at Ohio Revised Code Section 901.51.

By: Ellen Essman, Wednesday, September 09th, 2020

Despite the fact that “pumpkin spice” everything is back in stores, it is still summer, and if you’re anything like me, you’re still dealing with weeds. In fact, we have been receiving many questions about noxious weeds lately.  This blog post is meant to be a refresher about what you should do if noxious weeds sprout up on your property.

What are noxious weeds?

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is in charge of designating “prohibited noxious weeds.”  The list may change from time to time, but currently, noxious weeds include:

  • Shatter cane (Sorghum bicolor)
  •  Russian thistle (Salsola Kali var. tenuifolia).
  • Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense ).
  •  Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa).
  • Grapevines (Vitis spp.), when growing in groups of one hundred or more and not pruned, sprayed, cultivated, or otherwise maintained for two consecutive years.
  • Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense ).
  • Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum).
  •  Cressleaf groundsel (Senecio glabellus).
  • Musk thistle (Carduus nutans).
  • Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).
  • Mile-A-Minute Weed (Polygonum perfoliatum).
  • Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum).
  • Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes).
  • Marestail (Conyza canadensis)
  • Kochia (Bassia scoparia).
  • Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri).
  • Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata).
  • Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum).
  • Yellow Groove Bamboo (Phyllostachys aureasculata), when the plant has spread from its original premise of planting and is not being maintained.
  • Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis).
  • Heart-podded hoary cress (Lepidium draba sub. draba).
  • Hairy whitetop or ballcress Lepidium appelianum).
  • Perennial sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis).
  • Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens).
  • Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula).
  • Hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium).
  • Serrated tussock (Nassella trichotoma).
  • Columbus grass (Sorghum x almum).
  • Musk thistle (Carduus nutans).
  • Forage Kochia (Bassia prostrata).
  • Water Hemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus).

The list of noxious weeds can be found in the Ohio Administrative Code section 901:5-37-01. In addition to this list, Ohio State has a guidebook that will help you identify noxious weeds in Ohio, which is available here.  It may be helpful to familiarize yourself with the weeds in the book, so you can be on the lookout for noxious weeds on your property.

When am I responsible for noxious weeds?

The Ohio Revised Code addresses noxious weeds in different parts of the code. When it comes to noxious weeds on the property of private individuals, there are two scenarios that may apply: noxious weeds on private property, and noxious weeds in line fence rows.  

 Noxious weeds on your property

If your property is located outside of a municipality, a neighbor or another member of the public can inform the township trustees in writing that there are noxious weeds on your property. If this happens, the township trustees must then turn around and notify you about the existence of noxious weeds. After receiving a letter from the trustees, you must either destroy the weeds or show the township trustees why there is no need for doing so. If you do not take one of these actions within five days of the trustees’ notice, the township trustees must cause the weeds to be cut or destroyed, and the county auditor will assess the costs for destroying the weeds against your real property taxes.  If your land is in a municipality, similar laws apply, but you would be dealing with the legislative authority, like the city council, instead of township trustees.

What if you rent out your land out to be farmed or otherwise?  Are you responsible for noxious weeds on your property in that situation?  The answer is probably.  The law states that the board of township trustees “shall notify the owner, lessee, agent, or tenant having charge of the land” that they have received information about noxious weeds on the property (emphasis added).  Furthermore, the law says that the “person notified” shall cut or destroy the weeds (or have them cut or destroyed).  In all likelihood, if you own the land, you are going to be the person who is notified by the trustees about the presence of weeds.  If you rent out your property to be farmed or otherwise, you may want to include who is responsible for noxious weeds in the language of the lease.    

Noxious weeds in the fence row

The “line fence law” or “partition fence law” in Ohio requires landowners in unincorporated areas to cut all noxious weeds, brush, briers and thistles within four feet and in the corners of a line fence. A line fence (or partition fence) is a fence that is on the boundary line between two properties. If you fail to keep your side of the fence row clear of noxious weeds and other vegetation, Ohio law provides a route for adjacent landowners concerned about the weeds. First, an adjacent landowner must request that you clear the fence row of weeds and must allow you ten days to do so. If the weeds still remain after ten days, the complaining landowner may notify the township trustees of the situation. Then, the township trustees must view the property and determine whether there is sufficient reason to remove weeds and vegetation from the fence row. If they determine that the weeds should be removed, the township trustees may hire someone to clear the fence row.  Once again, if this occurs, the county auditor will assess the costs of destruction on your property taxes. 

Being aware of noxious weeds is key. 

As a landowner, it is really important for you to keep an eye out for noxious weeds on your property.  If you keep on top of the weeds, cutting them or otherwise destroying them as they grow, it will certainly make your life a lot easier. You will avoid awkward conversations with neighbors, letters from your township trustees, and extra charges on your property taxes. Additionally, you will help to prevent the harm that noxious weeds may cause to crops, livestock, and ecosystems in general.

 To learn more about Ohio’s noxious weed laws, you can access our law bulletin on the subject here.  While the bulletin addresses the responsibilities of landowners, it also goes beyond the scope of this blog post, addressing weeds on roadways, railroads, and public lands, as well as how to respond if your neighbor has noxious weeds on their property.  Additionally, the bulletin has a helpful section of “frequently asked questions” regarding noxious weeds. 

By: Evin Bachelor, Friday, April 12th, 2019

Here at the OSU Extension Farm Office, we get questions about all sorts of topics, but one topic in particular shows up in our inbox rather frequently.  Line fence laws regulate those fences, sometimes called partition fences, that are located on a property boundary between adjacent parcels of land.  Ohio has had laws on this topic for well over a hundred years, and these laws represent an important piece of history in the development of property rights in our state.  While one might hope that by now all the kinks and questions would be resolved, there are still some misunderstandings and gray areas about the law that we grapple with to this day.

In order to help landowners better understand their rights and responsibilities, the OSU Extension Farm Office team has complied a number of resources about Ohio’s line fence laws on our website at farmoffice.osu.edu/our-library/line-fence-law.  When the Ohio General Assembly significantly changed the line fence provisions in the Ohio Revised Code in 2008, our director, Peggy Kirk Hall, wrote a number of fact sheets that provide an overview of the changes, summaries of key elements of the law, and also guides for townships.

The Ohio Line Fence Law Fact Sheet provides an in depth look at the 2008 changes.  It explains what a line fence is, how costs are allocated, the different types of line fences addressed, special rules for line fences containing livestock, procedures for building a fence, procedures for disputes between neighbors, and more.  A shorter summary of that same information is available in the fact sheet titled, A Summary of Ohio’s Line Fence Law.

In addition to the overviews of the law, there are also resources that explain particular aspects of the law more in depth, along with guides for township officials.  These include:

Over the course of the decade following the 2008 changes, a number of questions continued to be asked by landowners across the state, so we compiled a Frequently Asked Questions law bulletin.  Instead of only explaining what the law says, this law bulletin takes a question and answer approach that goes through questions associated with scenarios such as:

  • My neighbor wants to install a new fence on a never fenced boundary
  • My neighbor wants to permanently remove an existing fence
  • My neighbor wants to replace an old fence on our property boundary

The FAQ law bulletin also looks at the role of township trustees, and what the law says about fence construction and upkeep.

While these publications cover a lot of information, sometimes we get a new question that has yet to make it into one of our publications.  The following represent a few of those questions.

Right to access neighbor’s property applies to fence construction, not removal

Ohio Revised Code § 971.08 provides a landowner with a ten foot right to access his or her neighbor’s property in order to construct a new line fence or to maintain an existing fence.  If the landowner or the landowner’s contractor causes damage to his or her neighbor’s property, the landowner will be liable for that damage, including damage to crops.  However, as there is a separate statute for removing a line fence located at Ohio Revised Code § 971.17, the right of access to construct or maintain a fence does not clearly include a right to enter onto a neighbor’s property in order to remove a line fence.  Under this statute, a landowner who enters his or her neighbor’s land could be liable for trespass.

Written notice is required prior to removing a fence

Ohio Revised Code § 971.17 requires a property owner to give written notice to his or her neighbor at least 28 days in advance of removing a shared line fence.  If a landowner or the landowner’s contractor enters the neighbor’s property to remove a fence without sufficient notice, that could constitute a trespass under Ohio Revised Code § 971.17.  This notice requirement is intended to ensure that the landowner has a chance to protest the removal or at least discuss the terms of the removal.

Trees on the property line are the shared property of the neighboring landowners

One thing not specifically addressed in Ohio’s line fence laws is the issue of trees on the property line.  Ohio Revised Code § 971.33 requires landowners to keep all fence corners and a four foot strip along the entirety of a fence clear of brush, briers, thistles, and other noxious weeds.  However, this statute specifically says that it does not apply to the planting of vines or trees for use.  Because these are specifically excluded from this noxious weeds statute, the common law as made by courts will apply.

The common law provides that trees on the property line are owned by both landowners and do not have to be cleared from the fence row.  This means that if one landowner wants to remove a tree on the property line, that landowner must seek permission from his or her neighbor.  Even though the landowner owns half of the tree, the landowner cannot interfere with his or her neighbor’s property interest in the tree.  Without his or her neighbor’s permission, the landowner could be liable for removing the tree or even cutting it in a manner that causes the tree to die.  Because of Ohio’s reckless destruction of trees and crops statute in Ohio Revised Code § 901.51, a person who cuts, destroys, or injures a tree located on the land of another could be liable for up to three times the value of the tree.

If you have a question about Ohio’s line fence law, let us know, and we will try to find an answer.  Much like we tell students and those who attend our presentations, it is likely that someone else has the same question as you.  Stay tuned to the Ag Law Blog for more updates about questions we receive about Ohio’s line fence law.

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