Before putting up the fence, the neighbour’s dog would often ‘use the garden as a toilet’
A homeowner has taken to Reddit to ask for advice after a neighbour made an untoward comment about their garden fence. Posting under the username ElectronicPast939, the Reddit user shared their story on a subreddit called ‘r/Homeowners’ about how their neighbour is mad about the “big” size of their garden, and claims he said “you’re hogging it all” after putting up a fence.
“So for background, my next door neighbour has a really small plot,” the Reddit user began. “It’s about 1/8 acre. Both myself and his other next door neighbour have almost full acre lots. I bought my house from an elderly woman who never really left the house so I guess she gave this guy free reign to use the yard as he wishes. He would use the area to play with his dog.”
The homeowner says the house needed some “TLC” so before they moved in they hired a contractor to do some work, including building a six foot privacy fence around the property and widening the driveway. They say a survey was done and it’s “all above board”.
They continued: “I guess not long after his other next door neighbour decided to build a privacy fence as well. This effectively ‘boxed’ him in and honestly kind of made his property look kind of silly squeezed in between us. It also gave him pretty much no area to play with his dog.
“I didn’t get a chance to meet him until a few weeks after my family moved in.” The Reddit user says they don’t have any pet animals and admits to liking a “well manicured” garden, so “I take good care of it and landscaping is kind of my hobby”, he added.
“Immediately, he starts complaining about how he has been there 25 years and nobody has had a fence in all that time. He also told me about how when the driveway was widened I took away the area his dog used as a bathroom and it was having accidents in the house as a result.
“He also said that it was rude of me to fence off, ‘all that land that you don’t even use or need’, and his property looked ‘ridiculous and small’ now that the fences are up. Finally he said that all he can see is fence anytime he looks out his window.”
The Reddit user says they felt “shocked” by the comments. “I just gave him a ‘wow that must be terrible’, and backed away from the conversation,” they posted.
At the end, the homeowner said: “I guess I’m asking how would you approach this? Im not looking to make mortal enemies with this guy but also I don’t really give a ****. My house is my house. Thoughts?”
It didn’t take long for comments to begin pouring in from fellow Reddit users with suggestions and advice. One person replied: “I don’t see how your neighbour’s lack of a yard is your problem.”
A second said: “I think you handled it well. ‘Sorry you’re in this situation’ is all I’d say.” A third asked: “There are dog parks he can go to, and why was he letting his dog do its business in someone else’s property?” A fourth said: “Just be polite and keep interactions to a minimum.”