03/14/2026
A fence is not a property line.
It’s a physical object, not a legal determination.
Fences are built for containment, convenience, or history, not to establish ownership. They often predate current deeds, shift over time, or were installed without any survey involvement at all. Treating a fence as a boundary is how small assumptions turn into expensive disputes.
Property lines are determined through evidence → boundary law → professional opinion → documentation. Physical features like fences are only one piece of evidence, and often a weak one unless supported by record intent and legal principles.
This is why surveying is a quasi-judicial function. A surveyor must evaluate conflicting evidence, apply boundary law, and document a defensible conclusion about property rights.
Fences can suggest use. They do not define ownership.
Property boundaries carry constitutional property rights. When those rights are assumed instead of determined, projects slow down, neighbors disagree, and liability follows.
Anyone can build a fence.
Only a survey can establish where ownership legally begins and ends.
And if it wasn’t documented, it doesn’t exist.
Learn more on our website at https://bit.ly/46OLIdG
