Can I Legally Put up a Gate on My Own Property?

Property Issues

• When you decide to add a gate to your property, you must be aware of where your property begins and ends. No state gives residents the right to add a gate to another's property, and when you build on a neighbor's property, you are trespassing on their land. If you have any issues on your property line or are not sure where the line sits, you need to check your deed and contact your city or county. If you place a gate that sits on land technically owned by a neighbor, your neighbor has the right to tear down or remove the structure.

Shared Property Lines

• As property lines run between two different places, you may find that your fence sits directly on the property line. A shared fence line is communal property, and you cannot make any changes without the permission of the other landowner. You do have the legal right to demand that your neighbor split the cost of the new gate, but the neighbor may not complain. Your neighbor can argue that the existing gate works fine and that the fence does not need a new one.

Construction

• Many states have laws in place regarding the size of the fence. Illinois, for example, requires that fences be no taller than 4.5 feet. Depending on where you live, you are also not allowed to use certain types of materials in the construction of fences and fence pieces, including gates. Both Illinois and Ohio make using barb wire to make a fence illegal. You are allowed to use barb wire along the top of the fence, but the fence and gate cannot be made entirely from barb wire.

Warning

• Review the livestock laws in your area, especially if you breed and raise any type of farm animals, including cows and pigs. States like Wyoming and Illinois make keeping farm animals inside fences mandatory. When you own livestock, you must add a gate to the fence for access to the animals.