Fences and Neighbors

[Wesley Yu]

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience with fence disputes with neighbors?

Situation: Purchased a house in 2023. Fence is entirely within my property per a survey that I did.

In 2023, I did some landscaping work and replaced the front part of the side fence (and paid 100% for the replacement). I gave my neighbor notice prior to the work and he was cool with it. 

In 2024, my neighbor replaced the back part of the side fence (He paid for it 100% and didn't give me proper notice per CA Good Neighbor Law). The fence is still entirely inside my property by about 5 inches. 

Last week, I hung a wire trellis and attached it to the back of the side fence. Neighbor complained to me about the trellis. He claims that "it's not fair" since I didn't pay for the back part of the side fence. 

What should I do? In my view, the entire side fence is still entirely inside my property, so all improvements belong to me (even though he paid for the back part of the side fence). Therefore, I do not need to ask for his permission to hang a rose trellis on my side of MY fence.