Man sends city officials to neighbor's house after his fence collapses, plan backfires: 'My uncle looked him in the eye and said, "Not my problem"'

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
May 16, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

Tall fences make good neighbors, right? That's how the saying goes, and it often rings true. Although it's great to get to know your neighbors and reap the benefits that come with it, having your own privacy is important, too. It can be hard to enjoy your own space with your neighbors always breathing down your neck, asking you personal questions, or badgering you to do things differently with your property. 

Some neighbors just can't wait to make their neighbor's lives harder, like this dude who couldn't help but pester the guy next door after his fence collapsed. Instead of offering to help out, or even just extending some condolences, this guy had to make a huge fuss out of it. Check out the full story below — it's very satisfying! 

Up next, read about the nepo-hire who tried to claim a 15-page report as her own, only for her coworker to embarrass her in front of the CEO: "[She] took all the credit." 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10506203392
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    Where I live the fence put up by the builder and on the property line is called a builder's fence, to replace or repair the fence you need both owners' consent in writing. My uncle's house is has two such fences on either side of the property. The fences were old and because of the size of the fences were cost prohibitive to replace. The year this happend in was very rainy and the fence collapsed in one section. Now uncle takes pride in his property
    via u/Transcendentalcat
  • 03
    and had been trying for years to get to get permission from his neighbour to repair it. The day after the fence collapsed the neighbour came over and screamed at my uncle that he had to replace the fence because that the thing was an eyesore. My uncle was p ed, but because the fence was now dangerous he agreed if the neighbour covered half the materials totalling about a grand. The neighbour did not agree, and said "you're going to
    via u/Transcendentalcat
  • 04
    replace the fence and use my contractor or I'm going to call my cousin in the City (by-law compliance) and he'll make you replace it." My uncle told him to call the City and slammed the door in his face. Of course a by-law official shows up a few days later and give my uncle a notice that he had to replace or remove the fence in a month or be fined. After carefully questioning the official and was
    via u/Transcendentalcat
  • 05
    told that it is only required to have a fence around your property if you have a pool. So the day before reinspection my uncle and cousins took it down. The neighbour freaked out and screamed at my uncle that he had to replace it because he had a pool. My uncle looked him de d in the eye and said, "not my problem, I'm in full compliance with the City just like you wanted."
    via u/Transcendentalcat
  • 06
    I found out because I went over with my mom to hang out and were greeted with sight of the neighbour trying to pour concrete footings in the rain. TLDR: neighbour doesn't let uncle repair fence and calls by- law compliance on uncle, resulting in uncle removing fence causing neighbour to be fined by the City
    via u/Transcendentalcat

    This dude's plan totally backfired! That's what happens when you kick someone when they're down. Did the neighbor really think the uncle would be thrilled to spend thousands redoing the fence? The uncle made a smart choice here, and the neighbor is left to lay in that bed he made. 

  • 07
    Cheezburger Image 10506214400
    via Edan Cohen on Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 08
    Tamalene , the entitlement is strong in this one!
    via u/Tamalene
  • 09
    Pokerus2010 Lmao I freakin love this. Seeing the neighbor in the rain like that must have been so satisfying to your uncle!
    via u/Pokerus2010
  • 10

    Lessons were learned on both sides of the fence!

    enjoyoutdoors This is a pretty important lesson in the importance of ensuring that you got everything that's yours up to code before you decide to try to nail code infringement onto someone who is almost in compliance.
    via u/enjoyoutdoors
  • 11
    And an important lesson in what happens if a city official gives your neighbour free reigns to serve it back in your face. Well played. Well played.
    via u/enjoyoutdoors
  • 12
    DarkNymphetamine That neighbour has severe. issues.
    via u/DarkNymphetamine

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Tags

housing neighbors malicious compliance neighborhood malicious-compliance-reddit fence neighborhood-drama neighborhood-stories terrible neighbors fences malicious compliance reddit
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