Loving thy Idaho neighbor isn’t always easy.

Okay, The Bible left Idaho out of the 10 Commandments, but you get the point. Sometimes, despite your best efforts and intentions, the folks you share a property line with make the Manson family seem less horrible. And it happens more often than we realized.

A  2023 Lending Tree report shows a significant percentage of Americans don’t have the warm and fuzzies for the family next door.

Although 70% of Americans with neighbors report being friends with at least some of them, 24% of all Americans say they dislike at least one. Among those who dislike a neighbor, 48% say it’s because they’re unfriendly or rude, 31% say they make too much noise and 29% say the neighbor is too nosy.

-Lending Tree

Mo’ fences, mo’ problems. 

Like money became the bane of Notorious B.I.G.’s short-lived gangsta existence, erecting a structure to block your neighbors’ view just to p*ss them off could become yours. 

Idaho judges know better than anyone that fencing yourself off from your neighbors could have unintended consequences. That’s because they’re the ones who get stuck dealing with them.

Sort of like parents who are sick and tired of their kids arguing over the remote, Idaho judges are over petty residential B.S.

Ever heard of a spite fence?

If you haven’t, context clues are all you need to crack the code, y’all.

Fences, property lines, and trees have been the progenitors of so many state legal battles, they spurred an entire section of Idaho code that addresses “spite structures.” Take a look …

If adjoining proprietors cannot agree as to the proportion or the particular part of a division fence to be made, maintained or kept in repair by each respectively, either party may apply, on five (5) days’ notice, to a magistrate judge, for the appointment of three (3) viewers, who may examine witnesses on oath, and view the premises […].

-Idaho Code 35-106

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Put another, Biblical’esque way, “Thou shall not be an @$$#ole neighbor.”

FYI: the burden of proof falls on the spite fence-pitcher.

In the end, spite might come back and bite you in the you-know-what.

If you get dragged into court by your neighbor who took issue with your 12-foot-high fence, FindLaw says it’s on you to prove your motive wasn’t spiteful. If you fail to convince the judge, you could be required to remove or modify the fence.

And while you’re at it, you might want to consider therapy, spiteful one 😳

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