Georgia Laws on Property Disputes Between Neighbors

Below is a summary of the laws that apply to common types of neighbor property disputes statewide in Georgia, mostly based on common law (court decisions) rather than statutes passed by the Georgia legislature. Realize, however, that city or local regulations might also apply in your situation. And if you live in a community governed by a homeowners' association (HOA), it might also enforce community-wide rules.

Georgia Tree Damage Laws

In Georgia, if someone damages a tree on your property, you can recover your actual damages (usually, what you paid for the tree or what it would cost to replace the tree). The damages go up if they're carrying it away for timber, in which case you might recover triple the value of the tree plus attorneys' fees. (To learn what you must prove in order to get actual damages, see When a Neighbor Damages or Destroys Your Tree.)

What exactly constitutes "damage" is an important question. Like in most states, Georgia law holds that if a tree is located on a property line between two neighbors, they share ownership and responsibility for it. Neither neighbor can remove or significantly damage it without the other's consent; but performing reasonable pruning should be allowed, and the tree owner likely couldn't call it "damage."

If a property owner's tree is not on the boundary line, but it simply overhangs a neighboring property, and perhaps creates a nuisance with regular falling branches or excessive shade, then Georgia law expects the affected neighbor to first contact the tree owner and ask that the situation be remedied. (But falling leaves and such are likely to be considered sufficiently minor that you can't ask the neighbor to remedy it.) If your requests don't yield results, you can take reasonable self-help measures to prune the tree back to the property line. But that means not damaging or killing the tree, whether with sawing, pruning, application of chemicals, or something else.

In some states, specific laws allow you to recover additional damages if someone deliberately damages your tree. Georgia has no such statute. In addition, intentionally damaging a tree is a crime in some states and can result in arrest, jail, fines, and other penalties, but Georgia does not have such a law either. General Georgia criminal statutes, such as those related to theft or property damage, might apply. (To learn more about damages and criminal penalties in tree injury cases, see When a Neighbor Damages or Destroys Your Tree.)

Damages and Criminal Penalties for
Intentional Damage to Trees in Georgia

Georgia Boundary Fence Laws

A boundary fence is a fence that is located on or near a property line, though the exact definition can vary by state. Sometimes even a hedge can act as a boundary. To learn more about boundary fences, including how they are defined, when a neighbor is allowed to build a boundary fence, and who is responsible for repairs and maintenance, see Fences and Neighbors FAQ.

Georgia does not have a statewide law defining and regulating boundary fences, but there might be a local ordinance (in your city, county, town, or HOA) that contains relevant rules on fences between you and your neighbors.

Georgia common law does however, recognize the concept of a "spite fence," meaning when neighbors build extra-tall or annoying fences, usually as part of a feud or dispute. (See Hornsby v. Smith (1941), in which a neighbor built an eight-foot high wooden fence that shut off the light and air from the neighbor's property.)

Georgia Right to Farm Laws

All states have enacted laws that exempt farmers and other agricultural operators from complying with run-of-the-mill nuisance laws. Such laws normally restrict noisy activity like operation of heavy machinery or prohibit the use of pesticides on non-farm properties, for example. But in Georgia, farmers are protected if their operation has been going on for two years or more, unless the farmers have gone so far as to conduct negligent, improper, or illegal operations.

You can find Georgia's right to farm statute in the table below. (To learn more about right to farm statutes generally, see Rural Neighbors and the Right to Farm.)

To Learn More

For other Nolo articles on neighbor disputes involving adverse possessions and easements, see Adverse Possession: When Trespassers Become Property Owners and Easements: Overview.

To learn more about the property issues covered in this article and other disputes between landowners and neighbors, get Neighbor Law: Fences, Trees, Boundaries & Noise, by the Editors of Nolo.