Dearborn Heights, MI Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

Sec. 13-5(a) applies where a privacy fence is permitted by the zoning board of appeals, allowed under Sec. 13-3(o), or exempt from the one-fence-per-property-line rule in Sec. 13-3(k). Sec. 13-5(b) then imposes the actual duty: the owner installing the new privacy fence must remove any existing chain-link fence running along the same joint property line, unless the adjacent property owner elects to keep the chain link in place. If the neighbor chooses to keep the chain-link fence, responsibility shifts to the owner who put up the new fence, who must maintain the area between the two fences, keeping it free of weeds, grass, trees, debris and other items.

That owner must sign a notarized letter on file with the Building and Engineering Department pledging to maintain that strip, but the maintenance duty applies regardless of whether the letter is delivered. Where the property with the new privacy fence is co-owned, the maintenance duty is a joint duty of all co-owners, and Sec. 13-5(b) states that the duty to maintain the area between the fences runs with the land, so it carries forward to future owners of the property rather than ending when the original installer sells.