Neighbors Climbed Fence Twice a Day to Use Family's Playset

A family put a new playset in their backyard last month. Within weeks, the neighbors next door were using it every day, by climbing over the fence on a step ladder while the family was at work.

The homeowners now have it on a recording security camera and are weighing whether to post the footage on the neighborhood’s Nextdoor and Facebook pages, according to TwistedSifter’s Nov. 6 write-up of the homeowner’s account. The complication is the child at the center of it.

Twice a Day, an Hour or Two Each Time

The family moved into the house about two years ago. Last month, they had a landscaper install the playset in the backyard.

Both spouses work essential jobs, and no one is home during the day. For the past two weeks, the homeowner said, a neighbor has come into the yard twice a day, staying an hour or two each time, so the neighbors’ son could play on it.

At first the neighbors simply came through the gate. The family locked it. Now, the homeowner said, the neighbors use a step ladder to get over the fence, and they wait until the homeowner has left for work.

The neighbors are a couple in their forties. Their son is 5 and has developmental disabilities, which is a big part of why the homeowner has hesitated to call the police. The homeowner did not want to frighten the boy.

A Fence Fight, a Police Call and an HOA Complaint

The playset is only the latest chapter. The family wanted a privacy fence for their dogs when they moved in, and their realtors and the seller had said it would not be a problem. The neighbor fought it with the HOA for three months, and the family made concessions and settled for a 4-foot fence.

That shorter fence is the one the neighbors are now climbing.

There were other run-ins. One Sunday morning, the homeowner’s husband, home from a night shift, drank a beer on the backyard deck with their daughter, and the neighbors called the police. The officer reportedly found no problem. The neighbors also reported a Fisher-Price playhouse and a baby swing hanging from a tree branch to the HOA, and the mother has parked her minivan in front of the family’s driveway, blocking the husband’s car.

The neighbor has also complained about the new playset on the very social media pages where the family is now thinking of posting the video.

Post the Video or Go Through Channels

The outlet’s writer came down on the side of the HOA and the police. “Blasting them on social media might feel good, but it’s just going to make the neighbors angry,” the write-up said, adding that “it’s not just the HOA that’s a problem here.”

Readers who weighed in suggested a middle path: confront the neighbors first, point out the camera, and escalate to the HOA or police only if the visits continue.

That order lines up with common advice for yard disputes. LawnStarter’s guide to neighbor conflicts recommends starting with a calm conversation, keeping a record with photos and dates if that fails, and then moving to the HOA, mediation or a formal demand letter.

Play Equipment, HOAs and the Line Between Yards

HOAs often treat backyard play equipment as something they can regulate. Many associations set rules on the location and visibility of play equipment, according to a guide from association manager FirstService Residential, along with rules on fence height and placement.

Home playsets also carry safety expectations that make unsupervised use by someone else’s child a worry for the owner. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission publishes an Outdoor Home Playground Safety Handbook for families with backyard equipment.

Neighbors treating a family’s yard as shared space has become a familiar pattern, from neighbor kids who turned a woman’s apple trees into a playground to neighbors who crashed a private garden party. In another case covered this month, a homeowner walled off his entire property after new neighbors picnicked on his land and climbed his pool fence.

For this family, the camera has already answered the question of who is using the playset. What is left is how to stop it without turning a 5-year-old into the face of a neighborhood feud.

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Shixart1985 – CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons