A Petersburg Judge Blocked a Neighbor From Moving Brittany Ellerbe’s Backyard Fence Until Nov. 19 in a Dispute Over an Unrecorded Survey

When Brittany Ellerbe and her husband bought their nearly 100-year-old house on South Dunlop Street in Petersburg, Virginia, in 2025, the backyard was gravel. They turned it into grass, put up a privacy fence and planted flowers, zucchini, squash and bush beans. About a year later, they were told part of that yard belonged to the house next door.

Now a Petersburg judge has stepped in. An injunction and temporary restraining order granted in early October bars anyone from removing or moving the family’s fence until Nov. 19, while the two sides sort out where the property line actually runs.

From gravel to zucchini and bush beans

The couple were first-time buyers, and Ellerbe told NBC12 in Richmond they did not understand at the time how much a land survey mattered. They have two toddlers, and the fenced yard was built as a private space for the family and their garden.

Ellerbe said the yard used to look much better than it does now. She told the station she has not gone out there since part of the fence was moved.

A realtor, a truck of workers and a moved fence

The trouble began when a realtor representing the former owner of the neighboring house on Wilcox Street came to the door. According to Ellerbe, he said the family’s steps were on his client’s land, that the yard was not theirs, and that the fence had to come down so the Wilcox Street sale could close.

Months went by without further contact. Then the seller showed up with a truck full of workers. Ellerbe said that at that point she had received no survey, no deed and no letter from an attorney, and nothing on paper that prepared her for workers arriving at her fence.

A letter from an attorney and a land survey showing boundary lines arrived later. Part of the family’s fence was taken down and used to line another section of the neighboring property, the station reported. The couple then hired a lawyer of their own.

The Wilcox Street homeowner did not respond to requests for comment left at the house.

An 1853 plat and a 1917 deed

The records behind the dispute are old. Ellerbe said the family’s paperwork goes back to an 1853 plat and a 1917 deed, that the deed history mostly repeats earlier deeds, and that there is no survey on file.

She described the judge as saying no one knows exactly where the boundary line is, that records are missing and that the survey was not recorded.

The city has stayed out of it. Petersburg’s assessor’s office told the station the matter “appears to be a legal matter between the two property owners.” Ellerbe said she believes Petersburg needs to keep a more watchful eye on situations like hers, and that realtors should do more to help their clients.

What the court order does

A temporary injunction in Virginia holds things in place before a case is decided. Under Virginia Code § 8.01-628, a court may not grant one unless it is satisfied of the plaintiff’s equity, and either side can support or oppose the request with affidavits or verified pleadings. The next section, § 8.01-629, leaves notice to the other side up to the court, which may order reasonable notice of when and where the motion will be heard.

In this case, the order stops the fence the family installed from being removed or moved until Nov. 19. The family is waiting for another court date in November, when a judge could decide what happens after the order runs out.

What Virginia tells home buyers about lot lines

Virginia does not require a survey when a home is sold, though surveys are encouraged, especially when there are questions about property lines. The state’s residential property disclosure law, Virginia Code § 55.1-703, requires the seller to give the buyer a statement listing matters on which the seller makes no representations. The list runs from property condition and recorded covenants to adjacent parcels, historic districts, flood hazard areas, easements and lot lines, and it advises buyers to consider a home inspection before settlement.

On lot lines, the state’s required notice says the owner “makes no representation with respect to current lot lines or the ability to expand, improve, or add any structures on the property,” and that purchasers “are advised to exercise whatever due diligence a particular purchaser deems necessary, including obtaining a property survey.” The Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation posts the full disclosure notice, which also advises buyers to contact the locality about zoning, lot coverage, height and setback rules.

That leaves the job of confirming where a backyard ends with the buyer. The Ellerbes spent a year turning gravel into a garden before learning the line was in question, and their fence now stands only because of a court order.

Boundary disputes over fences and yards have turned up in other places this fall, including a St. Charles County property-line fight over a fence post. In Petersburg, the next date to watch is Nov. 19, when the order holding the Ellerbes’ fence in place is set to expire.

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

Image: Tarunpant – CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons