Actor123 wrote:
So it that the rule? Whoever's property the fence is on owns the
fence
(or at least the right to knock it down/move it at their own
expense)?

I'd bet yes, but there may be caveats. If the fence is providing
benefit to someone else, maybe you can't just knock it down without
arranging a substitution. Some localities may require permits to erect
or demolish a fence, but this is probably rare for backyard fences.
Heck, some localities *require* fences, and some prohibit them. It
could vary by neighbourhood, and let's not even mention homeowner
associations.

Around here, and this seems not to be common based on what I read in
this NG, either property owner can build a fence, *on* the property
line, and can demand the neighbour pay half the cost, based on the cost
of some minimal functional fence. A basic chainlink job seems to be
reckoned as the baseline. If there's a "nice" side it must face the
involuntary neighbour. Of course decent neighbours talk about it
beforehand and agree on a fence that suits them both, and split it.

And do I have any legal responsibility to move a fence that a
previous
owner of my property mistakenly (or purposely) placed on my
neighbor's
property?

I'd bet you have no obligation to pay for its removal and disposal. But
around here, as above, you would have an obligation in its replacement,
if the neighbour wished.

In the big picture, I'd ask myself, Does this bother me? And if the
answer is no (and it would be), I'd forget about it. If and when one of
the neighbours mentions it, or takes action, then I'd say Oh yeah, that
fence thing; how about we split the cost of a nice new fence right on
the property line?

Chip C
Toronto