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How many "No Trespassing" signs may I post along my property line?
Anonymous10 views3 answers
I live in am HOA in Snohomish County, Wa. I have erected a fence between myself and one of my neighbors. I have placed "No Trespassing" signs along the fence. What interval is legal and required by the County/State here. There is an HOA amendment up for vote this week to limit these signs to only one at the foot of the driveway. We have 6 1/2 acres and for much of the boundary a sign would be unobservable. The neighbor in question has repeatedly entered my property threatening me and my wife, but the police have said that with out a "NT" sign they are not in violation!? At what interval are we allowed/required by the state/county laws to post signs along the boundary for us to protect OUR rights? Thank you.
Stop taking legal advice from the police officers. WA does not require you to post signs to keep people out of your property. If someone comes to your property and threatens you, tell them to leave and not come back, and go to the anti-harassment court and get an anti-harassment order.
As far as the state is concerned, you can put up a continuous banner of no tresspassing signs, or you can post one, or you can post none at all. Your HOA can (if they have jurisdiction) tell you to limit your signs, but usually HOAs are limited to things that are visible from the road. Sometimes a court order is more effective. Nearly always a court order is better. Go to courts.wa.gov and look for the "Petition for Order Against Harassment", and fill it out. Take it to the nearest District Court. If the neighbor comes onto your property again, it is a criminal violation and you don't have to argue with a police officer.
Also this is a boundary/neighbor issue but doesn't have that as a practice area.
Elizabeth Powell
I agree with Ms. Powell that there is no requirement for a No Trespassing sign for this to constitute trespassing. There is no state law I am aware of about an interval for No Trespassing Signs. As for local or county rules, you should be able to contact your local county to find that out. Your bigger issue may be what the HOA says. The HOA can adopt rules (assuming they properly follow their own rules) about signs that may be more or less restrictive than the county rules. If properly adopted, you will have to abide by what your HOA rules are.
Unless your HOA has special rules, I believe you can post as many (or few, or zero) "No Trespassing" signs as you desire -- so long as all the signs are exclusively located on your own property.
The police are dead wrong in claiming that without a sign they cannot take any action against your neighbors. If your neighbors have entered your land without your permission, that constitutes trespass. The police know this, and they also know that there is no requirement for you to post a sign. Rather, they just don't want to get involved because they are busy enough with other matters.
If your neighbors continue to threaten you, you should consider suing them. You should consider suing both for trespass and for harassment/assault (and, for clarity, assault does not necessarily require any physical contact -- threats are often enough).
