Construction of a Garage Adjacent to the Property Line

[tejota66]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Wisconsin

My mom put up a garage on her property 9 years ago. She is now being told that it is less than 20 feet from the property line and she needs to move it. She tried to just buy some of the neighbor's property so the garage would be more than 20 feet from the property line, however the land can't be sold into small portions. She heard a rumor stating if it has been more than 7 years since the permanent structure has been up, the county can't make you fix the situation. Is there any credit to this?

property line dispute

[BenT]

Check with your local municipal code regarding setback / zoning classification. Many towns have their own regulations regarding this. Often times city websites will have this information readily available in addition to possible live help which can clarify timelines - if any.

[eapls2708]

If there was a permit issued to build the garage and the county issued a certificate of completion when the construction was done (usually accompanied by an inspection), then usually that would constitute a de facto variance if the garage was later found to violate a setback. The time for the County to have ensured, or required you to adequately ensure setback compliance is when they issued the permit, as a condition of the permit, not 9 years after completion.