How an 11-year fence feud ballooned into $43K in tax bills and multiple lawsuits

Eleven years ago, the City of Ottawa tore down their brown plastic fence. 

Today, grass has nearly covered the phantom post holes along the corner lots in the quiet suburb of Orléans. But the ordeal is far from over for the two families.

After multiple lawsuits and more than $43,000 in penalties accrued in their ongoing saga with the city, Mo Haider and Nitin Datta allege their families were victims of bylaw harassment and unfair treatment that has haunted them for the better part of the past decade.

"It's been unbearable," said Haider. "Unfathomable."

CBC News cameras captured the moment when contractors, hired by the city and flanked by hydro workers, bylaw and police officers, partially tore down the fence in July 2013. The fence for both lots had cost about $18,000 to install, Haider said.

Haider and Datta's backyards faced each other, and the fence closed off their properties along a residential street. It was placed roughly 2.7 metres (about nine feet) from the curb and wrapped around a green hydro transformer box. 

The city said it removed the fence for safety reasons and because it was built on the city's right-of-way along the grass boulevard.

Haider and Datta believe the city mishandled their case and say they should never have been billed for the fence removal — a fine that snowballed from about $4,600 per household to more than $21,700 each as of the latest property tax bill.

They refuse to pay it.

WATCH | CBC Ottawa captures fence removal in 2013:

The two families sued the city and several other parties in 2015. Then, they got sued by the law firm that initially represented them — a small claims matter that was dismissed recently.

Now, the new homeowners who bought Datta's property in 2020 are suing him for the property tax lien on their account, which continues to grow beyond the holdback amount they agreed upon during the purchase. The parties in this lawsuit declined to speak with CBC News for this story.

Settlement offers between the families and the city came and went, but their claims continue to drag on.

"It was just stress and chaotic for 10 years. Nobody wants to help," said Datta, whose side of the fence has since been rebuilt. "Nobody cares."