Flamingo Villas Association, Inc. has filed suit against a homeowner in a fence dispute at the 549-townhome community off Flamingo Road and Johnson Street in Pembroke Pines.

The suit claims that Roberta Weiniger and her husband extended their patio and installed a fence past their property line onto the association's common land between buildings.

"They told us the fence was 5 feet too far off our property, but it's the original fence -- it's been there for 22 years," said Weiniger, who bought the house about six years ago. "They are telling us to restore it, but we never moved it."

The association's property manager, Shirleen McDade, and the attorney, Carlos A. Triay, PA, of Miami, refused to comment on the suit.

The problems began, Weiniger said, when she replaced a rotting wood deck in her back yard with a concrete pad that touches up against a wood fence.

Weiniger said she replaced the wood fence's planks about three years ago because the association required it. However, she said, the original fence posts were not removed and the fence was rebuilt in the same spot.

The community's rules state that owners need approval for any structural modifications or alterations from the Architectural Control Board. Weiniger said she verbally asked the association if she needed approval to pour the pad and that she was told no.

The homeowners association lawyer sent Weiniger two certified letters in February and May asking her to move the fence and concrete deck off the common land and restore the area. Baffled by the request, Weiniger said she decided to hire Pioneer Surveyors to determine who owns the land. She said the survey showed that she owns the property.

"We didn't do anything, I'm not moving 5 feet of property just for their sake," Weiniger said.

The association hired Schwebke-Shiskin & Associates, Inc. to conduct a survey, which shows the fence and deck encroaching on the association's common area by about 5 or 6 feet, according to the lawsuit.

"Now, I have to hire a lawyer which is going to cost me a fortune, or I can move the fence and pay for their lawyer's costs," Weiniger said. "It just doesn't make any sense."