Thursday, July 14, 2011

When Neighbors Encroach

By Adam Ciboch


You might find it difficult to believe that boundary mistakes can be make when it comes to your property. The tiniest of differences can accurately be distinguished with property assessment tools and computer technology. Despite all this technology, your neighbor's newest building project might still be built over property lines. That's where encroachment laws come in.

When a neighboring piece of property overhands into property you yourself own, this is the American property law concept called encroachment. It can be pretty much anything that's actually doing the encroaching. Culprits include trees, building portions, wooden or wire fencing and other types of fixtures. Whatever it actually happens to be, the object is spread out over two property boundaries without the permission of one landowner.

Purposeful encroachments have been known to occur. You can probably easily see how this might be the case, if you and your neighbor do not get along. The government can also encroach, if a zoning permit gives them authority.

There are several actions you can take once your property has been encroached upon. Try being polite first. Options include requesting that the encroachment be removed or that the adjoining It isn't uncommon for an encroaching landowner not to realize they've encroached in the first place, and then they'll be happy to agree to your terms. Another option is to permanently sell the land to your neighbor, if you're willing. If you're unsuccessful in that regard, you could also request that a court have the neighbor remove the object by means of a court order.

Encroachment is governed by adverse possession laws in my countries. The land will consequently become property of the encroaching landowner if nothing is done during a certain period of time, if the encroachment meets criteria, such as it being open and notorious. If you haven't done anything about an encroachment onto your property that you find unacceptable, you must keep these laws in mind. Simply speaking to the encroaching landowner will probably resolve the problem in most instances, though.




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