Thursday, July 14, 2011

Encroached Upon: How to Handle Overhanging Property

By Adam Ciboch


It may be difficult to believe that mistakes can be made when it comes to property boundaries in this day and age. Computes and assessment tools are all available and can accurately distinguish even tiny differences. Your neighbor's newest building project might still end up getting built onto your property, though, despite all this technology. Enter the wonderful world of property and encroachment laws.

Encroachment is a legal concept found in property law where a piece of property from one landowner's parcel of land hangs over into another landowner's property line. The actual structure doing the encroaching can be almost anything. Trees, a fence, part of a building structure or virtually any other fixture could be the culprit. Whatever the case, the object is taking up space on two pieces of property when it only has a legal right to be on one.

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.

Once your property has been encroached upon, there are several actions you can take. First, you can always try being polite. Request that the encroachment be removed or suggest the adjoining landowner pay rent for the land upon which they are encroaching. Oftentimes the landowner might be unaware of the encroachment in the first place and be happy to comply. If you're willing, the land that has been encroached upon could be permanently sold, as well. If not, it is also possible to go to court in order to request a removal via 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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