How to Resolve a Property Line Dispute

Boundary disputes often start with a new fence, a shed or a tree. They are easier to resolve early, before positions harden.

Step 1: Gather documents

• Your deed and your neighbor's deed, with legal descriptions
• The recorded plat or subdivision map
• Prior surveys, including from your purchase
• Title insurance policy, which may cover some boundary issues
• Photos and records of how the land has been used

Step 2: Get a survey

Hire a licensed land surveyor to locate and mark the boundary. Courts give great weight to professional surveys. If your neighbor has a different survey, the surveyors may be able to reconcile them.

Step 3: Talk to your neighbor

Share the survey calmly. Many disputes end here. Avoid removing fences or structures yourself.

Step 4: Put any agreement in writing

A boundary line agreement or lot line adjustment, recorded with the county, fixes the line for future owners. Local approval may be needed for lot line adjustments.

Step 5: Mediation

A neutral mediator can help neighbors find solutions such as moving a fence, sharing costs, or granting an easement. See is mediation worth it.

Step 6: Court

If you cannot agree, a quiet title action or boundary action asks a court to declare the true line and ownership (Cornell LII). Courts may consider surveys, deeds, historical use, and doctrines such as:

• Adverse possession: long-term open, hostile use for the statutory period (Cornell LII). See squatters' rights.
• Boundary by acquiescence or agreement: both sides treated a line as the boundary for many years.
• Prescriptive easement: a right to use, not own, the land; see easements.

Is there a deadline?

Adverse possession periods and statutes of limitations for trespass or encroachment claims vary by state. Do not wait years after discovering an encroachment.

Trees, fences and encroachments

State laws address boundary trees, spite fences and shared fence costs. Some states allow recovery for damage to trees on your land.

A real estate lawyer can review the survey and title documents and explain your options.

Sources

1. Cornell Law School LII: Quiet title action
2. Cornell Law School LII: Adverse possession