Boundary Line, Property, Title, and Lake Rights Disputes

Real estate is a unique form of property because, for the most part, land can be neither created nor destroyed. Largely because of the unique aspects of real property, a unique body of law governs the purchase, sale, lease, transfer, and taxation of real property. Disputes are common, and they can be difficult to resolve without the assistance of an experienced New York property boundary line lawyer. Following is a summary of some of the most frequently encountered real property disputes.

Boundary Disputes

Neighbors as well as nations dispute boundary lines, and errors are common. The most common types of boundary line disputes include the following.

Lot Line Disputes

A lot line dispute usually occurs when a property owner surveys the land for a construction project and discovers that the results of the survey are inconsistent with expectations. Public property records often resolve the dispute.

Encroachments

An encroachment occurs when an improvement crosses a neighbor’s boundary line. This improvement might be a building, landscaping, or fencing. If the dispute is real, it can be resolved in several different ways, such as the granting of an easement, the sale of a small portion of land, or the demolition of the improvement.

Easement by Necessity

An implied easement by necessity arises when someone needs to cross another’s land to access something that they have a right to access. In rural locations, for example, a property owner may need to cross a neighbor’s land to access the only water source or public road in the vicinity. Courts are generally sympathetic under these circumstances.

Adverse Possession

Adverse possession is an ancient common law concept, still valid in New York, that allows an open and notorious trespasser to claim title to real property if a certain amount of time passes. New York law on adverse possession is complex, but this is the basic idea.

Boundary by Acquiescence or Practical Location

A boundary by practical location typically establishes a natural barrier, such as a stream, or a man-made object, such as a fence, as the practical boundary between neighboring properties. If the two neighbors acquiesce to it long enough, it becomes an actual boundary by acquiescence or practical location.

A boundary by practical location is a way of establishing a boundary not by reference to a survey or deed, but by reference to the behavior of the owners. In this way it is similar to adverse possession. It differs from adverse possession in that it is not based on a hostile act by one neighbor, but rather by (typically) by mutual mistake by both.