Commercial Real Estate Boundaries: Do I Need To Worry About My Neighbor’s New Driveway – Real Estate

On occasion, questions will arise regarding the impact of what
seems to be a neighboring property owner’s use of your land. It
may seem contrary to what you believe the property boundaries are,
such as widening a driveway, etc. When the neighbor takes this
action, it is often viewed as the exercising of a right adverse to
your property interest.

When a neighboring property owner takes such action, it could
simply be a mistake where the property line is established. Or the
neighbor may be trying to establish a right of adverse possession
or prescriptive rights to acquire a part of your land.

To establish any final legal right of acquiring property through
adverse action, there must be 20 years of continuous and
uninterrupted possession. That adverse possession must be hostile
in inception, continue as such and be visible to the actual owner.
A permissive (or permitted use) never ripens into a prescriptive or
adverse taking.

Typically, to create the presumption of a grant of right-of-way,
the circumstances must appear as though it was established for the
claimant’s benefit, accompanied by a claim of right, or as
though the acts manifested an intention to enjoy it without regard
to the owner’s wishes.

Should there be an encroachment, the way to address the issue is
to obtain a professional survey of the boundary lines for the
properties. If there is a dispute, politely approach the neighbor
to discuss what appears to be a mistake regarding the property
line. If the neighbor objects and you are confident in your
position but there is not enough at stake to take legal action,
consider granting the neighbor a “license” to leave the
expansion of the driveway in place (or other improvements). By
granting the license, the action is no longer adverse. So you cut
off the time to establish adverse possession if there is an actual
occupation.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.