What are Boundary Disputes or Property Line Disputes?

Updated on January 3, 2023

Land Boundary Disputes

Ever wondered what are boundary disputes, or what type of issues are associated with boundary disputes? Continue reading, because we have you covered.

The Basics on Boundary Disputes – What are they?

Boundary disputes are essentially just what you think they are. They are disputes between neighboring owners of real estate. These disputes concern the property boundary lines and whether either owner has the right to extend beyond their legal property lines. Often times these disputes arise shortly after someone purchases property. After purchasing the property, an owner discovers that a portion of a driveway, fence, access point, house, garage or other structure actually crosses over the shared boundary line. Enter the need for an attorney to help resolve the dispute.

What types of issues are involved with boundary disputes?

There are many different types of boundary disputes and many different areas of law that are often triggered with a boundary dispute. That means that not all boundary disputes are resolved  the same way. Here are some examples of your typical types of boundary disputes:

• Lot line disputes: Are you and your neighbor not sure where your property line actually is? Is there a misconception on either side? Do you have a survey that does not line up with reality? Often times the lot line dispute is not really about where the lot line is (that is usually undisputed).  The issue typically centers around a previous misconception regarding the lot line and the reality not conforming to the survey.
• Driveway issues: Oftentimes, someone’s driveway will take up a couple of inches or feet of the neighboring property owner’s property. These disputes arise when one owner of the property wants to get his inches or feet back, leaving the other owner without a wide-enough driveway to use. We frequently see these disputes with older properties and new developments next door.
• Fence Border Disputes: These issues arise where an owner wants to replace a fence where the owner thinks the property line is, only to find out by your new neighbor (who just got a survey done) that the original fence or wall was in the wrong spot.
• Landscaping: What if you have been landscaping a portion of what you thought was your property for years and you later discover that the landscaped portion of your yard belongs to someone else? There are solutions for this too.
• House encroachment: You get a survey done and realize that either your house or your neighbor’s house is encroaching onto the other’s property.
• Garage encroachment: You get a survey done and realize that either your garage or your neighbor’s garage is encroaching onto the other’s property.
• Access issues: Sometimes, in both the commercial and residential real estate context, a property owner will need access over a neighboring property. Access can be in the form of just ingress and egress to access the property, other times it can be something more broad like the use of a neighboring driveway or parking lot for business customers.

How can Schorr law help you solve a boundary dispute?

Our attorneys at Schorr Law have vast experience dealing with boundary line disputes. Here are some of the ways we’ve helped clients solve their boundary disputes with neighbours :

• Through an easement.
• Obtaining a license.
• Filing a claim for ejectment or trespass.
• Purchasing a portion of the land at issue.
• Leasing a portion of the land at issue.
• Filing a claim for quiet title.

Need help solving a boundary dispute? Contact a boundary dispute attorney in Los Angeles. Schorr Law has the expert real estate attorneys in Los Angeles, California. Our Intake Coordinator can help you schedule a consult with one of our attorneys. To contact, call (310) 954-1877, or send us a message through our contact form. Feel like texting? Send us a text at (310) 706-2265.

See our video on Boundary Disputes below: