Encroachment is a term used when one party builds or adds an extension to a property in a way that violates their neighbors’ rights. These violations usually happen when the extension or the construction reaches into the neighbor’s land or property.
Why do encroachments happen?
The encroachments are compared to trespassing on someone else property or land using your own structure. Once the lawful limits between you and your neighbor are passed, it is when we use the encroachment term. These issues can occur on purpose if the builder wants to create conflicts. On the other hand, they can occur when the person who is building a house, for example, was unaware of boundaries.
How to avoid encroachment?
A lot of things can happen in real estate. Whether you are buying, selling, building, or extending on your existing property; you need to know that at some point, encroachments may happen. Conflicts may occur after the encroachment. Knowing how to avoid them will protect you and your neighbors. Furthermore, it is important to know what to do if issues arise due to encroachments.
The following are some of the things you can do to avoid encroachments
- Avoid houses with encroachments when house hunting
- Do your due diligence before buying a house or a property
- Before building make sure you know limits between you and your neighbors
- Use the most recent property surveys available. These surveys will illustrate the physical boundaries between your property and your neighbors
- Talk to your neighbors before you start building and be on the same page about your boundaries
- Seek professional assistance if none of you knows what to do
- Avoid escalation by properly talking to your neighbors on possible encroachment
- Take the matter to the court if no proper solution is found between you and your neighbors.
