Encroachments, Easements, Quiet Title & Boundary Forms - Encroachment Agreement Template

Encroachments - How to Protect Your Boundary Lines Property Encroachment Letter

Encroachments can lead to aggravating boundary line disputes between neighbors, but there is legal recourse. Perhaps you have an encroaching neighbor's tree or fence on your property, which was not discovered until a surveyor was recently hired. There may be a claim of adverse possession or prescriptive easement involved when the encroachment has existed for a statutorily defined time period, which varies by state. While these sound like complicated matters, they can often be handled yourself by simply downloading and filling out the proper form.

A prescriptive easement is a form of adverse possession, but involves a claim to only a portion of another's property. For example, in a claim of prescriptive easement, the claimant must have occupied the encroached portion of the land for a statutory period against the permission of the owner. Therefore, a claim of a prescriptive easement can be avoided simply by the landowner giving a letter to the encroacher granting permission for the use. This will prevent a claim of a prescriptive easement by the encroaching neighbor as long as done before the statutory time period has passed. If it has passed, then it is possible to negotiate an easement agreement or right of way agreement between the parties. An easement agreement isn't ownership, but a right of use of property, and can be recorded in public land records to notify potential purchasers of a claim on the property. A claim of prescriptive easement is not recorded in the same manner, and may be hard to discover. Therefore, it is important to have a survey done by a reputable surveyor when buying real estate.

In boundary disputes involving issues like tree, fences, paths, and driveways, the parties can also create a maintenance agreement. If the parties are unable to work out a settlement through granting a right of way or easement, then a quiet title or trespass to title complaint can be filed in court to ask for a judicial resolution of the ownership dispute and to clear the title of the property in the public land records.

US Legal Forms offers professionally drafted easement and encroachment agreement forms, as well as adverse possession, quiet title, and trespass to title complaints that can be used to settle a boundary line dispute and clear title to your property if there is a cloud on the title. Our forms may be previewed before downloading and are easily filled out in Word format.