Property disputes are unusually expensive relative to their size, because the asset cannot be divided, the parties are often neighbours who must continue living beside each other, and the documents that decide the outcome were frequently drafted decades ago by someone who is no longer available to explain them.
This guide sets out the main categories, what evidence decides each, and the resolution routes in the order they should usually be tried.
Key Takeaways
- Boundary disputes are decided by the recorded legal description and a professional survey, not by fences, hedges or long-standing assumption.
- Adverse possession and prescriptive easements can transfer rights through long use, which is why ignoring an encroachment is risky.
- Most purchase agreements contain a mediation or arbitration clause that must be followed before litigation.
- Title insurance may cover certain boundary and title defects — check the policy before spending on litigation.
- Recording a lis pendens notice at the outset can be decisive where the property might otherwise be sold during the dispute.
Property Boundaries and Encroachments
Boundary disputes typically arise when someone builds — a fence, an extension, a driveway — and the neighbour discovers the line is not where either assumed.
The decisive evidence is documentary and technical: the recorded legal description in the deed, a current survey by a licensed surveyor, historic plats and subdivision maps, and any recorded easements. Fences are notoriously unreliable indicators, because they are frequently placed for convenience rather than on the line.
Two doctrines make delay dangerous. Adverse possession can transfer ownership where someone has occupied land openly, exclusively and continuously for a statutory period, sometimes with additional requirements such as paying property taxes. Prescriptive easements can create a permanent right of use — a driveway or path — on the same principle without transferring ownership.
The practical consequence is that tolerating an encroachment for years can convert it into a right. Where a neighbour’s use is permissive, that permission should be documented in writing, because permissive use generally does not ripen into a prescriptive right.
Lease and Tenancy Disputes
Residential and commercial tenancies raise different problems and are governed by different rules.
Residential disputes concern habitability and repair, deposit return, unlawful entry, rent increases, and eviction procedure. These are heavily regulated, often at city as well as state level, and the procedural requirements on landlords are strict — improper notice or a self-help eviction attempt creates liability regardless of whether rent was owed.
Commercial disputes turn far more on the lease itself, since commercial tenants receive fewer statutory protections. Recurring issues include operating expense and common area charge reconciliations, repair obligations, permitted use restrictions, assignment and subletting consent, exclusivity clauses, and personal guarantees given by directors.
In both contexts, the documents that decide the dispute are the lease, the notices actually served, inspection reports, and contemporaneous written communication — which is why raising problems by email rather than by phone materially strengthens a position.
Sales and Purchase Conflicts
Transaction disputes cluster around a few recurring issues.
- Failure to disclose. Most states require sellers to disclose known material defects. Claims arise over water intrusion, foundation movement, roof condition, prior flooding, pest damage and unpermitted work.
- Breach by either party — failing to close, or failing to complete agreed repairs.
- Earnest money disputes, where a contingency was or was not properly exercised.
- Title defects, including undisclosed liens, boundary errors and easements nobody identified.
- Unpermitted construction discovered after closing, which can require retrospective permitting or removal.
The distinction that decides most disclosure claims is between a defect the seller knew about and one they did not. Evidence of knowledge — prior repair invoices, insurance claims, correspondence with contractors, or a previous inspection report — is what converts a disappointing purchase into an actionable one.
Remedies typically include damages, rescission in serious cases, or specific performance where the property itself is the point and money would not suffice.
How to Address a Dispute, in Order
1. Communicate — but in writing
Many disputes resolve once the position is stated clearly. open and honest communication at this stage is genuinely worthwhile, particularly between neighbours who will remain neighbours.
Put it in writing regardless of how amicable it feels. A dated letter or email setting out the issue and what you are asking for creates the record that everything afterwards depends on.
2. Review the documents properly
Gather the deed and legal description, any survey, the purchase agreement and disclosures, the lease and all notices, title insurance policy, HOA covenants where applicable, permits, and inspection reports.
Check the title insurance policy specifically before spending money on litigation. Certain boundary and title defects fall within coverage, and the insurer may be obliged to defend — which changes the economics of the dispute entirely.
3. Mediation or arbitration
Most residential purchase agreements contain a clause requiring mediation, and sometimes arbitration, before court proceedings. Ignoring it can cost you the right to recover attorney fees even if you win.
Mediation resolves a large proportion of property disputes and preserves relationships in a way litigation does not. Arbitration is binding with limited appeal rights, so understand which you have agreed to.
4. Litigation, with the right protective steps
Where court is necessary, two procedural steps frequently matter more than the pleadings. A quiet title action definitively resolves competing ownership claims. And where the property might be sold or encumbered during the dispute, recording a notice of pending action puts the world on notice and prevents a purchaser taking free of the claim.
Deadlines vary by claim type — contract, fraud, and property claims all run on different periods — and can be shorter than people expect. A real estate lawyer should identify the applicable period at the first meeting.
Frequently Asked Questions
My neighbour’s fence is on my land. What now?
Get a professional survey first, since fences rarely follow the legal line. Raise it promptly and in writing — prolonged tolerance can create rights through adverse possession or prescription.
The seller did not disclose a serious defect. Can I claim?
Possibly, if they knew about it and it was material. Evidence of knowledge — repair invoices, prior claims, contractor correspondence — is what makes these claims succeed.
Can I withhold rent over unfinished repairs?
Only in defined circumstances and usually with strict procedural steps. Withholding incorrectly can support eviction, so take advice before stopping payment.
Do I have to mediate first?
If your agreement requires it, yes — and skipping it can forfeit your right to recover attorney fees even on a successful claim.
Will my title insurance help?
It may cover certain title and boundary defects and may include a duty to defend. Check the policy before funding litigation yourself.
How long do these disputes take?
Mediation can resolve matters in weeks. Litigated boundary and title disputes commonly run a year or more, particularly where surveys are contested.
The Bottom Line
Get the survey, read the documents including the title policy, put everything in writing, and follow any mediation clause before filing. Above all, act promptly on encroachments — Real estate rights can be acquired through nothing more than the passage of time and an owner who chose not to make an issue of it.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Property law, adverse possession periods and landlord-tenant rules vary substantially by state and locality — consult a qualified attorney.
Related reading: What Are The Functions Of A Probate Lawyer.
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