When it comes to property, sometimes boundary line mix-ups happen. The initial land surveyor might have made a mistake. Maybe a boundary line was changed by water erosion. It’s also possible your neighbor was just plain being inattentive.
That misunderstandings happen may come as no surprise. What may be surprising, however, is just how many different types of encroachments exist. Some of them aren’t even physical manifestations. Read on.
The easiest way to describe an encroachment is that it is, quite simply, some kind of illegal intrusion onto property that belongs to someone else. Intrusions on highways or navigable rivers don’t even require actual obstructions. An intrusion that is simply illegal by nature is deemed adequate. For a street or highway, on the other hand, encroachments requires a fixture of some sort. Something as simple as even a wall or a fence is enough. All it takes for an encroachment to exist is an illegal intrusion or invasion of someone else’s property in some way.
Encroachment also brings up the additional legal issue of adverse possession. This term is the legal means by which someone can claim title to a parcel or portion of land to which they technically do not hold true title. Many factors need to be met in order to obtain title, or quiet title as most lawyers would say. This includes remaining in open, notorious, continuous and hostile possession of the piece of land in question for a specified statutory period. The length of time varies by state. If you do not want this occurring on your land, be sure to act quickly and effectively. It is sometimes wise also to seek the advice of a legal professional.
Another fact you may not know is that temporal encroachment also exists. As opposed to being a physical manifestation by way of a structural obstruction, temporal encroachment instead is an invasion on a person’s perception of time. Temporal encroachment sometimes also affects a person’s future actions. If you have a gossiping co-worker who likes to interfere with your work day, just tell them to stop temporally encroaching on your work the next time they do it. Check to see how they take that!
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