Why would you try to claim your neighbor’s property? Maybe you’re a farmer and you fence in a part of the adjoining field to graze your cattle. In New Jersey, if that continues for 60 years, then you can establish title to the fenced area by virtue of adverse possession. If the property you are claiming is improved with a home or other building, the required time period is reduced to 30 years. In either case, you must then file an action to quiet title, which may result in a court order or judgment which can be recorded in the land records.
If you are the neighbor and you discover that someone is claiming your land, you can file an ejectment lawsuit for a court order to remove him and end his use of your property.
However, more often, these claims arise by accident. I was recently consulted by someone who had purchased a house with a tennis court at auction. She did not obtain a property survey (https://www.whelan-law.com/resolving-boundary-disputes/). It turned out that the tennis court and surrounding fence is eight feet over the rear property line and onto the neighbor’s property. What should she do?
One option is to contact the neighbor to seek to purchase an easement for the tennis court. That is risky because the neighbor could try to extort a large sum of money. Or he could file an ejectment action to remove the tennis court from his property.
Another is to investigate a possible adverse possession claim. In the auction purchase case, there was no record of a building permit for the tennis court. (That can be a separate problem, as when the owner seeks to sell the house and needs to obtain a certificate of occupancy.) However here, the town stated that they had a flood and records were destroyed.
But the caller spoke to the side neighbor who stated that he played on the tennis court more than 30 years prior. The side neighbor was willing to testify in court. I then advised the caller that she seemed to have a good basis for filing a quiet title action for the tennis court encroachment. Obviously that involves legal fees and costs, as well as the stress dealing with the angry rear neighbor you are suing to establish your right to the tennis court encroachment. Further, other evidence may be needed in order to prevail. However, in many cases, you may have no choice but to sue, under the right facts.
I am an experienced New Jersey attorney practicing real estate law and litigation for over 30 years and am very familiar with these issues. Call me for a free initial consultation.
