You spoke to your neighbor when they started to build a new deck on their property. You told them that it looked like it was pretty close to your boundary line and asked if they had someone come to check the boundary. They said they’d have someone come out, but they kept working.
After waiting a few days for more information, you decided to get the boundary line defined yourself and quickly discovered that the neighbor had encroached on you property by around six inches. While it doesn’t seem like much, that actually put their new deck extremely close to your landscaping and garden shed, which means that you’ll no longer be able to easily mow or take care of the space there.
What can you do when a neighbor builds on your property?
If your neighbor has built onto your property, it’s time to take action. Your neighbor may have skirted the local planning laws by not having the property line determined before starting work. They may also have needed to get approval to build the deck and not done so.
At this point, if most of the work is done, you have a few options. The first is to ask them to pay you for the property that they have, essentially, stolen. The second option is to pursue legal action to have the decking removed, so that the item is no longer on your property.
If you have a boundary dispute that is ongoing, make sure you know your rights. You may be able to have the situation corrected in court if the neighbor isn’t willing to make changes.