Throughout Maryland, legal disputes and civil lawsuits over real estate boundaries, property rights, and trees/plans located on property can become significant concerns for many Maryland property owners. Maryland property lawsuits and disputes usually involve issues related to include property access/property line disputes. Generally, Maryland property disputes are very fact specific, and these property disagreements can include various tenants of law. However there are also some common issues related to all types of legal real estate disputes.
Property Line Disputes
Property (such as fence disputes, quiet title/adverse possession lawsuits, easements concerns, adverse possession matters, tree disputes, and tree damage), property ownership disputes (such as probate disputes, contract disputes, and liability concerns), and property liability disputes (such as trespass of property, property dangers, tree dangers, and direct harm).
Maryland property line disputes generally stem from disagreements between adjoining neighbors about their shared property boundary. A large proportion of these neighbor property line disputes result from a lack of full understanding regarding the accurate and true boundary line between neighboring properties. Often neighbors jointly assume the validity of a visual property boundary line (such as a fence, wall, or trees) that is actually inaccurate according to the true Maryland property records. In fact, disputes can arise between neighbors that have lived for years with differing understandings related to the true properties’ boundary line. In many cases, legal action can be taken to enforce the accurate property boundary lines.
Additionally, in Maryland, under certain circumstances, an individual can assert the doctrine of adverse possession and quiet title (which relates to adverse possession) to obtain legal ownership of part of their neighbor’s titled property due to that individual’s use of that section of real estate as their own for a prescribed period of time. In Maryland, an action for adverse possession is the specific mechanism that a person who is not the actual owner of real property (1) can use to obtain a valid title to that particular property by the passage of time through their own possession of that particular property over time and/or (2) become immune from a repossession lawsuit initiated by the original property owner. Two specific Maryland code provisions govern adverse possession: Maryland Code, Real Property Article § 14-108 and Maryland Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article § 5-103. Often Maryland adverse possession matters involve fence-line disputes between owners of neighboring properties. A Maryland property dispute attorney can assist property owners with properly addressing these types of problems.
Neighbor property line disputes can also simply result from fence disagreements (such as placement, creation, removal, or set-backs), regardless of the presence of adverse possession. Often the placement of fences and the circumstances surrounding fences between properties can cause legal disputes between neighbors. In fact, many Maryland Counties, such as Montgomery County, even have certain legal restrictions on the building of fences on or near property lines. In addition, trees (or other plants) that are located on or near neighboring property line can present a myriad of legal problems. Maryland property owners may, in certain circumstances, have the right to bring or defend themselves in litigation related to dying or damaged trees, trees located directly on a property line, or neighboring trees which have fallen onto their own property. In fact, often disputes related to trees (fallen and in tact) become adverse possession disputes.