Property Damage Attorney – What’s The Statue of Limitation On Permanent Encroachments In Property Line Disputes?

Property line disputes between adjacent property owners are not uncommon. And these conflicts often result in competing trespass and nuisance claims.  The core issue generally hinges on whether the encroachment is temporary or permanent. This is an important differentiation, as California law distinguishes between the two conditions. And given that the law makes this distinction, neighboring homeowners are often concerned over the statute of limitations governing a permanent encroachment.

To begin with, a permanent encroachment is considered trespass, not a nuisance.  [See Field-Escandon v. Demann, (1988) 204 Cal. App. 3d 228, 233]

Additionally, the courts in California Courts have ruled that the encroachment of buildings, walls, foundations, pipes, and vents constructed on another party’s property are considered permanent in nature. As such, a cause for a trespass action would ensue upon the date construction is completed.  [Id; see also Castelletto v. Bendon, (1961) 193 Cal. App. 2d 64, 65 – “We are satisfied that where, as in this case, the location of the buildings was quite apparent, the failure of the owner of the property upon which the buildings trespassed to know that his line ran under the buildings, affords no reason for saying that the cause of action for trespass did not begin to run until he was aware that is was his property, in part, upon which the buildings stood.”; see also Troeger v. Fink, (1958) 166 Cal. App. 2d 22, 26 – “Under well settled California law plaintiffs’ causes of action for damages and for an injunction to compel removal of the allegedly encroaching structures are barred by the provisions of section 338, subdivision 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which require that ‘An action for trespass upon or injury to real property’ must be brought within three years after the accrual of the cause of action. Where one party so constructs a permanent building that it encroaches upon the land of another, the trespass is regarded as permanent in nature; causes of action for damages and for injunctive relief accrue when the trespass is committed and are barred three years thereafter.”]

In short, California law dictates that the 3-year statute of limitations governing a permanent encroachment begins when construction on the encroachment is completed.

Are you a homeowner with a property line or encroachment dispute? Contact Gholian Law’s Real Estate Attorneys for a free consultation and case evaluation TODAY.