What Is Encroachment, and What It Means for Your Property Line
Published by Cash Flow Deals · Last updated 2026-07-21 · Reviewed by Camilo Palacio, Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional (License #3280644, REALTOR®), affiliated with Silver Door Realty, LLC (License #CQ1064903)
An encroachment happens when a neighbor's structure, a fence, a shed, a driveway, or even tree branches, physically crosses onto your property without your permission. It's different from an easement, which is an authorized use of your land; an encroachment is not authorized. Most encroachments turn up during a boundary survey or during the title review that happens before a home sale closes, and left unresolved, they can delay a closing, lower what a buyer is willing to pay, or cause the deal to fall through entirely.
What Counts as an Encroachment
An encroachment is what happens when something belonging to a neighbor, a fence, a shed, a driveway, a retaining wall, or even overhanging tree branches, physically crosses onto your property line without permission. It's easy to confuse with an easement, but the two work in opposite directions: an easement is an authorized use of your land, something formally agreed to or recorded, while an encroachment is unauthorized. A fence built two feet over the line, a shed whose foundation straddles a boundary, a shared driveway that narrows onto your side of the lot, a patio that crosses a setback: these are the common shapes encroachments take, and most owners never notice until someone actually measures the property.
How Encroachments Get Discovered and Fixed
Most encroachments surface in one of two ways: a boundary survey, or the title review that happens automatically before a home sale closes. A boundary survey is performed by a licensed surveyor who measures the legal property lines and places physical stakes in the ground to mark them, and it typically runs in the neighborhood of $543. Once an encroachment is identified, resolving it usually follows a few steps. Start with a straightforward conversation with the neighbor. If that doesn't settle it, send formal written notice so there's a paper trail. From there, negotiate: options include selling the small strip of affected land, granting a formal easement so the use becomes authorized, or agreeing to move the structure. Legal action is the last resort, not the first move. One more thing worth knowing: if a neighbor's use of your land continues long enough, openly and continuously, some states allow that use to ripen into an actual ownership claim under a doctrine called adverse possession, though the number of years required varies by state law.
What This Means If You're Selling Your Florida Home
If a survey or title search turns up an encroachment while you're trying to sell, you still have real options, and it doesn't have to sink the sale. But every path forward has trade-offs worth knowing before you pick one. An investor who pays cash outright for a property with a title complication will often use that leverage to push the price down further than the issue itself justifies. A traditional listing can work too, but if the encroachment surfaces mid-contract, a buyer's lender or title company may pause the file for weeks sorting it out, and that kind of delay is exactly what causes financed deals to fall apart before closing. CFD works differently: as a licensed flat-fee brokerage, we connect sellers directly to a real FHA, conventional, VA, or DSCR buyer through a single-contract novation structure, so you're never selling to us and we never take title. The same title company that would handle this on any normal sale handles it here too, just with someone accountable for keeping the file moving instead of you having to track it down yourself.
Common questions
Does an encroachment stop me from selling my house?
No, but it usually has to be addressed before closing. Title companies flag encroachments during the title search, and an unresolved one can delay closing, lower what a buyer is willing to pay, or cause the deal to fall through. Most sellers resolve it beforehand, disclose it clearly to the buyer, adjust the price, or offer a closing credit so the buyer can handle it after closing.
What's the difference between an encroachment and an easement?
An easement is an authorized use of part of your property, something formally agreed to or recorded, like a utility company's right to access a line. An encroachment is the opposite: it's unauthorized, like a neighbor's fence or shed sitting on your side of the property line with no agreement in place.
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What this means for your options
Understanding the sale process before you commit to a timeline protects your leverage. Our novation structure keeps the process short and the terms clear from the first conversation.
Wait and see
Keep the property as-is and hope conditions improve. The mortgage, insurance, and upkeep keep costing money while you wait, with no set date for things to turn around.
List with a traditional agent
Standard MLS listing, typically 5-6% in commission, and a financed buyer whose deal depends on appraisal, inspection, and lender approval — any of which can fall through after weeks on market.
Sell to Cash Flow Deals
No repairs, no showings, no financing contingency on your side — our novation structure connects you with a bank-financed buyer at a price locked at signing. Usually within one business day.
See your selling options before you decide anything.