Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Boundary Dispute

From the facts given, this could either be a pure and simple boundary-location issue, or it could be a claim based on adverse possession.

If it's simply a boundary-location issue, and there are no other "legal" issues, the neighbors should agree upon a surveyor and have a survey done. In urban settings, boundary surveys with modern instruments are fast and not very expensive.

If there is a claim based on adverse possession (sometimes referred to as "squatters' rights"), it may be necessary to engage a real-estate lawyer to examine the factual basis of the claim or dispute, explain the law to the neighbors, and if necessary bring a quiet title suit to obtain a court ruling.

Adverse possession cases are hard for the party claiming to have acquired part of a neighbor's parcel to win, because California also requires that the claimant (the "squatter") have paid all the property taxes on the disputed portion. This rarely can happen because the owner of record will have paid on all portions of his legal lot if he has paid at all, simply because of the fact that tax assessments are based on legal descriptions and not the appraiser's eyeballing the fence lines.

Exceptions do occasionally arise, however.