Common Causes Of Boundary Disputes In Commercial Real Estate

06/23/2026 02:49 PM Mark Goodman

Whether you’re buying and selling property, installing a fence or simply trying to landscape your business, it’s quite helpful to know exactly where your property ends and a neighbor’s property begins. Even when it appears obvious, something like a fence or a hedge line doesn’t guarantee that those structures are a correctly-placed property delineation. The specific lot lines will be reviewed if you’re buying and selling commercial property, and it’s not uncommon to find out that the boundaries aren’t exactly where everyone assumed they would be.

But what causes boundary disputes? There are a few different events that can take place that can set in motion the origins of a boundary dispute, and we take a closer look at those issues in today’s blog.

Boundary disputes can arise for a few different reasons, and it’s important to be aware of them to ensure they are identified and rectified in a concise manner if you’re trying to buy or sell commercial property. In our experience, these are the leading causes of boundary disputes:

Surveying Errors - Surveyors can make mistakes. If they make a slight miscalculation or are working on bad information, their survey can be incorrect, and that may be discovered during a future land survey.
Missing Or Unclear Deeds - An older deed may not have a clear property description or it may rely on rudimentary landmarks to establish a boundary. A deed may also have gone missing, which complicates the process of establishing the boundaries.
Encroachments - It’s possible that structures may have been accidentally placed on a neighbor’s property, and this is only discovered when one party is selling and a land survey is ordered. It’s also possible for landscape features to shift or stray onto a neighbor’s property after decades of growth or degeneration. If a shifted fence or a growing oak tree has encroached onto a neighbor’s property, it will be discovered during a land survey.
Adverse Possession - In some instances, a neighbor may be able to argue that they have been using property for years in a specific manner that renders them eligible to claim that property as there’s. This is known as adverse possession. These types of boundary disputes are rare given the rules governing adverse possession laws, but they do happen.

Let the team at Commercial Partners help facilitate a land survey and ensure any potential boundary issues are snuffed out well in advance of closing so the sale stays on track. For more information about any of these types of boundary disputes, or for assistance with a different aspect of commercial real estate acquisition, connect with the team at Commercial Partners today at (612) 337-2470.