Boundary Disputes
NOTE: The Office of the Property Rights Ombudsman does not resolve boundary disputes between two private property owners. The Office may answer where private property is alleged to be occupied by a government entity or utility provider.
This summary is very simplified, and is provided for informational purposes. If you need legal advice in a private civil matter, you are encouraged to seek out a licensed attorney who can advise you of your legal options or represent you in a civil action.
On occasion, the exact location of a property’s boundary may be disputed by the owners. Over time, inaccurate measurements and forgotten understandings can lead to confusion over where a boundary should be. Ideally, such disputes should be avoided altogether through accurate measurements and professional property surveys. In reality, however, there are various circumstances where a legal property boundary is called into question. A disputed boundary between two properties can be settled by agreement of the neighboring property owners, or else by legal action in district court. The Utah Supreme Court has developed very clear rules to help resolve boundary disputes, as explained in Bahr v. Imus, 2011 UT 19 .
The Boundary by Acquiescence theory provides that a long-standing marker indicating where property owners understand a boundary to be located becomes the actual boundary, even if a survey places it elsewhere. Boundary by Acquiescence is shown by proving all of the following:
(1) a visible line marked by monuments, fences, buildings, or natural features treated as a boundary;
(2) the claimant’s occupation of his or her property up to the visible line such that it would give a reasonable landowner notice that the claimant is using the line as a boundary;
(3) mutual acquiescence in the line as a boundary by adjoining landowners;
(4) for a period of at least 20 years.
It is not necessary that the owners formally agree that the monument marks the property boundary; acceptance or acquiescence is sufficient. This can be shown by the actions of the property owners regarding the location of the boundary.
The disputed property must be actually occupied or used. Merely claiming ownership is not sufficient.
Utah Supreme Court Opinions on Boundary by Acquiescence:
Essential Botanical Farms, LC v. Kay, 2011 UT 71 — Boundary by Acquiescence elements must be proven by “clear and convincing evidence.”
Q-2, LLC v. Hughes, 2016 UT 8 — Title to disputed property passes when the elements of boundary by acquiescence are established, even if the dispute is not resolved by agreement or a court action at that time.
Anderson v. Fautin, 2016 UT 22 — Discusses and clarifies certain terms of the Boundary by Acquiescence doctrine.
See also:
Settling Boundary Disputes Using Utah’s Boundary by Acquiescence Doctrine — This Article was written by Elliot R. Lawrence, an Attorney with the Office of the Property Rights Ombudsman. It was published in the November/December 2014 issue of the Utah Bar Journal.
Like Boundary by Acquiescence or Boundary by Estoppel, Boundary by Agreement is a judicial remedy that honors verbal or unrecorded agreements made to settle a property boundary. In order to claim a boundary by agreement, the following elements must be shown:
- An agreement between adjoining land owners;
- Settling a boundary line that is uncertain or in dispute;
- A showing that injury would occur if the agreement were not upheld.
In order to bind successor owners to the same agreement, it must be shown that the agreed-upon boundary was marked or clearly identified so that a purchaser would be on notice of the boundary’s location.
The policy underlying the estoppel theory is to prevent injustice and injury to property owners who rely upon representations regarding property lines. A property owner may claim a boundary by estoppel by proving the following:
- An affirmative admission, representation, or act regarding placement of the boundary which is inconsistent with the claim afterward asserted;
- Action by the other property owner in reasonable reliance on that representation;
- Injury to the other property owner which would result if the first party contradicted the representation.
The representation regarding the placement of the boundary must be affirmative—an implied or inferred representation is not sufficient.
Apart from the judicial remedies listed above, where two adjoining property owners are in agreement as to either adjusting a mutual boundary or settling a disputed boundary, Utah Statute provides a process for effecting such changes.
An agreement intended to settle the location of a boundary between properties that is ambiguous, uncertain, or disputed may be accomplished by following the requirements of Utah Code Section 57-1-45.
Otherwise, where an agreement serves to adjust a known boundary between two properties, and the properties are both unsubdivided parcels (not part of any existing subdivision), a parcel boundary adjustment can be accomplished by following the requirements of Utah Code Section 10-9a-523 (for parcels within a municipality), or a parcel line adjustment via Utah Code Section 17-27a-522 (for parcels in unincorporated county areas). Boundary Line Agreements, including those that affect the boundary of a subdivided lot of a recorded subdivision, must follow the requirements of Utah Code Sections 10-9a-524 (within a municipality) or 17-27a-532 (for counties).
